Hawks have Watt it takes to bring home Frost Bowl trophy
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Mitchell Watt is listed on the Hamburg roster as a fullback and defensive end.
Fittingly, he’s also a fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which has two Watts you might’ve heard of at fullback and defensive end.
Mitchell usually resembles Steelers running back Derek Watt doing whatever it takes for the team to get the win even if he doesn’t have a gaudy statline to show for it at the end of the game.
Coming into Friday night’s game against rival Schuylkill Valley Watt had accumulated 133 rushing yards and 48 receiving yards with two touchdowns through eight games. Friday in Leesport he rushed for 79 yards and two scores in the 21-13 win over the Panthers to bring the 41st Frost Bowl trophy back to Hamburg.
“I never expect to have a big role,” Watt said. “Either way I was going to go out and block, which I’m perfectly okay with. As long as I’m on that field I’m giving 100 percent effort and doing what I need to do to win. If the ball’s not going to me, I really don’t care. Today I got the ball and it was downhill. I was just trying to pick up yards.”
Pick up yards he did, as did fellow running back Diohnny Ruiz, who rushed for 159 yards and a score, putting him over 1,000 for the season. In fact, the Hawks (2-3, 6-3) picked up all 279 of their yards on the ground during a torrential downpour that saw quarterback Xander Menapace attempt only one pass. Pierce Mason rushed for 48 yards.
“Honestly, I don’t think we’ve ever had to experience playing in the rain this bad before,” Watt said. “But I loved it, honestly. At first it was a little cold, but it creates a different environment and everyone was so hyped up, especially against a rival. It was a sloppy game but those are the best games.”
The game was sloppy with Hamburg fumbling seven times, losing it twice; Schuylkill Valley (1-5, 2-8) fumbled five times and lost it three times. The Hawks also had seven penalties, five in the second half, adding up to 60 yards. In the end Hamburg still found a way to come out with the Berks Football League Section 2 win.
The Hawks secured their No. 3 seed and a home opener in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs, which start Friday. They are in districts for the first time since 2015.
Ruiz scored first on a 25-yard run with 10:04 left in the second quarter after a fumble recovery by Charles Sheppard set Hamburg up on Schuylkill Valley’s side of midfield.
The Panthers answered with an 81-yard, perfectly-placed pass from Michael Goad to Kyle Spotts about three minutes later to tie it.
Hamburg went on a 69-yard drive lasting 4:50 to begin the third quarter and finished with Watt’s first score from the 5.
Daniel Brady recovered a Schuylkill Valley fumble on the next possession and Watt was in the end zone again, this time from 11 yards.
Julian Kemmerer caught a 10-yard pass from Drew Campbell with 1:02 left for the Panthers but they failed the two-point attempt and were unable to recover the onside kick.
“We needed the momentum heading into Districts,” Watt said, as Hamburg was coming off two losses and didn’t play last week due to COVID complications. “We talked earlier this week how we didn’t win a game in four weeks. We needed this one heading into the playoffs.”
The Hawks opened 5-1, their best start in 15 years, with their only loss coming to Berks 2 power Wyomissing. That’s when things got a bit cloudy.
Hamburg then lost by four points to Conrad Weiser and by two points to Fleetwood before having to cancel the next game against Twin Valley due to COVID concerns.
The Hawks are 0-6 in District 3 playoff history, losing in 1985, 2006, 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2015; that have an opportunity to change that next week.
Before that happens, Watt and the Hawks will be taking the Frost Bowl trophy back to Hamburg after taking a 24-16-1 advantage in the trophy series.
“Our age group has won the Frost Bowl every single year from kindergarten up until now,” said Watt, a senior. “This is one rivalry that we always wanted to win and we kept winning.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hamburg | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 0 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 13 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Hamburg | Di. Ruiz, 25 run (Blatt kick) | 10:04 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Spotts, 81 pass from Goad (Crills kick) | 7:19 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Watt, 5 run (Blatt kick) | 7:10 |
| 3 | Hamburg | Watt, 11 run (Blatt kick) | 2:02 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Kemmerer, 10 pass from Campbell (Campbell run failed) | 1:02 |
Team statistics
| Hamburg | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 13 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 56-279 | 29-118 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 91 |
| Total yards | 279 | 209 |
| Passes | 0-1-0 | 2-4-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 7-2 | 5-3 |
| Punts-average | 1-35 | 1-70 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-60 | 3-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hamburg: Di. Ruiz 20-159, Watt 17-79, Mason 12-48, Menapace 7-(-7).
Schuylkill Valley: Campbell 17-93, Goad 11-18, Crills 1-7.
PASSING
Hamburg: Menapace 0-1-0–0.
Schuylkill Valley: Goad 1-1–0–81, Campbell 1-3-0–10.
RECEIVING
Schuylkill Valley: Spotts 1-81, Kemmerer 1-10.
