Freshman steals the show as Schuylkill Valley streaks past Daniel Boone
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Gabriel Pickup — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
William Johns admits he was a little apprehensive about his first varsity football game Thursday night.
| Final | |
| Sch. Valley | 42 |
| Daniel Boone | 0 |
“It’s definitely scary at times,” said the Schuylkill Valley freshman, “but I’ve worked as hard as I can to get to this point. (My teammates) have supported me all the way and I can’t thank them enough.”
Johns’ hard work, and his flat-out speed, paid off as he caught three first-half touchdown passes from Alex Aletras in a 42-0 non-league win over Daniel Boone at Birdsboro.
Johns, who is listed as running back, caught five passes for 113 yards.
“He’s going to be a heck of a football player,” said Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach. “He’s only a freshman, and he’s one of the fastest kids on the team. He has a good work ethic and understands the game.”
Johns’ first touchdown came via a screen pass taken 39 yards halfway through the first quarter. He scored again in the first quarter, taking a Jet Sweep pass 11 yards. He finished his scoring spree with a 38-yard TD off a wheel route in the second quarter.
Impressive, especially since he didn’t play in the season-opener.
“I was ready to play,” Johns asserted while embracing family and friends. “A little bummed out
from (losing) last week but it gave me motivation.”
Johns helped Aletras match a program record with five touchdowns passes. Aletras also hooked up with Logan Cammauf and Josiah Urbaez, each on 22-yard passes.
Aletras, making just his second start for the Panthers (1-1), completed 10-of-17 passes for 190 yards. He became the eighth in program history to throw five touchdown passes in a game; Logan Nawrocki did once in 2023 and one last season.
Harbach, in his fifth year as Schuylkill Valley’s head coach, was impressed by the quick turnaround following a 45-14 loss to Muhlenberg in Week 1.
“Years ago, they would’ve caved in (after a big loss) and not performed well,” he said of Schuylkill Valley players of the past. “The kids responded well from last week. That shows that they have character and are changing the culture of this football team.”
Harbach was impressed with the fast-paced play on both ends of the field, stating that bodies
were “flying all around the place.”
The Blazers (0-2) punted five times, turned the ball over on downs twice, and lost a fumble. Quarterback Dominic Stoudt went 8-of-14 passing in the first half but completed just two more passes in the second half.
The Blazers were limited to 25 rushing yards on 18 carries; none of the carries went more than 6 yards.
Malachi Rowe, the Blazers’ biggest bright spot of the day, recorded 45 receiving yards on five
catches from quarterback Dominic Stoudt. The Blazers finished with just 87 total yards.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Schuylkill Valley | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Schuykill Valley | Johns, 39 pass from Aletras (Wamsher kick) | 5:19 |
| 1 | Schuykill Valley | Johns, 11 pass from Aletras (Wamsher kick) | 4:01 |
| 2 | Schuykill Valley | Johns, 38 pass from Aletras (kick failed) | 6:48 |
| 2 | Schuykill Valley | Cammauf, 22 pass from Aletras (Ortiz run) | 3:11 |
| 3 | Schuykill Valley | Urbaez, 22 pass from Aletras (Wamsher kick) | 9:35 |
| 4 | Schuykill Valley | Ortiz, 49 run (Wamsher kick) | 11:43 |
Team statistics
| SCHUYLKILL VALLEY | DANIEL BOONE | |
| First downs | 13 | 3 |
| Rushes-yards | 16-110 | 18-25 |
| Passing yards | 190 | 62 |
| Total yards | 300 | 87 |
| Passes | 10-17-0 | 10-21-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-36.33 | 5-28 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-52 | 5-45 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Schuylkill Valley: Pyle: 5-31, Ortiz 3-53-1, Cammauf 3-23, Aletras 1-10, Sarr 1-4, Urbaez 1-(-2), Hartman 1-(-3), Wilhelm 1-(-6).
Daniel Boone: Moyer 7-13, Stoudt 5-7. Ruffner 4-3, McKenzie 2-2.
PASSING
Schuylkill Valley: Aletras 10-17-0-190.
Daniel Boone: Stoudt 10-21-0-62.
RECEIVING
Schuylkill Valley: Johns 5-113, Cammauf 1-22, Urbaez 1-22, Kilinowski 1-16, Pyle 1-11, Gehret 1-6.
Daniel Boone: Rowe 5-45, Moyer 2-12, Ruffner 2-1, Floria 1-4.
