With tons of talent returning, Hopewell hungry to end playoff drought

By: Antonio Rossetti
Tuesday, August 12, 2025 | 6:01 AM

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The Hopewell Vikings are hungry to bring winning football back to the community.

Hopewell has had eight consecutive seasons under .500 and hasn’t made the playoffs since 2012. Last season, first-year coach Matt Mottes and the Vikings took a step in the right direction.

The Vikings went 4-6 and Mottes took home co-coach of the year honors for the Western Hills Conference. With almost 20 seniors, the team is ready for some winning football. Last year, the Vikings got a taste of winning, but were just shy of the playoffs after starting 4-3.

A brutal conference schedule toughened a young Vikings team up.

“We got grizzled a little bit last year,” Mottes said. “We got a little bit mean, a little bit nasty. We lost some close games. We had a winning record at one point and ended up 4-6. With that experience, the shock of the Friday night lights is going to be gone. We’re going to have a new attitude. We’ve been there before, and we’ll get it done — that attitude.”

The Vikings return 10 starters on offense and on defense.

One of those players is three-year starter Kingston Krotec, who is returning after missing last season due to injury.

“I’m really excited,” Krotec said. “I didn’t play at all last year. I was on the sideline, and you get that feeling every time when they’re coming out in the field, and you’re like, ‘I wish I was there.’ Now I get to come back after not playing, come on the field and hopefully we have a better season than last year. We want to make it to the playoffs.”

Hopewell has achieved success on many occasions. Paul Posluszny and the Vikings captured a WPIAL and PIAA state title in 2002. Hall of famer Tony Dorsett and WPIAL all-time leading rusher Rushel Shell roamed the halls of the high school.

Hopewell’s 50-man roster has 19 seniors and 19 sophomores. All of the players are hungry.

“I think we’re really motivated,” Krotec said. “For the senior class, it’s our last chance to show that we have athletes to help get us there, and then we have the underclassmen that could give us the edge to get over. They’re all really motivated and working hard.”

Mottes sees a team prepared to rely on one another. With an experienced group back, he sees players that understand the goal.

“Everybody’s jelling,” Mottes said. “People are going to rely on each other to be successful. The seniors rely a lot on the younger kids, the sophomores, because this is their senior year, and they’re trying to do the best they can. I think we have a perfect mix. They’re not focused on who’s starting. It’s about wins and losses. Our only goal is to lead the conference in one stat, and that’s wins.”

James “Booboo” Armstrong, a four-star recruit with numerous Division I offers, broke out during his freshman year last season, throwing for 1,372 yards with 11 touchdowns and six interceptions. He also ran for 746 yards and 15 touchdowns. He’s one of those players focused on winning.

Mottes talked about Armstrong starting as a freshman.

“I think he responded well,” Mottes said. “He had a lot of juniors in front blocking for him. Once he got settled in, he was absolutely fine. I expect the transition going into his sophomore year to be easy for him. He has 10 games of experience under his belt.”

Although he’s only 10 games into his career, he has offers from Pitt, Sacramento State, Akron and Delaware State. He’s also talked to Penn State, Stanford, Duke and Indiana.

“I really just have been preparing by trying to get a little smarter and trying to get better mechanics going to the air,” Armstrong said. “A lot of the time, I would catch myself running away from the pocket too fast when it closes. I just need to worry about staying there and trusting my throwing ability and playing out with the run a lot better.”

His targets are seniors Zander Muzy, Logan Triscila and Krotec and sophomore Tre Cameron. Triscila caught 28 passes for 480 yards, Muzy hauled in 10 passes for 125 yards, and Cameron brought in 13 passes for 189 yards. Sophomore Avery Bokor returns too. Mottes said he has unbelievable hands.

Krotec, who missed last season due to an ankle injury, returns as a wide receiver. In 2023, Krotec started at quarterback and tallied 630 passing yards and four touchdowns.

“I’m really excited about having him back after we lost him last year,” Mottes said. “He’s arguably one of our best athletes. I think he’s bigger and adds a great dynamic to us at defensive back and receiver. He can also play quarterback too. He’s really going to be able to do it all for us.”

Krotec loves the fact that coach Mottes trusts him.

“It means a lot because he thinks that I’m versatile enough to help us win and make it to the playoffs,” Krotec said. “He’s putting me in a spot where he thinks makes it best for the team.”

