Two Tys make for one big win for Hawks
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Chris Deantonio — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
You only get one chance to leave a first impression. Hamburg’s new starting quarterback Tyler Shuey made sure to leave a good one as he guided the Hawks to a 49-19 non-league victory in a season-opener Friday night at Hawk Hill
After a fairly slow opening quarter, Shuey made the most of his first start, tossing three touchdowns to receiver Ty Werley and rushing for a score in a 28-point second quarter.
Shuey connected with Werley for touchdowns of 87, 27 and 54 yards.
“The connection with all the receivers is great,” said Shuey. “We’re all close, we always have been close, but today (Werley) was getting open.”
Werley was targeted often, finishing with five receptions for a program-record 253 yards and three touchdowns, which matched a program record
Shuey completed 10-of-15 pass attempts for 356 yards, second-most in program history, and four touchdowns. He also ran for 72 yards and two scores, including a 23-yard touchdown run on the opening drive of the second half.
“He’s looked really good in practice for the last couple of weeks,” said Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert. “He looks like a leader on the field. After his first pass attempt, he was all right.”
The Hawks relied on that leadership to get them out 7-0 deficit. Their first two possessions ended with a punt and a failed fourth-down conversion.
Halifax opened the game with a 74-yard touchdown drive that was capped off with a 2-yard run by quarterback Teegan Carroll. Hamburg responded with a touchdown from junior running back Leland Moore, making it 7-7 after the first quarter.
That’s when Shuey started looking for Werley, hitting him for touchdowns on consecutive pass attempts, and the Hawks led the rest of the way.
“I talk to my guys a lot about how things are going to go wrong, but it’s about how you react to that,” Hoffert said. “And we picked ourselves up and we finished.”
Shuey made sure to finish strong too, tossing a 71-yard touchdown pass to Mason Semmel for the final Hawks score of the night.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Halifax | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 19 |
| Hamburg | 7 | 28 | 14 | 0 | 49 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Halifax | Carroll, 2 run (Stewart kick) | 9:25 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Moore, 1 run (Blatt kick) | 1:50 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Werley, 87 pass from Shuey (Blatt kick) | 8:55 |
| 2 | Halifax | Carroll, 40 run (Stewart kick failed) | 8:26 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Werley, 27 pass from Shuey (Blatt kick) | 7:52 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Werley, 54 pass from Shuey (Blatt kick) | 3:52 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Shuey, 12 run (Blatt kick) | 0:35 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Shuey, 23 run (Blatt kick) | 10:16 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Semmel, 71 pass from Shuey (Blatt kick) | 1:22 |
| 4 | Halifax | Bechtel, 56 pass from Carroll (Stewart kick failed) | 3:56 |
Team statistics
| Halifax | Hamburg | |
| First downs | 17 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-126 | 26-152 |
| Passing yards | 236 | 356 |
| Total yards | 362 | 508 |
| Passes | 13-29-2 | 10-14-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-26 | 3-35 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-28 | 8-70 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Halifax: Carroll 15-82, Miller 12-47, Bechtel 1-(-3).
Hamburg: Shuey 5-72, Moore 11-63, Ernst 3-(-9), Senft 2-9, Ortiz 1-8, Buono 1-6, Horvath 1-3, Oviedo 1-0, Villafane 1-0.
PASSING
Halifax: Carroll 13-29-2-236.
Hamburg: Shuey 10-15-0-356.
RECEIVING
Halifax: Ranck 4-77, Bechtel 3-63, Readinger 2-52, Enders 2-27, Areford 1-11, Miller 1-6.
Hamburg: Werley 5-253, Semmel 3-94, Moore 1-8, Correll 1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS
Hamburg: Horvath, Bentz.
