Opinion
Vukovcan: It’s Time for Mottes to Be Named Full-Time Hopewell Football Coach
It’s not really news to say that Hopewell Vikings football program hasn’t enjoyed much success over the last decade.
That’s not one man’s opinion, that’s the facts.
In some cases, they do but, in this case, numbers don’t lie. Prior to this 2024 season, the Hopewell football programs combined record over the last 10 seasons was 21-72.
Let me repeat that, 21-72. The Hopewell football team hasn’t had a winning record since 2011, when they went 7-4. That’s 13 years.
I’m not going to go into the reasons for that, I’ll just use a line from former Pittsburgh Steelers Hall of Fame head coach Chuck Noll and say, “the problems are many and they are great”. The reasons for the seemingly endless struggles are plenty but the easiest way to sum things up is there’s been a lack of commitment to this program from many different areas.
Not one person or factor is responsible, it’s been a team effort all the way around that’s contributed to this mess.
That’s the past and let’s get to what is currently going on and what’s relevant.
The 2024 team finished up this season with a record of 4-6. While that’s not great by any means, it was an improvement and the Vikings most wins since the 2017 season.
When you dig deeper into the season, looking at the fact that this team was competitive on most Friday’s and were playing meaningful games at the close of a season for the first time in a while.
If Hopewell would’ve been able to win just one of their last 3 games, they would’ve qualified for the WPIAL playoffs. Considering the fact that they play in arguably the best conference in AAA with the likes of Beaver, Avonworth, Central Valley, North Catholic, etc., that’s an accomplishment.
In years past against this opposition, most Friday nights, Hopewell was getting mercy ruled by halftime or early parts of the 3rd quarter but not in 2024.
Reason for that was the offensive game plan and their ability to put points on the scoreboard. While some people may have had issues with it, the bottom line is the play calling allowed Hopewell to stay in games by controlling the time of possession. If the other team doesn’t have the ball, they can’t score, right? In the end the object is to put together a gameplan that allows you to win the game.
HOPEWELL’S OFFENSE:
Total Points Scored in 2024: 296
Total Points Scored in 2023: 135
Total Points Scored in 2022: 150
This all gets to the crux of my story and that’s the Hopewell coaching staff, in particular head coach Matt Mottes, who deserves a lot of credit for what happened this year.
Let’s keep a couple of important factors in mind: 1) this was his first year ever as a head coach. 2) the core of this team was very young, and a number of freshmen were put into high profile spots. 3) more kids were playing football this year as the roster grew. 4) Kingston Krotec, one of the team leaders and team captain, broke his ankle a week before the season opener and missed the entire season. Think he would’ve made a difference?
All of those are important to remember because both Mottes and the younger players were learning and receiving on the job experience. Did everything go perfect? Of course not, it never does, regardless of the program and regardless of how long you’ve been coaching.
However, the encouraging part is that this team appears to have a solid foundation to build upon and for the first time in a long time, the Hopewell football program has legitimate hope.
The job that Mottes and his staff did was recognized yesterday as he was named Co-Coach of the Year in the Western Hills Conference.
As I said, with only 3 players graduating, next season appears to be very promising for Hopewell football and making the playoffs will be a real possibility.
However, one thing needs to happen in order to keep the momentum going.
The Hopewell School District needs to make Mottes the permanent head coach and remove the interim tag. Immediately.
Considering what I just outlined, it seems like a no-brainer, right? Let me repeat. Mottes was named Co-Coach of the Year in his first season.
Unfortunately, when you’re talking about high school athletics, school boards and disgruntled parents, nothing EVER is an automatic.
Mottes and his staff brought structure, discipline, pride and an outlined plan for turning this program around and positive change was definitely noticeable. Will everyone always be happy? Of course, not but that’s what you get in high school athletics where parents think playing time should be equal and that their kids should have a bigger role on the team or that certain players are getting all the attention. That’s a separate column for a different day.
With a full offseason of training, familiarity amongst the players of what system they’re running and what’s expected of them and just individual growth by the players, they’ll be legitimate expectations for the 2025 season. Plus, I’m sure Mottes would review and self-critique himself and make subtle changes as he evolves as a head coach.
However, continuity is needed, which means Coach Mottes should be back on the sidelines in 2025.
