GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Hamburg (8-2) vs. Upper Dauphin (8-2)
District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal
No. 4 Hamburg (8-2) vs. No. 5 Upper Dauphin (8-2)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Hamburg.
Series: First meeting.
Hawks update: Have finished with 8 wins for just the fourth time in program history. Program record for wins is 10 in 1985. . . Averaging 44.4 points, tops among all Class 3A teams in District 3 and third-highest in the state among 3A teams. . . Have smashed program record for points in a season with 444; previous was 317. . . Program record for scoring average is 34.5, set in 2020. . . Pierce Mason went for 94 yards last week and now has 1,036 for the season. . . He needs 278 yards to top the program single-season record of 1,313, set last season by All-State pick Diohnny Ruiz. . . Mason leads team with 21 TDs despite missing time since midseason ankle injury. . . Program record is 24 TDs by Iggy Reynoso in 2015. . . QB Xander Menapace is completing 63.4 percent of his passes for 1,569 yards and 14 TDs. . . Menapace needs 21 yards to top the program-record of 1,589 passing yards in a season, set by Matt Deibler in 1998. . . He is one TD pass short of program record set by Joey Cominsky in 2011. . . He has broken Jared Ruppert’s program record of 118 completions in a season; Menapace has 122. . . Finished third in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, behind Lancaster Catholic and Schuylkill Valley. . . Were ranked No. 10 in state at midseason after 5-0 start. . . Losses came at Lancaster Catholic (38-35) and against Schuylkill Valley (41-34).
Did you know? Hamburg earned its first district playoff home game and first district playoff win last year, beating Bermudian Springs 31-27 in the opening round. The Hawks are 1-7 overall in districts. . . Finished 9-2 last season.
Fast fact: Matt Hoffert is just the second of 10 Hamburg head coaches to record a winning record in his first season. The other was Chuck Kutz, who went 6-5 in 2016.
Trojans update: Have won sevens straight since Week 3 loss to Camp Hill. . . Went unbeaten in Mid-Penn Conference Liberty Division, beating out Juniata, Susquenita and Line Mountain. . . Losses came to Williams Valley (8-2 record) in season opener and Camp Hill (5-5). . . Soph QB Aidan Bingaman has completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,112 yards and 14 TDs, with two INTs. . . He hasn’t thrown an INT since Week 5. . . Senior Brady Morgan is averaging 11.6 yards per carry, with 15 TDs. He needs 15 yards to reach 1,000. . . Senior Konnor Walker is averaging 9.3 yards per carry and 19.4 yards on 20 receptions. He has 11 TDs. . . He averages 28.8 yards on kickoff returns. Defense has 20 takeaways, with 10 INTs and 10 fumble recoveries. . . Plus-8 in turnover differential.
Did you know? Upper Dauphin reached the District 3 Class 2A championship game twice in the last three seasons. Trojans beat Delone Catholic 36-28 in 2019 and lost to York Catholic 35-8 last year. This is the Trojans’ first Class 3A playoff game. Overall, they are 4-8 in districts.
Fast fact: Hamburg RB Pierce Mason is averaging 11.1 yards per carry. Only Wyomissing’s Charlie McIntyre (11.7) has a higher average among Lancaster-Lebanon League backs.
Winner plays: No. 1 Wyomissing, Nov. 12, at the A-Field.
