Season preview: Fleetwood Tigers
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Top Players To Watch in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
What to expect in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
Classification: Class 5A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 0-6 league, 3-7 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2019.
Head coach: Steve Pangburn, fourth season, 11-20.
Key losses: QB/WR & all-league DB Tristin McFarland, RB and second-team all-league LB Jason Petion, WR/DB Davyan Moore, WR/S Chase Domenech, second-team all-league E Landon Hare, second-team all-league LB Trey Killian, C Cody Harder, T Brandon Delgrosso.
Top offensive players: QB Chase McMonagle, RB Nate Kummerer, RB/Slot Beau Fegely, RB AJ Barber, H-back/WR Bryce Ryan, H-back Parker Detwiler, Slot Bryan Robledo, WR Chase Adams, C Thomas Calm, G Anthony Garipoli, G Gabe Narvez, T Shane Pekuri, T Dawson Helmick, PK Gryffin Cappellano.
Top defensive players: E/T Shane Pekuri, E Max Desir, E Bryce Ryan, T Gabe Narvez, T Colin Dragan, ILB Tanner Zornek, ILB Parker Detwiler, OLB Hunter Domenech, OLB AJ Barber, S Beau Fegely, S Chase Adams, CB Nate Kummerer, CB Joisah Mitchell, P Gryffin Cappellano.
Did you know? This is the Tigers’ 25th season. The program debuted in 2001 but did not win a game until 2003, opening with 31 straight losses. After 12 straight losing season they broke through with a 6-5 record in 2013.
For the record: Chase Domenech recorded the longest scoring play in program history last year with a 98-yard scoring catch against Fleetwood.
On schedule: The Tigers open the season against Kutztown in the Hall of Fame Trophy game, looking to extend their winning streak over the Cougars to eight games. They have won 13-of-14 in the series and lead 13-10. The rivals have been playing for the Hall of Fame trophy since 2013.
Quotable: “This is a group of great kids, with high character. They’re going to stick together through thick and thin and figure out a way to get things done. That’s why my optimism is so high, because when you have a group that can buy in and not play as individuals, you do some good things.” — Tigers coach Steve Pangburn
Outlook: The Tigers didn’t hit full stride last year until midseason when Chase McMonagle, sidelined by a back injury, was first able to get on the field. Once he started throwing passes to a top-notch receiving corps the Tigers became a dangerous team.
Still, they couldn’t get over the hump in close games. They had a chance to knock off Manheim Central but failed to convert a two-point conversion in the final minutes of a 28-26 loss. They nearly upset Cocalico, taking a lead into the fourth quarter before surrendering the go-ahead score with 6 ½ minutes to go.
“We were in four one-possession games,” said fourth-year coach Steve Pangburn, who has taken Fleetwood to a pair of postseason berths. “A play here or a play there, you convert some of those one-score games and can flip that record (from 3-7) to 7-3.”
McMonagle showed he could be one of the top quarterbacks in the league, throwing for nearly 1,400 yards and 10 touchdowns in just six games. He’s back for his senior season and gives the Tigers the kind of leader and passer winning teams need.
Problem is all those great targets he had are gone. Tristin McFarland and Chase Domenech, who combined for 46 receptions and more than 700 yards, graduated. Leading receiver Davyan Moore, an all-league pick as a sophomore who would’ve been the focal point of the offense this eyar, moved out of the district during the offseason.
That leaves the Tigers with a group of young and untested skills players: Bryce Ryan is the only receiver who had a catch; Nate Kummerer is the only back who had a carry.
Overall, just six starters return, and there are only nine seniors on the roster.
Pangburn is high on Kummerer, likes his receiving corps, and is impressed with the strides McMonagle has made since last season.
Gryffin Cappellano provides the Tigers with a weapon in the kicking game; he booted a 45-yeard field goal, the longest in program history (and the longest in Berks last year) in his first year of football. He also converted a 40-yarder.
Section 3 was wide open last season when traditional powers Manheim Central and Cocalico were off from their usual standards. They’ll both be better this year, as will section favorite Solanco, making the league schedule much more demanding.
At the wire: Tigers too young and untested to compete with top teams in Section 3.
