Season Preview: Fleetwood Tigers
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Classification: Class 4A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 0-6 league, 2-8 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2019.
Head coach: Steve Pangburn, second season, 2-8.
Key losses: All-league E Owen Kotsch, C Noah Yourkawitch, LB/WR Ty Wamsher.
Top offensive players: QB Jack Riffle, RB Czion Brickle, RB Jason Petion, RB Trey Killian, HB Dakota Thomas, HB Brate Maddocks, WR Mason Musitano, WR Tristin McFarland, TE Landon Hare, C Cody Harders, G Hunter Leister, G Harrison Fisher, T Hunter Svoboda, T Brandon Delgrosso, PK William Maurek.
Top defensive players: E Landon Hare, E Cody Harders, T Hunter Leister, T Ben Miller, ILB Jason Petion, ILB Trey Killian, OLB Dakota Thomas, OLB Tristin McFarland, OLB Czion Brickle, S Nico DeOliveira, S Nate Maddocks, S Chase Domenech, CB Mason Musitano, CB Davyan Moore.
Did you know? Josh Goretzke matched a Berks record by intercepting four passes in a 32-0 win over Bucktail in 2004. Among the other Berks players with four picks in a game: Schuylkill Valley’s Steve Kreider, who played in the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Boyertown’s Jerry Kapp, who went to training camp this summer with the New York Jets.
For the record: Tanner Maddocks set a program record by returning two INTs for touchdowns in 41-0 win over Upper Perkiomen in 2021. He’s currently the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart at Villanova.
On schedule: The Tigers have a series lead against just two opponents on their schedule: Kutztown (11-10) and Upper Perkiomen (4-0). They are a combined 4-23 against their Section 3 rivals, including 1-7 against Daniel Boone and 3-11 vs. Twin Valley.
Quotable: “It’s gonna come down to the offensive line: We need to be able to move people off the line of scrimmage and establish a running game this year.” — Tigers coach Steve Pangburn.
Outlook: The Tigers got off to a promising start last season, with a pair of lopsided wins in the first three weeks of the season, but quickly found out they didn’t have the bulk or ability to stop any of their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 opponents. They allowed an average of 43.5 points in their six league games.
They’re hoping a stronger offense and the ability to establish a running game will help keep their smaller defense off the field a little more.
They certainly have the bulk on the O-line to get your attention. In 6-7, 265-pound William & Mary recruit Hunter Svoboda and 6-8, 340-pound junior Brandon Delgrosso they may have the biggest tackles this side of Happy Valley. That front line, which includes three-year starter Hunter Leister at G, averages 6-2 ½, 286 pounds.
If they can throw some blocks the Tigers have good backs in Czion Brickle, their leading rusher a year ago, and Jason Petion to make things happen.
They’re utilizing an H-back this season and have a pair of good ones in juniors Brate Maddocks and Dakota Thomas. Brate is the fourth of the Maddocks brothers to play for the Tigers and brings the same kind of intensity, ability and leadership that helped them reach the postseason before. Thomas was one of Kutztown’s top players last season before transferring. He’ll be a plus on both sides of the ball.
Establishing a consistent running game will help take the load off Jack Riffle, a talented QB who had little time to throw last season, leading to his 48.2% completion rate and 10 INTs.
“We didn’t protect him well enough,” said Fleetwood coach Steve Pangburn. “We’ve made changes to get Jack back to a comfort level.”
One thing that will help Riffle feel more comfortable is the return of all-league second-team WR Mason Musitano, who’s getting Ivy League looks according to Pangburn. He led the team in receiving as a sophomore and had 27 receptions and led the team with six TDs before a hip injury in Week 4 that caused him to miss most of the rest of the season.
Fleetwood returns 13 starters and has depth at the skill positions, especially with the addition of transfers Chase Domenech (QB/WR/DB) from Daniel Boone, Thomas, and Maddocks, who played in Venice, Fla., last season.
What the Tigers don’t have is depth along the lines. They’ll play as many as seven guys both ways, including C Cody Harders, TE Landon Harre and Leister.
“We took our lumps last year, but we played a lot of young guys, and they all took it together,” said Pangburn. “Your biggest leap is from your sophomore to junior year, so we’re hoping to see that. We’re locked and loaded and ready to go.”
At the wire: Should move up to middle of the pack after going winless in first run through Section 3.
