Dominic Giuffre carries Schuylkill Valley to Frost Bowl victory over Hamburg
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
Dominic Giuffre’s first Frost Bowl victory will be one to remember.
The Schuylkill Valley junior turned the annual rivalry game into his personal showcase, breaking a pair of long touchdown runs in the first half and going for over 300 yards in a 41-34 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 victory on Hawk Hill Friday night.
One week after rushing for a career-best 202 yards in a 35-6 win over Columbia Giuffre topped that total in the first half alone, boosted by TD runs of 63 and 96 yards. He also had a 7-yard TD run in the first quarter and a fourth TD in the third quarter. He also scored four TDs last week.
The win was the sixth straight for the Panthers (5-0, 6-2) and keeps them in line for a season-ending Section 5 showdown with Lancaster Catholic, which is also unbeaten in league play.
The Panthers snapped Hamburg’s three-game winning streak in the series.
Hamburg’s Pierce Mason ran for a 36-yard TD to make it a one-possession game with 44 seconds remaining but Schuylkill Valley recovered the ensuing onside kick to secure the win.
Giuffre started slowly before finding the end zone three times in a 14-minute span to give Schuylkill Valley a 27-6 lead heading into halftime.
The Panthers’ defense, which has played increasingly well throughout the winning streak, did a strong job of containing Mason, who scored 18 touchdowns in the first five games before sustaining an ankle injury. He seemed to lack explosion on his carries and had trouble finding creases in the Panthers’ defense. He rushed for just 14 yards in the first half.
The Hawks offense came to life in the second half, scoring four touchdowns but the Hamburg defense never found a way to slow the Panthers or Giuffre, who finished with 302 yards.
A series of mistakes by the Hawks (3-2, 6-2) cost them field position and early scoring opportunities. They handed the Panthers the ball at their own 20 midway through the first quarter when punter Xander Menapace’s knee hit the ground as he tried to field a low snap from center.
Four plays later Giuffre had his first touchdown and Schuylkill Valley led 10-0.
Hamburg got an 83-yard kickoff return to the 5 by Daniel Brady in the second quarter but settled for a field goal when a holding penalty wiped out a Menapace touchdown run.
The Hawks took over at the Panthers’ 24 following Brady’s punt return but were hit with a pair of penalties and again settled for three points when a touchdown would’ve tied the game.
Schuylkill Valley set the tone at the outset, opening the game with a 13-play drive to the 19 where they got a 35-yard field goal from Noah Wamsher to take a lead they would never relinquish.
Wamsher ended the first half with a 43-yard field goal as time expired.
The Hawks, the preseason favorite in Section 5, won their first five games before a 38-35 loss at Lancaster Catholic. Mason, the league’s leading scorer through the first half of the season with 18 TDs, was injured and couldn’t play in that game. He returned on a limited basis last week.
The Panthers have turned things around after an 0-2 start, most of the gains being made on the defensive side. They allowed just seven TDs during their five-game winning streak before Friday and an average of just 54 rushing yards per game. Over their past three games they’ve come up with 11 takeaways.
“They’re hungry, they’re aggressive, and they’re going to try to take advantage of things,” Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert said earlier in the week. “If we don’t bring our A-game, their (defensive) aggressiveness is going to take us over. They’re gonna bring the blitz; they’re gonna try to make us make quick decisions. We’ve gotta be prepared for everything.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Schuylkill Valley | 10 | 17 | 14 | 0 | 41 |
| Hamburg | 0 | 6 | 14 | 14 | 34 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Wamsher, 35 FG | 6:22 |
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 9 run (Wamsher kick) | 3:36 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Blatt, 29 FG | 10:18 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 63 run (Wamsher kick) | 8:34 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Blatt, 25 FG | 6:31 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 96 run (Wamsher kick) | 2:00 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Wamsher, 43 FG | 0:00 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Menapace, 1 run (Blatt kick) | 9:04 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Lackner, 19 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 8:00 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Correll, 3 pass from Menapace (Blatt kick) | 5:03 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Giuffre, 33 run (Wamsher kick) | 1:21 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Semmel, 12 pass from Menapace (Blatt kick) | 11:54 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Mason, 36 run (Blatt kick) | 0:44 |
Team statistics
| Schuylkill Valley | Hamburg | |
| First downs | 20 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 55-364 | 26-93 |
| Passing yards | 66 | 184 |
| Total yards | 430 | 277 |
| Passes | 9-16-0 | 18-32-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-33.0 | 4-40.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-25 | 10-75 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 27-302, Nawrock 4-21, Hohenadel 5-19, Goad 5-14, Stelutti 4-8.
Hamburg: Mason 10-73, Menapace 12-33, Moore 2-1, Team 2-(-14).
PASSING
Schuylkill Valley: Goad 5-9-0–18, Nawrocki 4-6-0–48, Team 0-1.
Hamburg: Menapace 18-32-0–184.
RECEIVING
Schuylkill Valley: Lackner 3-28, Hohenadel 3-18, Lackner 1-24, Crills 1-(-2), Giuffre 1-(-2).
Hamburg: Correll 4-30, Werley 3-32, Mason 3-29, McFarland 3-23, Bentz 2-20, Semmell 2-13, Moore 1-37.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Hamburg: Wamsher 37.