Armstrong and Krotec will make quite the connection.

“My connection with Kingston, great,” Armstrong said. “We go to the gym a lot and play baseball together. He’s one of my best friends, and he’s one of my closest friends. Hopefully he can overcome his injury from last year. …Sometimes it’s tough to come back the same, but he’s been looking good. He’s been able to catch. This is his first year at receiver, and he’s really impressing me, especially for his first time.”

Nasir Wade, who was at Aliquippa last season, and Brody Rock will be the running backs this season. Rock tallied 653 rushing yards, led the team with 491 receiving yards and scored nine total touchdowns.

Krotec said that Wade, also known as “Bruiser,” gives the team a great dynamic when adding a speedster like Wade with Armstrong and Rock. Armstrong can’t wait.

“That’s probably going to be our best thing with me, Bruiser and Brody,” Armstrong said. “Not one of us will be tired now because there’s more of us. If we can equally share and play the situation to equally share the ball, I think that we’re all going to get ours.”

With Keith Young and Richie Johns leading an experienced line, the Vikings have a lot to offer up front.

“They’ve all been great, and they’ve all been playing with each other since they were young,” Armstrong said. “This year we all have high expectations. We all have confidence going into the year. That’s all they need is confidence. Confidence just makes you better and everybody’s going to see that this year.”

With a lot of depth at running back, wide receiver and quarterback, along with an athletic line, there is a lot to expect out of Hopewell.

“We are really athletic, but even with the athleticism, we still have skill,” Krotec said. “We’re not just running around using our athletic ability. We work on our skills.”

Losing Julian Baldwin due to injury on defense will hurt the Vikings, but Krotec returns and Wade adds a new dynamic at safety.

Armstrong said Young and George Tafkov, first-year players who were at Keystone Oaks before moving to Hopewell, and Aris Haniotes, who was at Quaker Valley, will anchor the defense. He added that returning players Nick Thomas, Brian McCabe and Justin Obeldobel will make an impact.

“Nasir Wade looks good at safety, and then our D-line looks stronger and faster than everyone,” Krotec added. “It’s going to be hard for the offensive line on the other teams to stop them from getting the backfield.”

Krotec added the team is improving its communication and recognizing route combos.

Mottes prioritized defense this summer.

“The biggest thing this year is that our defense has to get better,” Mottes said. “Last year, it was not very good, and we just have to play better on defense. We have 10 starters returning on defense, and so I look to hopefully improve their experience and improve from last year.”

One thing the Vikings have is competitive spirit. Mottes sees that.

“Nobody’s gonna give it to us because we’re Hopewell,” Mottes said. “We have the longest playoff drought in the WPIAL. They understand they have to work for it. They’ve been doing workouts since May. Kids miss their vacation or personal things to do, but they’re hungry. They just don’t want to keep losing. They want to win.”

Although the playoffs are a goal, Armstrong and the team want it all.

“It would mean a lot for me, but I hope my high school career is more than the playoffs,” Armstrong said. “Hopewell hasn’t made the playoffs for a while, so me and the other guys on the team, that’s what we’re going to do this year. That’s our goal.”

Hopewell

Coach: Matt Mottes

2024 record: 4-6, 2-4 in Class 3A Western Hils Conference

All-time record: 372-420-25

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.22 at Riverside , 7

8.29 New Castle, 7

9.5 at Ambridge, 7

9.12 Beaver*, 7

9.19 at Avonworth*, 7

9.26 at Quaker Valley*, 7

10.3 McGuffey*, 7

10.10 at Freeport, 7

10.17 Central Valley*, 7

10.24 North Catholic*, 7

*Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: James Armstrong

91-187, 1,635 yards, 11 TDs

Rushing: Armstrong

205-746 yards, 15 TDs

Receiving: Brody Rock

33-491 yards, 4 TDs

FAST FACTS

• Kingston Krotec was a player on Hopewell’s WPIAL title baseball team in 2022. He enjoys golfing with friends during his time away from football and baseball.

• Hopewell has had five players make it to the NFL: Paul Posluszny, Curt Singer, Tony Dorsett, Dan Rains and Bill Koman.

• Hopewell plays at Tony Dorsett Stadium.

• In 2002, Hopewell did not complete a single pass in its final two games before taking home the PIAA title. Talk about run-heavy.

Tags: Hopewell