Schuylkill Valley Panthers hit a triple on Class 3A All-State team
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It may have seemed like hyperbole at the time but early in his first year at Schuylkill Valley Bruce Harbach compared some of his freshmen to the All-State players he had coached at Lancaster Catholic.
Four seasons later many of those projections have come true, with quarterback Logan Nawrocki and tight end Luke Spotts, both seniors, and junior linebacker Logan Cammauf earning spots today on the Pennsylvania Football Writers Class 3A All-State team.
Nawrocki and Spotts were freshman in Harbach’s first season with the Panthers, 2021; Cammauf joined them a season later. They were program building blocks who helped Schuylkill Valley to 18 wins the past two seasons, most in back-to-back seasons in the program’s 52-season history.
The Panthers went 9-3 this season and made a perfect run through Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League to claim their first outright league championship. Last year they went 9-3 and shared the title, their first of any kind in football.
Schuylkill Valley previously had eight players earn All-State honors but this marks the first time it has had as many as three in the same year.
“It’s an honor for (us) to do that,” Harbach said. “It’s great for the program, great for the community, a shot in the arm for our program.”
Running back Eli Zimmerman of PIAA Class 3A champ Northwestern Lehigh is the Player of the Year. Northwestern Lehigh’s Josh Snyder is Coach of the Year.
Zimmerman led Northwestern to the PIAA title by rushing for a program-record 2,665 yards. He also had 28 receptions for 277. He returned six punts for touchdowns and led the team with six interceptions. Overall, he scored 38 touchdowns.
Northwestern Lehigh, which beat Avonworth 36-33 to capture its first state championship, is represented with five selections on the All-State team. State semifinalist Danville, which fell to Northwestern 31-14, has four selections.
Schuylkill Valley is one of three teams with three picks, along with North Schuylkill and Scranton Prep.
The 6-1, 175-pound Nawrocki set a Berks record with 35 touchdowns passes and set program records with 2,559 passing yards and a 66.6 percent completion rate. His 63 career passing TDs are second in Berks history, to Chad Henne. His 35 TDs eclipsed the record of 34 by Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro in 2008.
“He’s right up there with the other (top) quarterbacks I’ve coached,” said Harbach, “like Chad Henne, Shane Stafford (both at Wilson), Kyle Smith and Nick Downey (both at Lancaster Catholic).”
Nawrocki’s passing yards were tops in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. He threw only four interceptions in 264 attempts and set a program record with a 188.8 passing efficiency rating, third-best in the league.
The 6-2, 220-pound Spotts led the Lancaster-Lebanon League with 60 receptions, most ever by a tight end in Berks County. The previous Berks high was 54, by Conrad Weiser’s Matt Weiser in 2010.
Spotts scored a hat trick among L-L receivers, leading the 37-team league with 975 receiving yards and 10 TD catches.
“Luke is always there,” Nawrocki said. “He’s reliable. When I’m checking down, I know he can get a first down (throwing to him); he can break anything away.”
Spotts, who was also a first-team pick linebacker in Section 5, moved into the Panthers starting lineup as a freshman.
“I knew right away (he would have success),” said Harbach, who often compared Spotts to Lancaster Catholic All-State tight ends Ryan Purvis and Matt Balasavage. “He’s one of the better tight ends I’ve coached, and I’ve coached some good ones, too. He runs great routes. He has good speed, good hands. He’s a good downfield blocker.”
The 6-foot, 165-pound Cammauf was Linebacker of the Year in Section 5 after recording 193 tackles, an average of 16.1 per game and tops in Berks. He had 20 tackles for loss, third-most in Berks.
“He’s like our foundation,” Nawrocki said. “He gives it his all every play. Every play you can count on him.”
“His motor never stops running,” Harbach said. “He finds the gaps and shoots the gap. His quickness and his ability read offenses is phenomenal. He’s a fine football player, both sides of the ball.”
Cammauf led the Panthers in rushing and came up with his biggest play of the season in the biggest game, a 40-29 win over Lancaster Catholic that completed a perfect run through Section 5. With the Panthers needing 2 yards late in the game for a clinching first down, Cammauf took it 64 yards for a touchdown. Earlier in that game he blocked a punt late that led to a score.
