Freshman quarterback Isaac McFadden leads Hamburg to thrilling comeback victory
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Clay Oberholtzer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Freshman quarterback Isaac McFadden led Hamburg to a comeback victory Friday night, rushing for a game-winning touchdown and the deciding two-point conversion in a 22-21 non-league victory over Midd-West on Hawk Hill.
| Final | |
| Hamburg | 22 |
| Midd-West | 21 |
There is something magical about home comebacks under the Friday night lights. Hamburg (1-1) was down by 14 points with just over 10 minutes remaining before McFadden rose to the occasion.
Midd-West (1-1) found itself shell-shocked after a 75-yard chunk play to tight end Mason Strunk, followed by a Thomas Johnson 1-yard touchdown run that pulled Hamburg within 21-14 with 4:22 remaining.
The Hawks defense used that momentum to get the Mustangs off the field in just four plays.
Despite a rough first half, McFadden was able to sling the ball all over the field on the game-winning drive, completing five passes for 59 yards while picking apart the Mustangs defense like a veteran quarterback.
McFadden completed 17-of-32 passes, with several drops, for 238 yards.
“Our offense is complex and we put a lot on the quarterback,” said first-year head coach Tyler Hartranft. “For a freshman to come in and try to take the reins is tough.
“He missed some throws, but he kept fighting. He is going to get better each and every week. We didn’t make it easy on him (with all the drops), but he helped lead us on that last drive and put us in position to win a football game.”
The Hawks were lined up to kick the extra point to potentially force an overtime. An offsides penalty on Midd-West gave Hamburg an opportunity to go for the win. Hartranft sent the offense back out for a shorter two-point try, calling upon McFadden to finish the job with his feet.
“Freshman, already asking a lot of him,,” said Hartranft. “We go for two and put the ball in the hands of the freshman and let him make a play.”
McFadden gave credit to the offensive line. The unit held off the constant blitz packages and pressures, allowing him to find his open receivers down the field on the last drive. The line looked to be in great shape, mowing down defenders on draw plays, opening up wide holes for Johnson and McFadden to gain chunks at a time, while still reaching the first down markers to stop the clock.
“Our run game was really going with our offensive line,” McFadden said. “They were really blocking great all game and we needed them again on the last touchdown.”
The Hamburg defense stepped up, forcing four punts, one turnover and a fourth-and-goal stop. Hamburg held Midd-West to just 239 total yards, no play going for more than 16 yards. The Hawks defense allowed 14 points on all Mustangs drives that did not start inside the 5-yard line. Even after Midd-West blocked a punt, setting it up at the Hamburg 2, it still took a fourth-and-goal try to score.
“Our defense fought so hard all game,” Hartranft said. “(Midd-West) has some big linemen up front, they’re patient in the running game. Our tackling was much improved from last week.
“We have a lot of young guys playing their first varsity football on that defense right now. They went in and they made the stops when it mattered most.”
The Hawks played most of the game without their top running back, junior Blaise Ernst, who went down after being rolled up from a tackle on the second play of the game. He was on crutches on the sideline later in the game.
“We’re just a family,” “said McFadden. “We push together, we do all this together.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Midd-West | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Hamburg | 0 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 22 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Midd-West | Fultz, 1 run (Kullman kick) | 1:17 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Strunk, 15 pass from McFadden (Moser kick) | 0:29 |
| 3 | Midd-West | Kratzer, 2 run (Kullman kick) | 8:29 |
| 4 | Midd-West | Janovich, 2 run (Kullman kick) | 10:21 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Johnson, 1 run (Moser kick) | 4:22 |
| 4 | Hamburg | McFadden, 2 run (McFadden run) | 0:26 |
Team statistics
| MIDD-WEST | HAMBURG | |
| First downs | 14 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 43-149 | 31-75 |
| Passing yards | 90 | 238 |
| Total yards | 239 | 313 |
| Passes | 10-17-1 | 17-32-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 4-27.5 | 5-23 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-50 | 3-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Midd-West: Kratzer 15-77, Hartman 10-24, Schupp 12-23, Janovich 5-23, Fultz 1-2.
Hamburg: Johnson 16-41, McFadden 12-23, Ernst 2-10, Soto 0-2, Team 1-(-1)
PASSING
Midd-West: Janovich10-17-1–90.
Hamburg: McFadden 17-32-0–238.
RECEIVING
Midd-West: Drumheller 6-56, Fultz 2-24, Kreider 1-10, Kullman 1-0.
Hamburg: Soto 6-57, Horvath 5-47, Strunk 4-128, Bentz 2-6..
INTERCEPTIONS
Hamburg: Bentz.
