Diohnny Ruiz surprised to learn he’s Hamburg’s first All-State pick

Hamburg’s never had a football player with the credentials Diohnny Ruiz has compiled over his four seasons.

The senior running back set records for rushing yards in a season and career, led the Hawks to their first district playoff victory and Tuesday achieved something no other Hamburg football player has: First-team All-State status.

The 5-11, 185-pound Ruiz was selected as an Athlete on the 45-player Pennsylvania Football Writers’ All-State team.

He is the first Hamburg player named first-team All-State. The Hawks had several players selected as honorable mention picks in the 1980s, but none since.

“That’s crazy,” said Ruiz after learning of his selection. “Honestly, its indescribable. All this extra stuff, it all adds onto the season we had and just makes it better.”

Ruiz set program records with 1,313 rushing yards in a season and 2,652 in a career. His 41 career touchdowns are second-most in program history, behind only Vreeland Wood’s 46.

“(Making All-State) was one of my goals this season, but I didn’t think I was gonna be that good,” he said. “My line helped; they’ve been putting in the work. I just ran; I saw a hole and just ran.”

Ruiz’s 21 rushing touchdowns this season tied the program record of Bryan Wagner, set in 1997; he also tied Wagner’s career mark of 36 rushing TDs.

“He’s a game-changer,” his coach, Jeff Chillot, said earlier this year. “Every time he touches the ball he expects to score. He is a special player.”

Ruiz never saw anything like this coming growing up. He said he was a “chubby” kid who played center when he first started playing flag football in Hamburg.

Later he was moved to end. He got some reps at running back during junior high and got a chance to run the football as a ninth-grader because of injuries late in the season.

He scored a pair of touchdowns as a freshman, then rushed for 726 yards and 10 TDs as a sophomore.

Ruiz joined the track team in junior high, lost 20 pounds, and began to come into his own as an athlete.

“I did track, and that really helped me,” he said.

Ruiz averaged 11.0 yards per carry this season, and 8.9 during his career. Only Gov. Mifflin’s Nick Singleton, who averaged 12.7 yards per carry, had a higher per-carry average among Berks backs with 50 or more rushing attempts. Ruiz also averaged 36.5 yards on kickoff returns and 16.2 yards on punt returns.

Ruiz lists his 40-yard time as 4.61 on his Hudl page, and his best time in the 100 as 11.4.

In Hamburg’s first District 3 playoff victory, a 31-27 win over Bermudian Springs, he rushed for 89 yards and caught two passes for 30 yards. His 47-yard TD with 10:49 remaining gave the Hawks a 31-21 lead.

Ruiz rushed for 100 yards seven times as a senior. He was an all-league pick at running back in Section 2 of the Berks Football League and a second-team pick at kick returner.He was named Wyomissing Physical Therapy Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 230 yards (on just seven carries) in a 47-34 win over Kutztown.

Earlier this month he received a Mini Maxwell Award.

He was a second-team pick at kick returner as a junior on the Pennsylvania Football News Class 3A All-State team, selected by coaches.