Panthers complete the climb, claim first outright Section 5 championship
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
When Bruce Harbach took the coaching job at Schuylkill Valley he knew he had something special with his first group of freshmen.
Last season, the group led the way as the Panthers won their first title. There was just one problem: They had to share the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 championship with Annville-Cleona and Lancaster Catholic after a loss to the Crusaders on the final night of the regular season.
| Section 5 | ||
| Sch. Valley | 7-0 | 8-2 |
| Lanc. Cath. | 5-2 | 6-4 |
| Berks Cath. | 5-2 | 6-4 |
| Hamburg | 4-3 | 6-4 |
| Ann.-Cleona | 3-4 | 4-6 |
| Pequea | 3-4 | 5-5 |
| Kutztown | 1-6 | 1-9 |
| Columbia | 0-7 | 0-10 |
It’s still a sore subject, but it’s a topic that’s now much more forgettable after the Panthers’ 40-29 win over the Crusaders Friday night at Leesport, a win that clinched Schuylkill Valley’s first outright section title.
“It feels great,” Harbach said. “These kids have worked so hard for this.”
After his first season on the job in 2021, Harbach favorably compared his freshman group to the ones he coached his first year at Lancaster Catholic, where he coached the Crusaders to a pair of state titles.
He believed the group led by Logan Nawrocki, Luke Spotts, and Cooper Hohenadel could turn a new leaf for a program that had endured seven straight losing seasons prior to Harbach’s arrival.
“Coach Harbach came in and he told us that our class was special,” said Nawrocki, the team’s leader behind center. “He knew we had a lot of great athletes, and he told us we could be special one day. As the years went on, we started to buy in more and more.”
Safe to say he was right. This year’s senior class becomes the first in the program’s 52-year history to make a perfect run through league play, completing the journey on Senior Night.
Nawrocki did what he does best, slinging the rock around for 271 and three touchdowns to become just the third passer in Berks history to pass for 2,000 yards multiple times.
His main target was Spotts, who caught nine passes for 154 yards, including a 20-yard touchdown in the first quarter. Nawrocki also connected with Hohenadel for a 14-yard score in the first quarter.
The biggest challenge for the Panthers (7-0, 8-2) was finding a way to handle Crusaders running back Brandon Way, who took his first two runs to the house for scores of 94 and 65 yards.
“What a good football player,” Harbach said of Way, who finished with 243 rushing yards on 22 carries. “You’ve got to slow him down. That’s what you have to do. Fortunately, we did make a couple key stops.”
It wasn’t only seniors who made big plays for the Panthers. Logan Cammauf, a junior, blocked a punt with 40 seconds left in the first half that eventually led to his own 2-yard score – the first of three times he would find the end zone.
“I saw an open gap,” Cammauf said of his crucial punt block. “The guard didn’t block me, the up-back didn’t touch me, and I just dove.”
His most entertaining play came on a third-down conversion late in the game. Only needing 3 yards to pick up the game-ending first down, he broke through a pair of tackles and sprinted for a 64-yard score.
“Adrenaline pushed me through it,” he said. “I saw an open hole and I had to go.”
A pair of scores by Way and Zach Dresch gave the Crusaders (5-2, 6-4) a lead early in the fourth quarter but a 6-yard score by Cammauf with 3:49 to play gave the Panthers a lead they would never relinquish.
After securing their first outright title the message is clear among the Panthers – the job isn’t done yet. They’ll open their District 3 Class 3A title run at home next Friday night.
“We’re preparing like any other team,” Nawrocki said. “We’ll celebrate this one, watch some film and we’ll be ready.”
Scoring summary
| 1 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 96 run (Wickenheiser kick) | 9:28 |
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Hohenadel, 14 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 4:55 |
| 1 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 65 run (Wickenheiser kick) | 4:44 |
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Spotts, 20 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 3:52 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Cammauf, 2 run (Wamsher kick) | 0:10 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Gerner, 25 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 7:19 |
| 3 | Lancaster Catholic | Way, 1 run (Sullivan pass from Stefanow) | 0:48 |
| 4 | Lancaster Catholic | Dresch, 48 pass from Stefanow (Wickenheiser kick) | 8:00 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Cammauf, 6 run (pass failed) | 3:49 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Cammauf, 64 run (pass failed) | 1:18 |
Team statistics
| Lancaster Catholic | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 20 | 21 |
| Rushes-yards | 36-280 | 25-134 |
| Passing yards | 176 | 271 |
| Total yards | 456 | 405 |
| Passes | 15-21-1 | 21-36-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 3-42.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-34 | 4-26 |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Lancaster Catholic | 14 | 0 | 8 | 7 | 29 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 14 | 7 | 7 | 12 | 40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Lancaster Catholic: Way 22-243, Stefanow 8-31, Baumler 4-6, Douglas 1-1, Team 1-(-1).
Schuylkill Valley: Cammauf 12-103, Hohenadel 10-27, Pyle 2-5, Team 1-(-1).
PASSING
Lancaster Catholic: Stefanow 14-19-1–172, Hegener 1-2-0–4.
Schuylkill Valley: Nawrocki 21-36-0–271.
RECEIVING
Lancaster Catholic: Dresch 5-84, Hegener 4-27, Warren 3-34, Sullivan 1-16, Way 1-11, Stefanow 1-4.
Schuylkill Valley: Spotts 9-154, Gerner 5-62, Hohenadel 2-25, Lackner 2-16, Gehret 2-8, Kowalski 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
Schuylkill Valley: Lackner.
