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Top-ranked Avonworth exploits ‘any little mistake’ in lopsided win over Hopewell

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Saturday, September 20, 2025 | 12:34 AM

Hopewell has a young quarterback who’s full of promise, but Avonworth’s Luca Neal pounced when he spotted a risky throw by the sophomore.

No do-overs here.

“If you give us any little mistake, we jump on it,” said Neal, who returned an interception 55 yards for a touchdown Friday night as No. 1 Avonworth defeated No. 4 Hopewell, 48-14, in a Western Hills matchup that turned lopsided just before halftime.

The game was close into the second quarter — 7-6 — but ultimately ended under the mercy rule.

Neal’s pick-six came 81 seconds before halftime, and teammate Jaden Jones added a 51-yard touchdown catch less than a minute later to send Avonworth into the break with a 22-point lead.

Both times, the Antelopes saw an opportunity and took it.

“Next thing you know, it’s 28-6,” Hopewell coach Matt Mottes said. “We felt the wrath that Thomas Jefferson felt last week, right? You’re in the game, and then all of a sudden, it’s busted open. You can’t make mistakes against a team like Avonworth.”

Avonworth’s Dimitri Velisaris rushed for 102 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries, and quarterback Carson Bellinger completed 5 of 8 passes for 168 yards and two more scores.

The victory was the conference opener for Avonworth (5-0, 1-0), the defending WPIAL Class 3A champion. Hopewell (3-2, 0-2) was left still searching for its first conference win.

Marco Arlia gave Avonworth a 7-3 lead with a 15-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter, and Velisaris scored on a 21-yard touchdown run in the second for a 14-6 edge.

Hopewell’s points came on two field goals by kicker Rocco Marcantonio, including a 55-yarder that tied a WPIAL record for the longest in league history. The senior also tied the record last year, making him the first in WPIAL history with two 55-yarders.

But Hopewell couldn’t keep pace with field goals alone.

Vikings quarterback James Armstrong, who added Penn State and North Carolina offers earlier in the week, completed 12 of 25 passes for 192 yards and one interception. He added a 13-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter, but multiple tackles behind the line of scrimmage limited him to 13 yards on 14 carries.

Armstrong accounted for more than 600 offensive yards last week, but this time was bottled up by the Avonworth defense.

“Containment, and then spying him as well,” Neal said was the key. “Just making sure everyone was doing their assignment.”

Neal twice took the ball away from Hopewell in the second quarter. The senior recovered a fumble midway through the quarter, and later his pick-six stretched the Avonworth lead to 21-6.

The left-handed throwing Armstrong was rolling to his left and tried to squeeze a pass back into the middle of the field. Neal stepped in front of his throw.

“As great as my quarterback is, he’s a 15-year-old kid,” Mottes said. “He’s supposed to make mistakes. Obviously, they’re going to capitalize when you do.”

The Antelopes have now scored three defensive touchdowns in their past two games combined. They returned an interception and a fumble for points in last week’s 41-14 win over Thomas Jefferson.

“Game changing,” Avonworth coach Duke Johncour said of Neal’s interception return. “You saw it, everybody saw it, the stadium saw it. When you’re splash player makes a play like that, (the opponent is) going to go in the tank.”

After a quick three-and-out by Hopewell, Bellinger’s long touchdown pass to Jones on a one-play drive gave Avonworth a 28-6 lead just before halftime.

The Antelopes later scored two quick touchdowns to start the third quarter, reaching the 35-point margin needed for the mercy rule. Velisaris crossed the goal line on a 3-yard run and Gavin McDowell followed on a 25-yarder.

With 6:05 left in the third, Avonworth led 42-6. The Antelopes then turned to their backups, and freshman Logan Krul ran for an 81-yard touchdown early in the fourth.

“We told them that 4-0 (nonconference record) meant nothing,” Johncour said. “This was a big night. We had to come out, play on our stage, play on our home field and come away with a victory. And we did.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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