Despite playoff loss, Schuylkill Valley has momentum going into next season
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
ELLIOTTSBURG — Schuylkill Valley’s football season came to an end with a 45-21 loss to West Perry in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal Friday night.
Second-year head coach Bruce Harbach said the season was a step in the right direction for what the Panthers are trying to build in Leesport.
Schuylkill Valley (6-5) finished with a winning record for the first time since the 2013 when they finished 7-4; the team’s record the past three seasons was a combined 6-22.
“Hey, you go from a 2-9 season a year ago and the Eastern Conference playoffs and then you go 6-5 this season to the district playoffs,” Harbach said. “That’s a testament to our seniors. That’s a testament to our coaching staff. Now that we’ve played against some good teams we have to understand what we’re up against next year.”
Those seniors have been through the wringer in their four seasons but stuck with it and set an exemplary example of how to persevere. The playoff season has allowed younger players to gain experience going forward.
“They were the ones who brought me up through this program,” sophomore running and defensive back Cooper Hohenadel. “They just helped me learn all the new stuff and it’s sad to see them go. Schuylkill Valley hasn’t gone to a district game in a long time. We just played our best ball this year.”
The Panthers hadn’t been to a district game since 2014; it was only their eighth district appearance ever.
The seniors and Harbach planted the seed for success and now younger contributors such as Hohenadel, sophomore quarterback Logan Nawrocki, junior running back Dominic Giuffre and sophomore tight end Lucas Spotts will be looked upon to take what they’ve learned and keep it going next year.
“We just want to win,” Hohenadel said. “We want to get that district medal in our hand and just know what it’s like to win a district championship.”
That’s what the sixth-seeded Panthers will have to focus on in the offseason. The third-seeded Mustangs (10-1) kept that goal alive as they moved on to face No. 2 Lancaster Catholic in the semifinals next Friday.
Quarterback Marcus Quaker scored on a 5-yard run after West Perry recovered Schuylkill Valley’s fumble on the opening kickoff. Quaker ran 64 yards for a TD on the next drive and threw a 22-yard touchdown to Trent Herrera with 6:00 left in the first quarter.
Ian Goodling — remember that name — hit a 43-yard field goal with 3:02 left and the Mustangs led 24-0 at the end of the first.
Giuffre caught a screen from Nawrocki and weaved his way to a 35-yard touchdown for the Panthers early in the second quarter.
Goodling knocked in another field goal, this time from 27 yards, to give the Mustangs a 27-7 lead at halftime.
West Perry pulled away in the third quarter as it scored on a 1-yard run from Derek Snook and a 19-yard interception return by Brad Hockenberry.
Goodling hit a 48-yard field goal, a West Perry program record, in the fourth and the Mustangs went up 45-7.
Nawrocki threw touchdowns to Hohenadel (31 yards) and Spotts (34 yards) in the fourth, showing a bit of the potential the young Panthers have.
Giuffre led the team with 57 rushing yards, Nawrocki had 136 passing yards, Spotts had 51 receiving yards, and Hohenadel had an interception and 40 yards on offense. The future is bright for the Panthers.
“We have eight starters on offense back, (we) just have to replace one or two lineman and see what happens,” Harbach said. “Now with the success of our program (this season) maybe we can get more kids out and build this program up.
“We made a giant leap forward from two to six wins and we’ll build on that for next year.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Perry | 24 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 45 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | West Perry | Quaker, 5 run (Goodling kick) | 11:19 |
| 1 | West Perry | Quaker, 64 run (Goodling kick) | 9:39 |
| 1 | West Perry | Herrera, 21 pass from Quaker (Goodling kick) | 6:00 |
| 1 | West Perry | Goodling, 43 FG | 3:02 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 35 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 9:22 |
| 2 | West Perry | Goodling, 27 FG | 0:00 |
| 3 | West Perry | Snook, 1 run (Goodling pass from Quaker) | 9:48 |
| 3 | West Perry | Hockenberry, 19 interception return (Goodling kick) | 3:03 |
| 4 | West Perry | Goodling, 48 FG | 9:02 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Hohenadel, 31 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 7:30 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Spotts, 34 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 0:10 |
Team statistics
| West Perry | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 20 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 43-261 | 31-140 |
| Passing yards | 149 | 136 |
| Total yards | 410 | 276 |
| Passes | 8-13-1 | 9-19-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 5-1 | 3-2 |
| Punts-average | 1-54 | 6-34.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-25 | 3-28 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
West Perry: Quaker 12-152, Herrera 12-55, Snook 5-29, Ziegler 5-11, Brown 5-9, Rathfon 2-4, Jutba 2-1.
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 18-57, Nawrocki 5-43, Stelluti 5-25, Hohenadel 2-12, Goad 1-3.
PASSING
West Perry: Quaker 6-9-1–99, Brown 1-1-0–32, Jutba 1-2-0–18, Team 0-1-0–0.
Schuylkill Valley: Nawrocki 9-17-1–136, Goad 0-2-0–0.
RECEIVING
West Perry: Goodling 4-65, Bassett 1-32, Herrera 1-22, Brown 1-14, Snook 1-12, Yoder 0-4.
Schuylkill Valley: Spotts 3-51, Hohenadel 2-28, Lackner 2-20, Giuffre 1-35, Aletras 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS
West Perry: Hockenberry.
Schuylkill Valley: Hohenadel.