After breakout season, Hempfield’s Jack Kopas chasing school receiving record

By: Bill Beckner Jr.
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | 2:57 PM

Purchase Photo Options

Jack Kopas was elected a team captain this year at Hempfield, a reflection of his breakout junior season and, perhaps more over, his noticeable growth as a player and teammate.

“There’s no way the coaches would have seen me as a (future) captain when I was a sophomore,” the senior slot receiver and safety said. “I feel like I have really matured a lot.”

Kopas (6-foot, 185 pounds) led the Spartans in receptions last year, pulling in 40 for 558 yards and three touchdowns, a career year that put his timing with quarterback Dom Detruf on display.

“He knows what I am going to do,” Kopas said of Detruf, a fellow senior who threw for 1,696 yards and 14 touchdowns last year. “Dom and I are best friends.”

Kopas said the team has rallied around Detruf, who recently lost his father, T.J.

T.J. Detruf, a former Jeannette quarterback who was coaching at Penn-Trafford, died unexpectedly July 26 at his home.

“We just all wanted to be there for him,” Kopas said. “Just to make sure he knows we are there for him.”

The Hempfield school record for catches in a season is 57 by Braden Brose in 2017.

“I’d like to get at least 50 catches,” Kopas said. “I feel like the connection Dom and I have keeps getting better. We have been playing together since middle school.”

Hempfield, which finished 4-6 last season, could have a hefty passing game with several pass-catching threats, including seniors Nick Marquis and Drew Jones, junior Lucas Simmons and others.

Kopas appears to be WR1.

“Jack’s had a big offseason, and he has put himself in a position to be a leader,” Hempfield coach Nick Keefer said. “He’s a team captain, and he is ready to step up and be that leader.

“He set himself up with a great year.”

Hempfield hopes to be balanced offensively but could lean heavily on the pass in a spread initially installed by Ryan Reitz, now the offensive coordinator at Hempfield, several years ago.

“We’re hoping that with some of the other guys we have, we’ll be able to get Jack into single coverage a lot,” Keefer said. “He runs good routes, and he’s a big kid. He finds open space.”

Kopas’ father, Ted, is a Westmoreland County commissioner. The younger Kopas does not see a future in politics but gives his dad credit for getting him into football and molding him into a young man.

“No, not for me,” Jack Kopas said. “I know my dad has to deal with a lot. And you can’t make everybody happy.”

Ted Kopas played football at Norwin and Allegheny College.

“I look up to him all the time,” Jack Kopas said. “He loves football. We bond over football, like Dom and his dad did. This has made me realize how quickly things can change.”

Jack Kopas believes Hempfield will improve over last season.

“We’ll 100% be better,” he said. “We have a ton of depth. We’re three-deep anywhere. Our QB is awesome, and we have the best tackle (Brock Heisler) in 6A.”

Kopas also carries value on defense. He stepped in to play safety last year when Nick Marquis was injured and played well in the secondary.

Kopas made 21 tackles and recovered two fumbles for the season.

He recovered a key fumble late against Canon-McMillan in a wild 33-27 win in overtime.

“The kid set the ball down (early) in the end zone, and I just grabbed it,” Kopas said. “I knew we needed to get the ball back. Playing both ways helps me see the positions I play better. It helps a lot when a team sits in a zone and I know what they are going to do.”

Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.

Tags: Hempfield