It’s the best of the best in the Lancaster-Lebanon League: The ‘Big 37’

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2024 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

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The backfield includes a pair of 2,000-yard rushers, three 2,000-yard passers, and a dual-threat quarterback who has run and passed for more than 8,000 yards in his career.

Up front there are the Outstanding Linemen from each of the five sections in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

Across the board there are multiple-position standouts who could – and frequently did – break open games in all three phases of the game.

Welcome to the third annual Big 37, featuring the best of the best in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

The team, selected by Jeff Reinhart of LNP/LancasterOnline.com and Mike Drago of MikeDragoSports.com, includes the top players from across the 37-team league. It was determined by weighing the league’s five all-section teams and top award recipients, college potential, statistics, conversations with coaches, and personal observations.

Each player’s overall game was considered and two- and three-way players were given special consideration. Most of the 37 players selected stand out on both sides of the ball; several are listed at Athlete because they are just too talented to be defined by one position.

No one fits that description better than Lampeter-Strasburg’s Caileb Howse, who intercepted more passes as a defensive back (six) than he threw as a quarterback (three) over a 15-game run to the PIAA championship game.

Howse ran for seven touchdowns and 334 yards and passed for an eighth TD in a for-the-ages performance against Twin Valley, which was ranked No. 1 in the state at the time. In a win over Elco he scored three defensive touchdowns.

Wilson’s Madyx Gruber fits into that all-around category, too. He was an all-league receiver as a junior before stepping up to fill a hole at quarterback in West Lawn and ended up passing for 2,058 yards and 25 touchdowns and rushing for over 700 yards and nine TDs. In one incredible performance against rival Gov. Mifflin he passed for 232 yards and five TDs and rushed for 204 yards.

There’s also Twin Valley veteran Evan Myers, who passed for 1,000 yards four straight seasons and ended up with 5,772 career passing yards, 2,305 rushing yards, a combined 87 touchdowns, and 32 victories.

Howse is one of six selections from Lampeter-Strasburg, the most of any team. Conestoga Valley, which made a perfect run to the Section 2 title, has four selections, including 2,000-yard passer Sawyer Esbenshade.

Wilson, Wyomissing, Manheim Township and Schuylkill Valley, the Section 5 champ, each have three selections. All told 18 teams are represented.

The offensive lineup includes five running backs – led by 2,000-yard rushers Jayden Zandier of Exeter and Cameron Small of Muhlenberg – three quarterbacks – including Schuylkill Valley’s Logan Nawrocki, who led the league with 2,559 passing yards and 35 TDs – two wide receivers and two tight ends, including Schuylkill Valley’s Luke Spotts, who led the league with 60 receptions.

There is no shortage of beef with seven offensive linemen, among them Section 2 Outstanding Lineman and Navy recruit Logan Wegman of Exeter and Section 3 Outstanding Lineman Thomas Dattoli of Cocalico, a first-team pick on both offense and defense.

It’s difficult for specialists to squeeze onto elite lists such as this but Lampeter-Strasburg’s Peter Fiorello forced his way on by converting 67-of-68 PATs and 11-of-13 field goals, including three in a thrilling overtime win in the District 3 Class 4A championship game and two the following week in a 20-16 state semifinal victory.

Eleven of the 37 picks play in Section 4, not surprising since that section boasts three teams which spent most of the season ranked in the Top 10 in the state: Lampeter-Strasburg, Wyomissing, and Twin Valley. (Those three teams were a combined 28-2 against outside competition.)

Three players return from last year’s 37-man squad: Zandier, Section 3 Offensive Lineman of the Year Tyler Groff of Manheim Central, and Section 5 Outstanding Lineman Jonathan Shay of Annville-Cleona.

Four underclassmen selected last year were not chosen for this year’s team.

The team features two sophomores – tight end Michael Glover of Wilson and two-way back and kick returner Justice Hardy of Wyomissing – and eight juniors.

The juniors: Wide receiver Malachi Briddle of Lebanon, Section 5 Linebacker of the Year Logan Cammauf of Schuylkill Valley, two-way all-league pick Chase Eisenhower of Wyomissing,

Section 5 Offensive Lineman of the Year Palmer Reber of Berks Catholic, Section 5 Offensive Back of the Year Brandon Way of Lancaster Catholic, Esbenshade, Fiorello and Small.

Big 37 lineup

WR	Malachi Briddell	Lebanon	Jr.
RB/LB	Dominic Brown	Lampeter-Strasburg	Sr.
LB	Logan Cammauf	Schuylkill Valley	Jr.
RB/LB	Declan Clancy	Manheim Township	Sr.
C/DL	Justin Corson	Conestoga Valley	Sr.
OL/DL	Thomas Dattoli	Cocalico	Sr.
FB/LB	Chase Eisenhower	Wyomissing	Jr.
QB	Sawyer Esbenshade	Conestoga Valley	Jr.
DL/OL	Carter Faubel	Twin Valley	Sr.
PK	Peter Fiorello	Lampeter	Jr.
QB/P	Donovan Gingrich	Conrad Weiser	Sr.
TE	Michael Glover	Wilson	So.
OL/DL	Tyler Groff	Manheim Central	Sr.
ATH	Madyx Gruber	Wilson	Sr.
TE/LB	Emory Fluhr	Lampeter-Strasburg	Sr.
ATH	Justice Hardy	Wyomissing	So.
ATH	Caileb Howse	Lampeter-Strasburg	Sr.
LB	Christo Hunsicker	Wilson	Sr.
DL	Julian Larue	Manheim Township	Sr.
LB	Gabriel Laws	Reading	Sr.
DL	Tristan Long	Cedar Crest	Sr.
OL	Owen Marks	Manheim Township	Sr.
LB	Seth Morgan	Conestoga Valley	Sr.
QB	Evan Myers	Twin Valley	Sr.
QB	Logan Nawrocki	Schuylkill Valley	Sr.
OL/DL	Palmer Reber	Berks Catholic	Jr.
WR/LS	Evan Rittle	Conrad Weiser	Sr.
KR/DB	Isaiah Sensenig	Conestoga Valley	Sr.
RB/DL	Jonathan Shay	Annville-Cleona	Sr.
RB/DB	Cameron Small	Muhlenberg	Jr.
TE/LB	Luke Spotts	Schuylkill Valley	Sr.
OL/DL	Max Tipton	Wyomissing	Sr.
RB/DB	Brandon Way	Lancaster Catholic	Jr.
OL/DL	Logan Wegman	Exeter	Sr.
WR/LB	Danny Weichler	Lampeter-Strasburg	Sr.
RB/KR	Jayden Zandier	Exeter	Sr.
OL/LS	Carson Zook	Lampeter-Strasburg	Sr.