Record-setting passers ready to turn up the heat in Frost Bowl

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2024 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

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Schuylkill Valley’s defense got put through the ringer in Week 2 against one of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s top dual threat quarterbacks. Bruce Harbach hopes the lessons his guys learned against Daniel Boone’s Haydn Moyer – who passed for 292 yards and ran for two touchdowns in the Panthers’ 31-27 win — will help them Friday in the Frost Bowl.

They’ll face another quarterback who can hurt them with his feet as well as his arm.

Tyler Shuey is on the cusp becoming Hamburg’s all-time passing leader. Much of his success is due to his ability to move around in the pocket, keeping plays alive; he’s also run for six scores this season.

Section 5
Sch. Valley	4-0	5-2
Hamburg	3-1	5-2
Lanc. Cath.	3-1	4-3
Ann.-Cleona	2-2	3-4
Berks Cath.	2-2	3-4
Pequea	2-2	4-3
Kutztown	0-4	0-7
Columbia	0-4	0-7

“We work a lot on scramble drills and picking up people down field,” said Harbach. “We’re tackling much better (than we were early in the season), and we’re containing a lot better.”

Shuey and his Schuylkill Valley counterpart, Logan Nawrocki, will be at the forefront of the 50^th meeting between the Hawks and Panthers Friday at Hamburg in a key Section 5 showdown. Their respective offenses are built around their ability to make adjustments that turn into big plays.

Shuey was the league’s most productive passer during the 2023 regular season, when he set a program record with 2,762 passing yards. He needs 68 yards to break Hamburg’s career passing record and 212 to reach 4,000.

Nawrocki, a senior and three-year starter, last week became Schuylkill Valley’s all-time passing leader; he needs 92 yards to reach 4,000.

Both could hit that rare milestone in a game that could evolve into a shootout, similar to the one Schuylkill Valley won 41-34 the last time these teams met on Hawk Hill in 2022.

It was a running back, Dominic Giuffre of Schuylkill Valley, who dominated that contest; he ran for a Frost Bowl record 302 yards and four TDs.

The Panthers (4-0, 5-2) haven’t been able to reproduce that kind of running game so they’ve turned to a more controlled passing game, with screens and shorter passes, to compensate for it.

That’s one of the reasons Nawrocki is completing over 71 percent of his passes and has thrown for a league-leading 1,360 yards and 20 TDs. That and the fact that he has a talented and experienced receiving crew. All-League wide receiver Kowen Gerner, tight end Luke Spotts and Dillon Lacker – each with 20 or more receptions – are seniors.

“They’ve been playing together for a long time,” Harbach said. “It’s easier to put new stuff in (with seniors) and they pick it up right away.”

The Hawks have defended the pass better than most teams – they’re ranked No. 6 in the league in pass defense – but they haven’t faced anyone nearly as good as Nawrocki or the Panthers, who have won four straight.

“They’ve been throwing the ball deep down the field,” Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert said. “They’re in tight games and they’re chuckin’ it downfield because their quarterback has that arm. We’ve gotta take that away, obviously.”

Schuylkill Valley survived its biggest scare two weeks ago at Berks Catholic when Nawrocki and Gerner connected on a 68-yard bomb in the final minute to pull out a 20-14 victory.

“Our offense presents a difficult problem for the defense,” Harbach said. “Who you gonna defend? If you double-team Kowen we’ve got three or four other guys that can catch the ball and run. We spread people out and make them defend the field.”

That experience has been the biggest difference between the teams. While the Panthers returned most of their key skills people from last season’s record-setting 10-win team the Hawks (3-1, 5-2) had a much bigger turnover, graduating all-league tight end Mason Semmel and all-league second-team wide receiver Cohen Correll.

Experience, or maturity, played a part in Hamburg’s surprising 24-17 loss last week at Pequea Valley. The Hawks took their eye off the ball, looking ahead to their big rival, and it cost them. Their chance of winning the Section 5 title outright is now pretty much gone. They’ll have to win out, including a trip to Berks Catholic next week, to get a share of the title.

“Our guys came out flat,” Hoffert said of losing to the 3-3 Braves. “I tried to keep them focused, but we came out and fumbled our opening kickoff and it deflated them.”

The Panthers are now alone in first place. If they win out – they close with home game against Annville-Cleona and nemesis Lancaster Catholic – they’ll claim the first outright championship in program history. Last year they shared the title with the Dutchmen and Crusaders.

“We knew last week that it could’ve been a trap game,” Harbach said of a 42-6 victory over winless Columbia. “We did a great job of being focused. We know from now on every week’s a championship game.”

Frost Bowl history

Hamburg leads 24-18-1

Year	Winner	Score	Winning coach
2023	Schuylkill Valley	28-13	Bruce Harbach
2022	Schuylkill Valley	41-34	Bruce Harbach
2021	Hamburg	21-13	Jeff Chillot
2020	Hamburg	45-6	Chuck Kutz
2019	Hamburg	42-7	Chuck Kutz
2018	Schuylkill Valley	14-13	Jeff Chillot
2017	Schuylkill Valley	13-7	Jeff Chillot
2016	Hamburg	23-14	Chuck Kutz
2015	Hamburg	49-7	Damian Buggy
2014	Schuylkill Valley	35-21	Jeff Chillot
2013	Schuylkill Valley	34-13	Jeff Chillot
2012	Schuylkill Valley	42-14	Jeff Chillot
2011	Schuylkill Valley	48-33	Jeff Chillot
2010	Schuylkill Valley	20-14	Jeff Chillot
2009	Hamburg	29-21	Joe Sinkovich
2008	Hamburg	38-16	Joe Sinkovich
2007	Hamburg	37-19	Joe Sinkovich
2006	Hamburg	42-6	Joe Sinkovich
2005	Schuylkill Valley	34-20	Cory Mabry
2004	Schuylkill Valley	27-8	Preston McKnight
2003	Schuylkill Valley	35-0	Preston McKnight
2002	Schuylkill Valley	14-7 OT	Preston McKnight
2001	Schuylkill Valley	55-6	Preston McKnight
2000	Hamburg	20-19	Rick Keeley
1999	Hamburg	28-6	Rick Keeley
1998	Schuylkill Valley	34-27	George Newton
1997	Hamburg	48-18	Joe Leonzi
1991	Hamburg	38-8	Bill Sakusky
1990	Hamburg	27-6	Bill Sakusky
1989	Hamburg	14-3	Bill Sakusky
1988	Hamburg	27-7	Bill Sakusky
1987	Schuylkill Valley	25-12	Jay Mosely
1986	Hamburg	36-0	Bill Sakusky
1985	Hamburg	56-8	Bill Sakusky
1984	Hamburg	41-12	Bill Sakusky
1983	Hamburg	13-6	Bill Sakusky
1982	Schuylkill Valley	20-14	Ted Jamula
1981	Hamburg	27-8	Joe Leonzi
1980	Hamburg	28-14	Joe Leonzi
1979	Tie	6-6	Joe Leonzi
1978	Hamburg	8-6	Joe Leonzi
1977	Hamburg	21-7	Joe Leonzi
1976	Schuylkill Valley	26-8	Pete Starr