Narrow defeat has Hawks looking ahead to a rematch against Crusaders
LANCASTER — It didn’t take long for Xander Menapace to shake off Hamburg’s first defeat. Minutes after a stinging 38-35 loss to Lancaster Catholic in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 battle of unbeatens Friday night the Hawks’ senior quarterback was readying himself for a rematch.
“We’ll get ’em back,” he said assuredly. “We’ll see ’em later.”
Come November, and the District 3 Class 3A playoffs, there’s a good chance the Hawks (2-1, 5-1) and Crusaders (3-0, 6-0) will share the same field again.
Next time, Menapace insists, things will be different.
Next time he should have Pierce Mason lining up in the backfield next him, not standing on the sideline with a boot encasing his right foot.
That could certainly make a difference after seeing how evenly matched the Hawks and Crusaders were Friday as they took turns driving the field on each other.
Neither defense could get a stop.
The Hawks piled up 22 first downs and 458 yards. Menapace rushed for 164 yards and three scores. Senior Derek Ruiz, who saw his role expand with Mason unavailable due to a foot injury, went for 149 yards and two touchdowns; he also caught four passes, and picked one off.
Even without the league’s touchdown leader and No. 2 rusher the Hawks had little trouble moving the chains.
They just couldn’t stop the Crusaders (3-0, 6-0), ranked No. 8 in the state in Class 3A, from doing likewise or from cashing in on their mistakes.
Two of the biggest came back-to-back in the opening minutes of the second half, putting Hamburg in a hole it spent the rest of the game clawing out of.
First, RJ Gonzalez returned a kickoff 85 yards for a TD on the opening play of the second half, snapping a 14-14 tie.
A couple minutes later Jaevon Parker, a menace all night as a wide receiver, came up with the play of the game on defense when he stripped Hamburg’s Alex Bentz of the ball after a catch and took it back 45 yards for a touchdown and 28-14 lead.
Hamburg eventually came back to tie it in the final minutes only to see Gavin Tregea give Lancaster Catholic the lead for good with a short field goal with 1:16 remaining.
The Hawks were able to overcome the loss of Mason but not their own mistakes and those back-to-back, tone-setting scores early in the final half.
“Big plays win games, and they had more big plays than us,” said Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert. “That kickoff return was huge.”
The Hawks, ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 3A, tied it 35-35 on Ruiz’s 7-yard run with 4:43 left.
They were moving into position to take the lead as Ruiz took a swing pass 26 yards to the Catholic 30 before fumbling it away. It was Hamburg’s third turnover.
The Hawks got the ball back once more, at the Catholic 37 with 37 seconds left after a shanked punt that traveled 2 yards. They got to the 30 before time ran out.
“You just never give up, because you never know what’s going to happen in a football game,” Hoffert said. “We were right there. I’m proud of my guys, they didn’t give up. We can learn a lot from this, good and bad.”
Seconds after Ruiz tied the game Parker had the Hawks on their heels again. His dazzling 43-yard catch-and-run — more run than catch, as he cut back across the field, then spun and his twisted his way to the Hamburg 20 — set up the deciding score.
That was the last of his seven receptions, good for 140 yards, nearly half of Lancaster Catholic’s offense. He also had an interception to go along with the fumble return for a TD.
The Hawks moved the ball consistently but they didn’t have the quick-strike capability they have when Mason has his hands on the ball. He has scored three or more touchdowns in every game and averages nearly 14 yards per carry.
“Derek did a great job tonight, and Xander ran the ball super hard, so I can’t say having Pierce wins us this game or not,” Hoffert said. “He’s definitely a difference-maker when he’s in there.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hamburg | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
| Lancaster Catholic | 6 | 8 | 21 | 3 | 38 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Lancaster Catholic | Parker, 15 pass from Cranford (kick failed) | 8:15 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Ruiz, 33 run (Blatt kick) | 6:37 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Menapace, 4 run (Blatt kick) | 3:18 |
| 2 | Lancaster Catholic | Cunningham, 8 run (Dresch, pass from Cranford) | 9:17 |
| 3 | Lancaster Catholic | Gonzalez, 85 kickoff return (Tregea kick) | 11:44 |
| 3 | Lancaster Catholic | Parker, 45 fumble return (Tregea kick) | 9:36 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Menapace, 14 run (Blatt kick) | 8:54 |
| 3 | Lancaster Catholic | Cunningham, 6 run (Tregea kick) | 5:25 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Menapace, 2 run (Blatt kick) | 3:18 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Ruiz, 7 run (Blatt kick) | 4:43 |
| 4 | Lancaster Catholic | Tregea, 23 FG | 1:16 |
Team statistics
| Hamburg | Lancaster Catholic | |
| First downs | 22 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-320 | 33-133 |
| Passing yards | 128 | 195 |
| Total yards | 448 | 318 |
| Passes | 11-21-1 | 12-19-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-26.5 | 3-18.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-68 | 5-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hamburg: Menapace 17-164, Ruiz 21-149, Moore 2-10, Shuey 1-(-3).
Lancaster Catholic: Cunningham 18-91, Cranford 3-23, Fields 7-23, Crawley 4-5.
PASSING
Hamburg: Menapace 11-21-1–128.
Lancaster Catholic: Cranford 12-19-2–195.
RECEIVING
Hamburg: Werley 4-65, Ruiz 4-40, Semmel 1-10, Brady 1-7, Bentz 1-6.
Lancaster Catholic: Parker 7-140, Acker 2-8. Gonzalez 1-26, Sullivan 1-15, Dresch 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
Hamburg: Ruiz, Correll.
Lancaster Catholic: Parker.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Hamburg: Clark 33.
