Season preview: Hamburg Hawks
2024 Berks football coverage
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Classification: Class 4A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 3-4 Section 5, 6-5 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2022.
Head coach: Matt Hoffert, third season, 15-8.
(Chris Knight/LNP photo)
Key losses: All-League TE Mason Semmel, WR Cohen Correll, DB Alex Benz.
Top offensive players: All-League QB Tyler Shuey (2,764 yards, 25 TDs), RB Blaise Ernst, RB Leland Moore, RB Misael Oviedo, all-league WR Ty Werley (28 receptions), WR Daniel Brady, WR Ethan Horvath, TE Mason Strunk, TE Alexander Valentino, C Cayden Mason, G Logan Monroe, T Astian Reppert, T Will Marchiano, second-team all-league PK Eli Blatt.
Top defensive players: E Astian Reppert, E Dalton Leiby, T Cayden Mason, T Cody Agelwei, T Will Marchiano, LB/P Leland Moore, LB Logan Monroe (second-team all-league T last year), LB Issac Stewart, LB Bryce Schmeck, S Daniel Brady, S Ty Werley, S Michael Smith, CB Ethan Horvath, CB Owen Bentz.
Did you know? The Hawks have finished with a winning record in three straight seasons for the first time in their 55-year history.
For the record: Tyler Shuey passed for 2,764 yards last season, second-most in Berks history and the most ever by a Berks passer in 11 games. Daniel Boone’s Jon Monteiro set the Berks record with 2,969 yards in 2008 in 12 games.
On schedule: The Hawks meet “Frost Bowl” rival Schuylkill Valley for the 50th time, in Week 8. The series is tied 24-24-1. The Panthers won last year 28-13.
Quotable: “It doesn’t surprise me, because we were so young last year, and they see the big names that left. We are young (again this season) but what people on the outside don’t know is that these guys have been working hard in the offseason. I think we’re sounder than we’ve been.” – Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert, on Section 5 coaches picking his team to finish fifth in the section.
Outlook: Tyler Shuey threw for more than 2,700 yards last season and for more yards during the regular season than any passer in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Nearly two-thirds of those receiving yards were produced by TE Mason Semmel and WRs Cohen Correll and Alex Benz, each of whom has graduated.
So, can Shuey possibly come close to his record-setting season?
Hawks coach Matt Hoffert thinks he’ll do better. Back to catch the ball is all-league WR Ty Werley, who averaged 22 yards on his 28 receptions. Daniel Brady, who caught 17 balls, returns in a bigger role. So does Ethan Horvath, a former QB. Mason Strunk, a 6-3, 240-pound soph, could be a target at TE.
More importantly, Hoffert believes Shuey will be better with a full season of quarterback play on his resume. He spent a lot of time in the offseason studying film and should be even more efficient in reading defenses. Plus he’s dropped some weight and has picked up a step. He ran for 533 yards and 12 TDs as a junior; Hoffert’s expecting even more.
“He’s going to be more of a (running) weapon because he can read better on the Option stuff,” Hoffert said. “He’s been working like crazy this offseason. He can move a lot better and he’s (going to be) really smart with the ball (in passing situations.)”
One reason for Hoffert’s optimism is the guys in front of Shuey. The offensive line was a problem area last season; that’s why Shuey ended up throwing so many passes (304). Hoffert has seen great progress there, especially from 250-pound LT Astian Reppert, a three-year starter, and RG Logan Monroe.
The Hawks lost several RBs to injury last season. That gave Blaise Ernst a chance to get some touches as a freshman and he excelled, rushing for 641 yards and six TDs while averaging 641 yards per carry. He topped 100 yards three times in the second half of the season.
Ernst will be part of a backfield rotation that includes Leland Moore, who was limited to 35 carries because of injury, and senior Misael “The Missile” Oviedo, who might be nearly as fast as his cousin, former Hawks All-State back Diohnny Ruiz.
The defense needs some work: The Hawks held only one league opponent below 26 points last season and ranked next-to-last in Section 5 in rushing defense and total defense.
Seven starters return on D. The biggest job will be filling the void left by LB Mason Semmel; the 6-foot, 195-pound Moore takes over that role. Monroe, an all-league pick at T, will line up next to him at ILB. Freshman Bryce Schmeck could see time at OLB. Brady will be a key at safety. Reppert and 245-pound Cayden Mason will be the key guys up front.
Hoffert expects to see his defense tighten up.
“We shouldn’t have to put up 50 points to win a game,” he said.
At the wire: Hawks are young, with just 10 seniors, but could give section favorites Schuylkill Valley and Lancaster Catholic a push.
