Ruiz sets two program marks but Hamburg falls to Boiling Springs in district semi

One week after the first district victory in program the Hamburg Hawks must’ve been thinking about another historic win.

The went into halftime tied with second-seeded Boiling Springs Friday in a District 3 Class 3A game and were feeling pretty good about things.

“We thought we played really well,” said Hawks coach Jeff Chillot of the first half. “We thought it was going in our direction, and we even had a chance to get some points at the end of the half. We thought actually had a little bit better of the half.”

Joey Menke caught a touchdown pass and ran for another as the Bubblers pulled away in the second half for a 35-7 win at Boiling Springs. They clinched a spot in the championship game. The Bubblers (11-1) will meet the winner of Saturday’s game between top-seeded Wyomissing and No. 5 Middletown.

The Hawks (7-4) saw several third-quarter drives fizzle in Boiling Springs territory and their chances faded early in the fourth when Menke scored on a 37-yard run to make it 28-7.

Menke finished with 135 yards rushing and caught a 38-yard TD pass.

The Bubblers played error-free football; the Hawks turned it over twice and saw a punt blocked.

“They’re very solid in that regard,” Chillot said. “They’re very well-coached. They put one ball on the ground and they recovered it, and that was it.”

The Hawks took the lead on their second drive when Diohnny Ruiz broke loose for a 41-yard TD run. Lucas Blatt’s PAT made it 7-0.

“We believed coming in we had enough talent to stay with ’em and when that happened, that was the big play to take us over the top,” Chillot said of Ruiz’s score, “so we were really excited about it. We felt really good about where we were.”

Ruiz, picked for the Berks Section 2 all-league team earlier in the week, finished with 126 yards on 16 carries. He broke the program record for rushing yards in a season, finishing with 1,313 yards. That topped the mark of 1,200 by Shaheed Warren in 2019.

Ruiz finished with 2,652 career yards, breaking the program record of 2,571 set by Vreeland Wood in 2003. He finished with 36 career TDs, 21 this season.

The Hawks came within one win of matching the program record. They beat Bermudian Springs 31-27 last week for their first district win.

“We had some good weeks and some good games,” Chillot said. “Other than the second half of the ‘Wyo’ game, we were with every team. We have some quality wins. I’m pleased with the progress we made, clearly.”

Other than Wyomissing, which beat the Hawks 47-7, Chillot felt Boiling Springs was the best team Hamburg faced this season.

“They run their system well, they’re well-coached,” he said. “They have some really good linemen and did very solid jobs. They have seniors who definitely know what they’re doing. Defensively they’re tough that way because they can really adjust to things.”