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Six Hopewell Vikings Receive Gameday Invites to Pitt-Syracuse Game

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8 months ago

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The business of high school recruiting is an ever-changing industry.

In years past, college programs didn’t really start the long process of recruiting an athlete until the competition of their sophomore year but that’s no longer the case.

Recruiting is a relationship business, and schools now are looking to start building relationships as soon as possible.

Gameday visits are just one aspect of recruiting and with college football in full swing, every home game teams try to invite players to attend on a Gameday visit.

These aren’t as serious as official or unofficial visits, where recruits get to visit the teams’ facilities and campus but they’re still important because it’s a small sign that teams are aware of you and your possibly on their future radar.

From an athlete’s perspective, this is an opportunity for them to experience what getting recruited is like, it allows them to start try to form a relationship with a member of that program’s staff and more importantly, it should serve as motivation to keep working and trying to get better so that one day, they might be fortunate enough to earn a college scholarship from some program.

The No. 19 ranked Pitt Panthers are back in action tomorrow night as they host Syracuse at Acrisure Stadium and a handful of Hopewell Vikings have received GameDay invites to attend that game.

Hopewell junior tight end/defensive end Jake Pollick, freshman kicker Rocco Marcantonio, freshman wide receiver/cornerback Tre Cameron, freshman safety/wide receiver Avery Bokor, freshman running back Brody Rock and freshman quarterback James Armstrong will be in attendance for that big game.

Pollick is an intriguing prospect for the future as he’s 6-foot-4, 225 pounds and is still relatively new to the game of football. Pollick is a tremendous athlete and a standout volleyball player. Considering his size, athleticism and the progress he made throughout this season, Pollick has an intriguing future.

Marcantonio is someone that PSN has been telling you about since Vikings training camp, and he’s delivered this season for the Vikings. Marcantonio has a huge leg and has been a weapon for the Vikings considering his ability to kick a field goal upom getting inside the opponent’s 40-yard line.

This season, Marcantonio has made 9 of 13 field goal attempts, with the long coming from 55 yards.

Marcantonio has a D-I leg, and it will be interesting to see which team is the first to pull the trigger with an offer.

Marcantonio will be visiting Pitt this Thursday, along with a game next month against Clemson. Pitt isn’t the only Power Four team interested as PSN has learned that Rocco has received a gameday invite from Penn State to attend the Nittany Lions’ huge game against Ohio State on Nov. 2.

As far as the four freshmen, they still have a ways to go in their development and recruitment but no doubt the potential is there.

Cameron has the look and skill set of a possible D-1 player with his 5-foot-10 frame.

“I’m very excited to be going to Pitt for the game on Thursday,” Cameron said. “I’ve seen that they’ve been very successful this season so being able to see them in person is going to be really cool and a really fun experience. Getting invited is showing me that the work I have put in as a freshman is getting noticed. I’m looking forward to making more visits to Pitt and other schools so that I can see what real D-1 talent looks like in person in order to see what I need to work towards.”

Bokor is similar to Cameron and likely just needs to see his body develop because all of these kids are going to put in the work to get better.

Bokor was thrown into the fire this season as he moved into the starting safety role following the season-ending injury to junior Kingston Krotec, who was projected to be the starter.

Bokor continues to improve and will no doubt spend the off-season working to get bigger, stronger and faster. On the season, Avery has collected 35 tackles and pulled down two interceptions.

“It is a dream come true for me (to get a Pitt gameday invite). I have always been a big Pitt fan,” said Bokor. “My dad is a former Pitt Panther, so it is in my blood. He always speaks so highly of Pitt and how much he learned during his time there. I hope to be able to follow in his footsteps in a few years.

“I am really excited. I love the game of football and to be invited to come and watch my favorite team play live is incredible. Also, to be recognized for my hard work and dedication to the sport is special to me. It makes me want to do more.”

Rock and Armstrong were no doubt the most physically ready to step into the rigors of playing and starting on a varsity football team.

Rock has been the workhorse of the Vikings offense, carrying the ball 138 times for 630 yards and four touchdowns. For the season, Rock has 24 receptions for 331 yards and four receiving touchdowns. Depending on his growth, tight end could be a future position for Rock. On defense at the linebackers’ spot, Brody has registered 20 tackles, a sack and three fumble recoveries.

Rock’s durability and physicality have been huge for Hopewell, and he’ll be a focal point of the team for the next three seasons.

Hopewell Freshman Quarterback James Armstrong Making GameDay Visit to Pitt

Sandy Schall, Coldwell Banker
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