Hamburg rally falls short in loss to Pequea Valley
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Kyle Kutz — LNP/Lancasteronline
KINZERS — Coming off a dominant victory against Columbia, Pequea Valley coasted on its newfound momentum to pull out a hard-fought, 24-17 victory over Hamburg Friday night in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 game.
The Braves (2-2, 4-3) took a 24-0 lead in the second quarter.
| Section 5 | ||
| Sch. Valley | 4-0 | 5-2 |
| Hamburg | 3-1 | 5-2 |
| Lanc. Cath. | 3-1 | 4-3 |
| Ann.-Cleona | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Berks Cath. | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Pequea | 2-2 | 4-3 |
| Kutztown | 0-4 | 0-7 |
| Columbia | 0-4 | 0-7 |
The loss knocked the Hawks (3-1, 5-2) out of a first-place tie with Schuylkill Valley, which beat Columbia to grab sole possession of the top spot in Section 5.
The Hawks and Panthers meet next week in the Frost Bowl.
Pequea Valley, which entered as the top-ranked defense in Section 5, thwarted Hamburg’s last-minute comeback attempt by tackling wide receiver Ty Werley 1 yard short of a crucial first down.
Werley took a lateral downfield after an initial 14-yard pass connection from Tyler Shuey to Daniel Brady.
Pequea Valley running back Cayden Carter sprinted 10 yards to the end zone to give the Braves a 7-0 lead early in the first quarter.
Shuey, Hamburg’s dual-threat quarterback, mishandled the ball on a broken running play, resulting in a fumble the Braves recovered deep in Hawks territory.
Drew Tibbins capitalized on the prime field position with 5-yard touchdown run to hand the Braves a 14-0 lead to close out the first.
Kicker Bryce Goodroad made a 32-yard field goal midway through the second quarter to extend the lead to 17-0.
Tibbins pounded in another TD on the goal line to put the Braves up 24-0.
Hamburg cut it to 24-3 on a 24-yard field goal by Eli Blatt moments before halftime.
Hawks running back Blaise Ernst broke away from on a 23-yard scoring scamper to open the second half and chop the Braves’ lead to 24-10.
Midway through the fourth quarter Brady reeled in a 47-yard TD pass from Shuey to cut it to 24-17.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hamburg | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
| Pequea Valley | 14 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 24 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Pequea Valley | Carter, 10 run (Graham kick) | |
| 1 | Pequea Valley | Tibbins, 5 run (Graham kick) | |
| 2 | Pequea Valley | Goodroad, 32 FG | |
| 2 | Pequea Valley | Tibbins, 3 run (Graham kick) | |
| 2 | Hamburg | Blatt, 24 FG | |
| 3 | Hamburg | Ernst, 23 run (Blattt kick) | |
| 4 | Hamburg | Brady, 47 pass from Shuey (Blatt kick) |
Team statistics
| Hamburg | Pequea Valley | |
| First downs | 13 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 26-91 | 43-168 |
| Passing yards | 202 | 20 |
| Total yards | 293 | 188 |
| Passes | 13-23 | 2-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 5-13 | 4-28 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-40 | 8-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hamburg: Ernst 16-86, Shuey 10-5.
Pequea Valley: Tibbins 16-68, Vollmer 12-58, Carter 11-36, Stoltzfus 4-6.
PASSING
Hamburg: Shuey 13-23-0–202.
Pequea Valley: Stoltzfus 2-2-0–20.
RECEIVING
Hamburg: Werley 6-129, Brady 3-52, Horvath 2-15, Ernst 2-6.
Pequea Valley: Shultz 1-12, Tibbins 1-8.
