Four Downs: 4 big takes from Week 1

By Mike Drago Last updated Aug 31, 2023

2023 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

Four biggest takeaways from Week 1 of the 2023 high school football season:

1ST DOWN

Bob Wolfrum wouldn’t talk about freshman Justice Hardy during the preseason; the longtime Wyomissing coach wanted to see him do something on the field in a real game first.

Now he has.

Hardy scored the Spartans’ first touchdown, on a 35-yard run, and added another 20-yarder in the third quarter of a 56-7 win over Kennard-Dale Friday. Overall, he had 82 yards on five carries and went 66 yards with his only reception.

He also started at cornerback.

“He’s a really good football player,” Wolfrum said after the opener, “and you know, he doesn’t make a lot of mistakes on either side of the ball.”

Wyomissing fans have been hearing about Hardy for several years, while he was tearing it up at the junior high level. They watched his sister Alexis win gold medals in soccer, basketball and track during the 2022-23 season.

Wyomissing’s Justice Hardy. (Tim Macrina photo)

Justice may turn out to be the fastest ever to play football – or maybe any other sport — for the Spartans. Just wait until track season when he wows people in the 100 and 200.

By the end of the season Hardy may be considered the best freshman ever to suit up at Wyomissing; it might not take that long.

“He’s in a good situation because he doesn’t have to be the guy who carries the ball the whole game,” Wolfrum said. “We’ve got six or seven backs we use. We can pick spots for him and he’s not going to be dead tired from 40 carries.”

2ND DOWN

Matt Bauer wanted to challenge quarterback Riley Martinez during the offseason, to prepare him for Exeter’s season-opener against Daniel Boone and its demanding Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 run.

The Eagles coach also didn’t want to put too much on the sophomore’s shoulders, so he didn’t start him against Daniel Boone.

Once Martinez got in there he was fine, throwing a pair of second-quarter touchdown passes in a 42-7 win over the Blazers. He entered for the second series and stayed behind center until the final minutes.

Overall, Martinez completed 6-of-9 passes for 166 yards, with one interception. Senior Nathan Pashley, who started, connected on both his passes.

“I was very pleased with Riley’s performance,” said Bauer. “We gave him a series to watch and relax. We simplified the game plan for him. Overall, he did a really good job tonight.”

Experience at quarterback was the Eagles’ biggest concern coming into the season. By the time they hit the meat of their schedule at mid-season Martinez will have plenty of it.

3RD DOWN

Replacing a three-year starting quarterback, especially one as good as Xander Menapace, is never an easy task. Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert had no doubt Tyler Shuey would step in and make a seamless transition.

“He’s been moving these guys around (in practice), making sure we’re in the right spots to be successful,” Hoffert said before the season-opener against Halfiax. “That’s what I want in my quarterback.”

Shuey was even better than anticipated. He threw four touchdown passes and for 356 yards in a 49-19 win, completing 10-of-15 passes. He also ran for a team-leading 72 yards on five carries, with a pair of TD runs.

Shuey’s yardage total was second-highest in program history. He helped Ty Werley set a program receiving record, with 254 yards on his five catches.

“He looks like a leader on the field,” Hoffert said of Shuey.

4TH DOWN

Twin Valley has a pair of dazzling running backs in junior Evan Johnson and sophomore Drew Engle. Give either a crease and they’re gone.

That was the case Friday when they combined for nearly 500 rushing yards in a 44-13 stampede against Schuylkill Valley.

Johnson went for a career-best 278 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 14 carries; he also had a punt return touchdown nullified by penalty. Engle darted and dashed his way to 192 yards on 18 carries, including an 18-yard touchdown run.

This should come as no surprise.

Johnson showed his potential late last year in the postseason when he scored on runs of 60, 19, 68 and 42 yards in a win over Milton Hershey.

Engle was a second-team all-league pick at both defensive back and kick returner as a freshman; he’s the younger brother of former Raiders track star Anthony, who’s now running at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Get them to the second level and both Johnson and Engle have the ability to take it to the house. With that massive front line in front of them they figure to have plenty of chances this season.

“We’re really big, and we’ve got two really good running backs,” said Raiders coach Brett Myers. “We’re gonna have some ability to do some things there.”