HAMILTON — Ethan Valenza is back. In a big way.
After being stymied for two straight weeks by Seneca and Burlington Township, the junior running back exploded for 186 yards and a touchdown in helping Hopewell Valley Central High’s football team to a 31-13 victory over Steinert Saturday.
The victory snapped the Spartans five-game winning streak and clinched a share of the WJFL Capitol Division for the Bulldogs (6-2), who can win it outright with a win over Hightstown Friday.
“This is huge for us,” said defensive end Carter Horvath, who was part of a defense that held Steinert to 44 second-half yards. “We needed this for a home playoff game. We really wanted to win that division. That’s who we are. We’re known for winning the division. We wanted to make that statement again.
“People said we lost all our seniors, who were great players, and that we wouldn’t do it again. We did it though. We said we were gonna do it and we got it done.”
Hopewell Valley running back Luke Hemmer, 11, flexes to celebrate his touchdown run against Steinert during a WJFL Capitol Division game on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 at Spartan Field in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
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Hopewell Valley running back Luke Hemmer, 11, flexes to celebrate his touchdown run against Steinert during a WJFL Capitol Division game on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025 at Spartan Field in Hamilton Twp. (Kyle Franko/ Trentonian Photo)
With the win, Hopewell went 2-1 in a three-game gauntlet that also included Seneca and Burlington Township. The three teams entered Saturday with a combined 18-3 record.
Asked what that said about Hopewell with the playoffs approaching, Horvath said, “We’re here, we’re real. People gotta look out for us. We’re not a team you can walk over. Even if we’re not as tight as we want to be we gotta be a team you look out for. Even if we’re away in the playoffs, we’re gonna be there and the field better watch out for us.”
Especially if Valenza is back on track. After rushing for 627 yards in his first four varsity games, he was limited to 55 against Seneca and 32 against Township.
He was matched up against Steinert’s Isaac Pate, arguably Mercer County’s top back. After Pate – who ran for 189 yards — scored on a 26-yard run to cap Steinert’s opening drive, it was Valenza’s turn. He rushed for 53 yards on the Bulldogs initial drive and capped it with an 18-yard TD run.
“Fantastic game,” Caldwell said. “He had a great week of practice just getting his stride and vision back. We wanted to establish the run to open up the pass. I think we did that on the first drive; we were able to effectively move the ball down the field. We controlled the clock and the line of scrimmage.”
Asked what happened in the previous two games, Caldwell pointed to tough opponents.
“Ethan’s a junior, it’s his first year of playing varsity football,” the coach said. “When the competition gets tough you gotta be happy with four yards. He’s holding on to the football. He’s seeing the hole he’s hitting it hard, if he gets tackled he gets tackled. You take advantage of the opportunities when they’re given to you when our offensive line is able to open up holes.”
Valenza felt that defenses began keying on him after his initial success, but also felt that the more he played, the better he would do against strong foes.
“Just gelling with the team, knowing how my o-line blocks and where to go,” he said. “Also we were working on fighting through contact a lot, that’s something I struggled with. I’d say just chalk it up to a bit of a slump for two weeks.”
On Hopewell’s next possession, Steinert killed itself with a costly personal foul penalty after stopping the Dogs on third down. Maintaining possession, the visitors capitalized on an amazing 12-yard TD run Lucas Hemmer, who dragged a pile of tacklers the final five yards.
Steinert pulled within one when Pate scored on a 27-yard run with just 36 seconds left, but Horvath blocked the PAT.
Starting on its 35 after the kickoff, Hopewell did not settle on running out the clock. On first down, quarterback Grayson Vlasac ran for 13 yards and suddenly the Bulldogs were thinking aggressively. They got to the 23 before Josh Reinhardt booted a 39-yard FG.
“That changed things, definitely,” Valenza said of Vlasac’s run. “That field goal was huge. Josh is a great kicker.”
It gave Hopewell a 17-13 lead but the gap seemed a lot larger.
“That was really big,” Caldwell said. “It was a great momentum swing.”
Hopewell maintained that momentum after intermission, as Vlasac found Mike Whitlock with a 39-yard TD pass on the ‘Dogs first possession.
The defense shut down Steinert from that point and put it away on another TD run by Hemmer with nine minutes remaining.
Asked what changed defensively in the second half, Horvath said it was just a case of adjusting without linebacker Ryan Ottobre, who injured his shoulder against Township last week.
“He’s very important to us,” Horvath said. “He ran a different formation and we talked it over and had to step it up in that linebacker position. Then we went downhill, ran what we usually do and stopped the run and stopped number one (Pate). He’s a good player.”
Caldwell actually felt his team was strong defensively throughout the game.
“Their back is phenomenal; he’s got great vision; he runs really big,” the coach said. “But I felt like we played really well on defense except for that first drive. On the first touchdown they scored on fourth down. The second touchdown we got a (facemask) penalty that hurt us.”
It was a disappointing day for Steinert (5-2), which was playing its biggest game in years. But the Spartans are still in the playoff hunt so there’s much to play for next week against Nottingham.
As for Hopewell, they feel pretty good about things after the past three weeks.
“It tells us we’re good enough to go deep in the playoffs,” Horvath said.
“We can compete no matter what game we go into,” Caldwell said. “From what we saw in that Seneca game and the Burlington Township game we let slip away, I think our kids believe what we’re coaching them and the coaches believe in the kids. When we play to our potential and don’t turn the ball over I think we can compete with anyone in South (Group) 3.
“We set goals at the beginning of the year and every goal is still in front of us – win the Capitol Division, get a home playoff game and win a state championship.”
Hopewell Valley (6-2) 7 10 7 7 — 31
Steinert (5-2) 7 6 0 0 — 13
First Quarter
S- Isaac Pate 26 run (James kick)
HV-Valenza 18 run (Reinhardt kick)
Second Quarter
HV-Hemmer 12 run (Reinhardt kick)
S- Issac Pate 27 run (kick failed)HV-Reinhardt 39 field goal
HV-Reinhardt 39 FG
Third Quarter
HV-Whitlock 39 pass from Vlasac (Reinhardt kick)
Fourth Quarter
HV-Hemmer 16 run (Reinhardt kick)
Originally Published:
