Hamburg moves quickly, hires former offensive coordinator as head coach
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Less than two weeks after seeing its head coach resign, Hamburg has hired a new football coach.
Former Hawks offensive coordinator Tyler Hartranft was approved Thursday night by the Hamburg school board. He replaces Matt Hoffert, who resigned abruptly late last month.
Hartranft served as Pottsville’s offensive coordinator this season and has extensive experience at the college level.
He was hired as an assistant by Hoffert in 2022, Hoffert’s first of three seasons as Hawks head coach.
Hartranft played at Blue Mountain and King’s College.
He has coached at the college level for six seasons, serving as a pass game coordinator, recruiting coordinator and interim offensive coordinator. During his four seasons as a high school assistant he has served a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
Hartranft played at Blue Mountain and King’s College
He has taught in the Hamburg school district for the last three years.
“Coach Hartranft has a proven track record of both playing and coaching football,” Hamburg superintendent Dr. Christopher Beissel said in a statement. “His knowledge of the sport, energy, work ethic, and ability to build positive and lasting relationships will be invaluable to developing our student-athletes for success both on and off the field.”
The Hawks finished 6-4 in the regular season and qualified for the Eastern Conference Class 3A championship game, which they lost 41-0.
It marked the fourth straight year Hamburg has finished with a winning record. That’s never happened in the 56-year history of a program that’s had more than twice as many losing seasons as winning ones.
Hoffert said he was planning to return for next season before a meeting with administration following the season to discuss the future of the program. Hoffert didn’t like what he heard in that media and resigned several days later.
“I didn’t see it coming,” he said one day after submitting his letter of resignation. “Our thoughts for the program are going in different directions, so I decided it was time to go.”
Hamburg finished 7-4 in 2021, Jeff Chillot’s only season there as head coach. Hoffert, a former Hawks assistant, came in and took the program even higher. That meant a lot to him, as does the 21-13 record over the past three seasons. Only once before, from 1984-86, when the late Bill Sakusky was the head coach, did Hamburg win as many as 21 games over a three-year stretch.
Hoffert was head coach at Kutztown from 2014-2016, pumping life into a dormant program. In his final season the Cougars went 4-6, their best record in eight seasons. Immediately after he left they endured three straight winless seasons.
As Fleetwood’s offensive coordinator in 2019 Hoffert helped the Tigers set a program record for wins during an 8-3 season that saw them finish No. 1 in the Berks Football League in total offense.
Hoffert was a Hamburg assistant from 2005-09 and again from 2012-13, both times under Joe Sinkovich. He’s also been an assistant at Boyertown, Allentown Central Catholic and Chestnut Hill College.