“That’s a credit to our coaching staff,” Harbach said of Schuylkill Valley’s All-State haul. “(Our assistant coaches are) great teachers and worked with those kids for four years. That makes a big difference. And you’ve gotta have the work ethic by the kids. They knew they would be good when they were freshmen and they just worked their tails off.”
CLASS 3A ALL-STATE TEAM
Player of the Year: Eli Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh
Coach of the Year: Josh Snyder, Northwestern Lehigh
OFFENSE
Quarterback
Matt Bodnar, Notre Dame-Green Pond – 6-1, 185 junior
Madden Patrick, Danville – 6-1, 185 senior
Aiden Patton, Brockway – 6-3, 185 sophomore
Logan Nawrocki, Schuylkill Valley – 6-1, 175 senior
Running Back
Eli Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh – 5-7, 160 senior
Bo Sheptock, Danville – 5-11, 195 senior
Jeremiah Davis, Lewisburg – 5-9, 185 senior
Lidge Kellum, Wyoming Area – 5-10, 170 senior
Josh Vinton, Western Wayne – 5-8, 185 senior
Jakob Lesher, Mid Valley – 6-3, 175 senior
Wide Receiver
Blake Pisarcik, Brockway – 6-0, 181 senior
Cole Duffy, Danville – 5-9, 160 senior
Jaylen Delaney, Mount Carmel – 5-10, 170 sophomore
Amari Jackson, Beaver – 6-1, 175 senior
Jay Hoenstine, Central – 5-7, 135 senior
Tight End
Luke Spotts, Schuylkill Valley – 6-2, 220 senior
Offensive Line
Noah Shimko, Mount Carmel – 6-5, 320 senior
Chase DeSanto, Wyoming Area – 6-4, 280 senior
Logan Anthony, Palmerton – 6-4, 315 junior
Luke Lewis, Hickory – 6-2, 310 junior
Preston Farabaugh, Penn Cambria – 6-0, 240 senior
Aiden Zilker, North Schuylkill – 6-5, 300 junior
Athlete
Louis Paris, Scranton Prep – 5-11, 220 senior
Gavin Harrold, Penn Cambria – 5-11, 185 senior
Luke Miller, North Schuylkill – 5-11, 160 junior
DEFENSE
Defensive Line
Bryer Reichard, Northwestern Lehigh – 6-4, 240 senior
Mason Metz, Avonworth – 6-1, 215 senior
Brendan Alexander, Central Valley – 6-4, 270 junior
Chris Climes, Elizabeth-Forward – 6-3, 300 senior
Linebacker
Shane Hulmes, Northwestern Lehigh – 6-0, 207 junior
Cameron Kiersch, Danville – 6-0, 218 senior
Dayshaun Burnett, Imani Christian – 6-4, 220 senior
Reese Tanner, Scranton Prep – 5-11, 230 senior
Brady Zimmerman, Northwestern Lehigh – 5-8, 140 sophomore
Logan Cammauf, Schuylkill Valley – 6-0, 165 junior
Defensive Back
Jadon Phillips, Hickory – 5-11, 170 sophomore
Luca Neal, Avonworth – 5-10, 185 junior
Will McPartland, Scranton Prep – 6-0, 195 senior
Sean Owens, Western Wayne – 6-0, 185 senior
Athlete
Mason Bollinger, Northwestern Lehigh – 6-2, 186 junior
Christian Joy, Trinity – 5-9, 170 senior
Jonathan Shay, Annville-Cleona – 6-3, 210 senior
Specialist
Gavin Mentzer, North Schuylkill – 6-1, 210 senior
Schuylkill Valley’s All-State picks
| 2024 | Logan Cammauf | LB |
| 2024 | Logan Nawrocki | QB |
| 2024 | Luke Spotts | TE |
| 2022 | Dominic Giuffre | RB |
| 2004 | Cody Minnich | DL |
| 2003 | Matt Korn | QB |
| 2001 | Dane Miller | DL |
| 2000 | Nate Ottaviani | WR |
| 1999 | Ernie Woolf | WR |
| 1998 | Darin Tranquillo | PK |
| 1998 | Ernie Woolf | WR |
