’22 Season Preview: Hamburg Hawks
Classification: Class 3A
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5
Schedule: Click here
Last season: 2-3 Berks 2, 7-4 overall
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2021
Head coach: Matt Hoffert, first season (4-27 in three seasons at Kutztown)
Key losses: All-League RB & second-team KR Diohnny Ruiz, all-league second-team C and second-team DL Daregan Motto, all-league DL Mitchell Watt, all-league DB Cameron Harris.
Top offensive players: QB Xander Menapace, all-league second-team RB Pierce Mason, RB Aidan Readinger, RB Derek Ruiz, RB Parker Folk Jr., WR Kevin McFarland, WR Cohen Correll, WR Alex Bentz, WR Leland Moore, TE Mason Semmel, C Bryce Kamp, G Evan Snyder, G Carson Brown, T Charles Sheppard, T Christian Brown.
| LL5 | Projected finish |
| 1 | Hamburg |
| 2 | Lancaster Catholic |
| 3 | Columbia |
| 4 | Annville-Cleona |
| 5 | Schuylkill Valley |
| 6 | Northern Lebanon |
| 7 | Kutztown |
| 8 | Pequea Valley |
Top defensive players: All-league second-team E Charles Sheppard, DL Ronnie Parra, DL Evan Snyder, LB Pierce Mason, LB Bradley Zettlemoyer, LB Tyler Shuey, LB Aidan Readinger, DB Derek Ruiz, DB Kevin McFarland, DB Ty Werley.
Did you know? The Hawks’ 31-27 victory over Bermudian Springs last season was their first in the District 3 Tournament. It was also their first home game in the district playoffs.
Fast fact: Hamburg has strung together three consecutive non-losing seasons in the program’s 53-year history.
For the record: Diohnny Ruiz set program records last season for rushing yards in a season (1,313) and career (2,628) and matched the records for touchdowns in a game (4), season (21) and career (36).
Quotable: “We have a great mixture of returning players and newcomers on both sides of the ball to build off a good season. The key will be execution and minimizing mistakes. We look to compete at a high level and be the most physical and aggressive team on the field.” — Hawks coach Matt Hoffert
Outlook: Former Hawks lineman Matt Hoffert returns home hoping to take advantage of the momentum created last season when Hamburg had its best season in more than a decade and won a district playoff game for the first time.
Graduation took its toll on that roster, especially on the defensive side where Hoffert needs to replace four all-league picks; on the plus side he can build his offense around the top quarterback in Section 5. Xander Menapace is a three-year starter getting FCS looks and should benefit from the switch to a Spread offense, where he’ll be able to show off his big arm more than he did in the Wing-T.
Menapace completed 62.5 percent of his throws as a junior, with nine TDs, but didn’t throw often. He’ll get more chances this season and will be more involved as a runner, too. He’ll have some weapons to throw to, led by Kevin McFarland, an athletic 6-2 senior who was second on the team in catches last season.
It won’t be easy replacing Diohnny Ruiz, an All-State running back who averaged 11.3 yards per carry and was dangerous receiver and kick returner. Still, the Hawks have weapons in the backfield, including Pierce Mason, who averaged 10.3 yards per carry last season, promising sophomore Aidan Readinger and Derek Ruiz, Diohnny’s younger borther.
The Hawks should be fine on the defensive side where they return six starters and nine players who saw significant time. They’re expecting Charles Sheppard, a second-team all-league pick at tackle, to be a force up front and for Mason to lead the defense from his spot at linebacker. They’ve got plenty of speed in the defensive backfield, with Ruiz and McFarland.
Hoffert is familiar with the program — he was a Hamburg assistant from 2005-09 and 2012-13 — and brings experience to the job. He breathed life back into Kutztown’s dormant program as head coach from 2014-16 and was Fleetwood’s offensive coordinator in 2019 when the Tigers went 8-3 and were No. 1 in the Berks League in total offense.
“We feel like we hit a home run,” athletic director Aaron Menapace said after Hoffert was hired in the offseason.
On schedule: The Frost Bowl, usually played on the final week of the regular season, will be played in Week 8, on Oct. 14, at Hamburg. The Hawks lead the series 24-22-1.
At the wire: Most of the coaches in the league are pointing to Hamburg, though Section 5 figures to be a close four-team race between the Hawks, Lancaster Catholic, Columbia and Annville-Cleona.
