Injury will keep Schuylkill Valley’s Dominic Giuffre sidelined for 3-4 games
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Dominic Giuffre wrote his name all over the Frost Bowl record book last season.
It appears those marks will have to stand.
The Schuylkill Valley running back broke two bones in his right arm in Friday’s win over Kutztown and will miss 3-4 weeks according to Panthers coach Bruce Harbach.
That’s good news, said Harbach, who initially feared the injury could keep the All-State back out for the remainder of the regular season.
“He can heel for the next three weeks and I think we’ll be alright,” said Harbach. “Dom was so excited this morning when he called me: No surgery, no pins, no screws.”
It’s never a good time to lose your best player but the Panthers (3-1) are in the midst of the softest part of their schedule. They beat Kutztown 49-21 last week in their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 opener and face Pequea Valley (1-3) this week at home. They’ll see Northern Lebanon (2-2) in Week 6 and play at Columbia (1-3) in Week 7.
Their toughest games come at the end of the season, in Week 8 vs. Hamburg (3-1), Week 9 at Annville-Cleona (2-2) and Week 10 at Lancaster Catholic (4-0), the defending section champ.
“I think we’ll be okay with our skill kids and our backs,” said Harbach. “Our kids will rally. They didn’t hold their heads at all. They know injuries are part of football and it’s next man up.”
Giuffre is Schuylkill Valley’s leading rusher with 397 yards and four TDs. He’s second on the team with 12 receptions, two of them for touchdowns.
Junior Cooper Hohenadel and sophomore Logan Cammauf will fill in at running back. Hohenadel has 17 carries for 90 yards this season; he also has five receptions. Cammauf has eight carries for 46 yards.
Giuffre was also a starter at linebacker.
He was injured in the first quarter last week and came out after five carries. On the last of those he was struck on the right elbow by a helmet; he came out of the game immediately and did not return.
Giuffre rushed for 1,548 yards and set or matched at least eight program records as a junior, including 30 TDs in a season, 174 points in a season and 24 touchdown runs in a season. He earned All-State honors.
He turned the Frost Bowl into his personal showcase, rushing for a program-record 310 yards and four TDs, including a stirring 96-yard zig-zag that helped lift his team over rival Hamburg.
He set another program record in the regular season finale, scoring six touchdowns against unbeaten Lancaster Catholic.
He’s the only player in the 50-year history of the program to score four or more touchdowns four times in the same season.
Harbach said he doesn’t expect Giuffre back in time to face Hamburg; he’s hoping to have him ready to face Annville-Cleona.
Giuffre suffered a broken finger on his left hand in last year’s season-opener but played through it.