New Fleetwood football coach excited about future of program
The transition to a new head football coach at Fleetwood should be much smoother this time around, Steve Pangburn promises.
Two years ago when he joined the program the head coach wasn’t hired until April, the offseason workouts had been disrupted and the new staff didn’t get on the field with the players until July because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
“That wasn’t such a good thing,” said the 43-year-old Pangburn, who was approved by the Fleetwood School Board Tuesday night as the Tigers head coach.
“(Now), the culture’s developed,” said Pangburn, the Tigers’ offensive coordinator the past two seasons under head coach Steve Beatty. “It’s not as if we’ve got to come in and re-set the table on that. Myself and the staff that’s coming back, we have familiarity with these boys and we’ve been working with them ever since the job was posted.”
Beatty resigned following last season due to health considerations.
Beatty and Pangburn coached together for years in Blazer Midget Football program; Pangburn was the head coach then, and two developed a strong relationship. Beatty was excited to bring him in for the 2021 season to run the offense and relied on him heavily the past two seasons.
“When he resigned, I decided the best thing for the program would be to keep some continuity here,” Pangburn said.
The Tigers went 7-4 last season, ending with a 47-35 victory over Boyertown in the Eastern Conference Class 5A-6A championship game. The seven wins were one short of the program record, established in 2019.
The Tigers finished 6-4 during the regular season and tied with Conrad Weiser for second place in Section 2 of the Berks Football League. It was just the fourth winning record in the program’s 21-year history.
The Tigers went 2-5 in Beatty’s first season.
Despite graduating all-league picks Tanner Maddocks, Gavin Moyer, Gage Moyer and seven other seniors Pangburn is confident about the 2022 season. The Tigers carried 13 freshman and 10 sophomores on last season’s roster and many are positioned to move into key roles next season.
“I’m real excited,” Pangburn said. “I feel we have a good group of dedicated football players. We’re gonna be young, but the dedication level is something we’re very proud of.”
The Tigers have identified their quarterback, sophomore Jack Riffle, and he’ll have plenty of good targets, including Mason Musitano, an all-league second-team pick as a sophomore who led the team with 29 receptions.
“Him and Jack are tied at the hip,” Pangburn said.
Fleetwood, along with the other 12 teams in the Berks Football League, move to the Lancaster-Lebanon League next season. The Tigers will be in Section III along with Daniel Boone, Twin Valley, Elizabethtown, Ephrata, Garden Spot and Solanco. Pangburn likes the fit.
“We feel the transition in the league is going to play in our favor,” he said. “If you look at the landscape, we expect to be right there. We think we’re ready to compete.”
