Hawks enjoying the view from above
When practice was over Wednesday evening Matt Hoffert marched his Hamburg football team up and into the home bleachers and had them sit facing the field.
He wanted them to see the view from there and understand that after Friday, when they host Upper Dauphin in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal, this will be their vantage point the next time they’re on Hawk Hill for a game.
“It’s a surreal feeling,” said senior tailback Pierce Mason, who’s trying not to think about this being the end.
“It’s crazy to think (this will be) my last game is here,” said senior quarterback Xander Menapace, who literally has grown up on the field and around the Hawks’ program.
He was a ball boy since the time he was old enough to hold a football; now he’s a three-year starter and the guy driving the bus, directing the Hawks to an 8-2 record — one of the best in program history — and back to the district playoffs for the second straight season.
The Hawks had only made districts in consecutive seasons once before, in 2006-07. They didn’t earn their first home district game or first district win until last season; now they’re back, trying to return to the semifinals. A win will send them to Wyomissing to play the top-seeded Spartans. A loss ends their football journey together, one that started more than a decade ago.
Many of them — Mason, Menapace, Charles Sheppard, Derek Ruiz, Kevin McFarland — have played together since their flag football days. Ten years ago, when they were Mighty Mites, they were Berks County champs, shutting out each of their nine oppponents, including Berks Catholic, Twin Valley and Schuylkill Valley.
“We didn’t give up a single touchdown the whole year till that tournament (in Ohio),” Mason recalled. “We’ve got the same hard-working group (now).”
The young Hawks played in a national tournament in Cleveland in 2012. They beat an Ohio team in the semifinals before their first loss, to East Chicago.
“We’ve been together for a long time,” said Sheppard, a running back then, now their top lineman. “That chemistry helps us win games.”
The Hawks’ lone losses this season came to unbeaten and state-ranked Lancaster Catholic — a 38-35 shootout in which Mason was injured and couldn’t play — and to Schuylkill Valley 41-34 in the Frost Bowl. Each of those teams are in the Class 3A bracket, the Crusaders (10-0) the No. 2 seed, the Panthers (7-3) the No. 6 seed.
The Hawks aren’t pitching shutouts like they did in their youth days; now they’re simply out-racing teams to the end zone. Mason and Menapace are enjoying record-setting seasons and the team is averaging 44.4 points per game, crushing the program record (34.5).
Mason has rushed for 1,036 yards and 19 touchdowns and is averaging 11.1 yards per carry — second-highest in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. And that’s after being limited for much of the second half of the season with an ankle injury.
The ankle has improved dramatically, he said, but he still doesn’t have the burst he did in September when he scored five touchdowns and ran for a 292 yards against Eastern York or scored four touchdowns with 277 rushing yards against Annville-Cleona. He had 16 TDs in the first four games.
Menapace owns program records for completions and completion percentage and is closing in on records for passing yards and touchdown passes. He’s completing 63.5 percent of his passes for a Berks-leading 1,569 yards, with 14 TDs.
He’s also been an effective runner, going for 539 yards and 12 TDs, including back-to-back 100-yard games at midseason when Mason couldn’t go and he took up the slack.
All of this is even more impressive when you consider that it’s happened under a first-year head coach who brought in a new offense and a new defensive coordinator.
“Everything’s changed,” Hoffert said.
It didn’t take long for the Hawks to pick up the new systems. They beat Halifax 48-6 in their opener and hung 75 on Warrior Run the next week.
“Everyone wanted to be a student of the game (and learn the new systems) over the summer,” said Mason, “and it’s definitely paid off. Once we hit Week 2 and practices were smooth, (I knew it had) paid off.”
Most point to Menapace as fulcrum that’s made it all go so smoothly. The Hawks are averaging 405 total yards per game, fifth-most in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. They’re second in scoring.
“Xander was here every day of the winter trying to learn the offense,” Hoffert said. “After the first couple days of camp I thought we were going to be okay.”
They’ve been more than just OK. A win over Upper Dauphin (8-2) will give them nine victories for just the second time in the program’s 54 seasons.
“It’s not a regular thing,” Sheppard said of the success he and the seniors have enjoyed. “This program has taken a turn the past two or three years. First winning the Eastern Conference championship (in 2019), then winning a playoff game last year. Playoffs again this year. It’s a great feeling.”
