Defenders defenseless against Hawks’ record scoring onslaught
By Matt Gaffney — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
If first-year Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert was hoping for a better start than what he has seen through two weeks, it’s difficult to imagine what that could be.
After opening with a dominating win over Halifax, all the Hawks did for an encore was set a program record for points in a 75-21 non-league win Friday night over Warrior Run on Hawk Hill.
The Hawks were clicking in all phases as their high-powered, up-tempo offense had the Defenders on their heels from the start. Pierce Mason scored four touchdowns, including an 83-yard return on the opening kickoff. Senior quarterback Xander Menapace threw for 181 yards and three scores while adding two rushing touchdowns.
The Hawks amassed 511 total yards, including a whopping 330 on the ground as they put up 55 points in the first half. Though Hoffert was pleased with his team’s performance, he is quick to point out that there is still plenty of work to be done.
“Our offense has been really firing on all cylinders,” said Hoffert. “In the first half, we got a little sloppy there at the end but I think we did a great job finishing.
“There’s a lot of stuff we still need to work on, even though the score is what it is, there’s always something to work on. We just have to keep getting better because when league play comes, it’s going to be tough.”
It was anything but tough for the Hawks against Warrior Run as they were all over the Defenders early and often, scoring four touchdowns in the first eight minutes.
After a three and out by Warrior Run, Hamburg drove 54 yards in three plays, capped off by Mason’s second TD of the night, a 23-yard scamper to give the Hawks a 14-0 lead. After an interception by Tyler Shuey gave Hamburg excellent field position at the Warrior Run 23-yard line, it was Meanpace’s turn with a 16-yard run through the heart of the Defenders’ defense for the score.
The Hawks defense, which held Warrior Run to 162 total yards and had five interceptions, forced another three and out. Hamburg’s offense quickly took advantage with Menapace throwing a beautiful 31-yard pass to a wide-open Ty Werley to give Hamburg a 28-0 lead following the extra point conversion.
Menapace then connected with junior Alex Bentz for a 12-yard score with a minute to go in the first quarter to give Hamburg a commanding 35-0 lead. Mason kept the touchdown party going in the second quarter for the Hawks with another return touchdown, this time a nifty 49-yard tightrope up the sideline on a punt return to make it 41-0.
The Defenders (0-2) though had no quit in them, despite the huge deficit. Ryan Newton threw an absolute beauty of a deep ball, hitting Carter Marr in stride for a 69-yard score to get Warrior Run on the board. They added a “Pick Six” by Colby LeBarron when he jumped a Menapace pass and took it 75 yards to the house for a score.
But this night belonged to Mason, Menapace and the Hawks.
Menapace added another rushing touchdown, a 5-yard dash and his second passing touchdown to Werley, this one for 25 yards.
“X”, as Menapace is called, was a handful all night showcasing his dual threat capabilities with five total touchdowns, carving up the Warrior Run defense with on-target throws and hard runs. The senior, however, was not about to take credit for his performance tonight.
“Everything starts up front with the O-line,” Menapace said. “They did a great job today keeping me clean, protecting everyone. I was really proud of our guys. Everything was clicking and we take what the defense gives us. Coach tells me all the time: ‘Don’t get greedy, take what’s there,’ and that’s what we did tonight.”
Mason added a 5-yard rushing touchdown for his fourth and final score of the night. The speedy senior now has seven touchdowns in two games. Not bad for someone who a few weeks ago was on the fence about playing his senior season.
Like his teammate Menapace, he is quick to deflect praise for his electric play.
“I’m not the only one out on that field,” said the senior running back. “I couldn’t have done it without the other 10 guys on the field.
“Everyone is really working hard, every week. Throughout the spring and summer, everyone was excited, everyone was into it, and it’s obviously paying off. We have so many people who are willing to put their body on the line for the team and work so hard at every position.”
Werley caught three passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns as well as an interception while fellow sophomore Tyler Shuey snatched two picks and added a rushing touchdown of his own for Hamburg. Derek Ruiz chipped 78 yards rushing and 28 yards receiving out of the backfield.
Getting off to a fast start, setting a tone and establishing a winning culture is important to Hoffert.
“As you know, I played here, so we talk all the time about what it means to be a Hawk,” said Hoffert. “It’s not just about our team, it’s about everybody (in the community) and guys like me who used to play here.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Warrior Run | 0 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Hamburg | 35 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 75 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Hamburg | Mason, 83 yard kick return (Blatt kick) | 11:49 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Mason, 23 yard run (Blatt kick) | 9:08 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Menapace, 16 yard run (Blatt kick) | 7:08 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Werley, 31 yard pass from Menapace(Blatt kick) | 4:14 |
| 1 | Hamburg | Bentz, 12 yard pass from Menapace(Blatt kick) | 1:04 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Mason, 49 yard punt return (kick failed) | 11:06 |
| 2 | Warrior Run | Carr, 69 yard pass from Newton (Hunter kick) | 9:25 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Menapace, 5 yard run (Blatt kick) | 7:08 |
| 2 | Warrior Run | LeBarron, 75 yard interception return (Hunter kick) | 2:15 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Werley, 25 yard pass from Menapeace (Blatt kick) | 42.2 |
| 2 | Warrior Run | Allison, 20 yard run (Hunter kick) | 21.1 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Mason, 5 yard run (Blatt kick) | 9:01 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Parr, 12 yard run (Blatt kick) | 4:49 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Shuey, 9 yard run (kick failed) | 4:54 |
Team statistics
| Warrior Run | Hamburg | |
| First downs | 7 | 25 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-85 | 36-330 |
| Passing yards | 77 | 181 |
| Total yards | 162 | 511 |
| Passes | 6-18-5 | 12-15-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-30.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-15 | 11-102 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Warrior Run: Allison 7-43, LeBarron 7-16, Miller 3-11, Royles 2-3, Keifer 1-3, Hall 1-3, Blair 1-3, Fogelman 2-2, Butler 1-1
Hamburg: Mason 8-90, Ruiz 8-78, Menapace 5-51, Folk 4-47, Moore 5-29, Parra 4-23, Shuey 1-9
PASSING
Warrior Run: Newton 5-15-5-76, Keifer 1-2-0-1 yard
Hamburg: Menapace 12-15-1-181
RECEIVING
Warrior Run: Carr 2-79, Hall 2 -(-3), Pena 1-1, LeBarron 1-0
Hamburg: Werley 4-77, McFarland 2-29, Ruiz 2-28, Correll 1-15, Bentz 1-12, Brady 1-11, Mason 1-9
INTERCEPTIONS
Warrior Run: LeBarron
Hamburg: Shuey, Brady, Werley, Correll, Ruiz.
