Panthers’ Spotts, Hohenadel enjoy East/West game despite loss
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
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MECHANICSBURG — Luke Spotts had no grand illusions about scoring a late touchdown to keep the East’s fading hopes alive in the final minutes Sunday of a 14-0 loss to the West in the annual PSFCA Small School East/West game.
The Schuylkill Valley tight end was just trying to make a play, but like most of the East’s key offensive snaps it came up short.
“There’s not much we couldn’t done (with that play),” said Spotts, who took a short pass to the West 7 on fourth down with about four minutes remaining at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field. “I knew I was pretty far (from the end zone) and I knew there was somebody on my back. I tried my best.”
Spotts and the East knew nothing but frustration during an afternoon that saw them continue to knock on the door but come up empty against a swift West defense that got big efforts from team MVP Troy Cunningham, a tackle from South Park, and Cambria Heights tackle Garrett Jasper.
That duo was in the East backfield all afternoon, disrupting plays and chasing quarterbacks Kal-El Durham of West Catholic and Blake Schwartz of Tri-Valley out of the pocket to force quick throws.
The East managed 18 first down, two more than the West, surprisingly, but never managed to get into a flow or convert big plays in the red zone. Schwartz and Durham combined to complete just 13-of-34 throws.
On three consecutive drives in the second half the East threatened to score, reaching the 16, 9, and 9 yard lines but was stopped on fourth down each time, once on an interception in the end zone by Trey Trybus of Cambria Heights.
“It’s always frustrating when we can’t finish in the red zone,” Spotts said. “Looking back on it, our offense was good all game, we just had to finish. That didn’t happen.
“They were good (on defense). We definitely had the size on ‘em, but they were probably just a little bit faster.”
Carson Nagle of Bald Eagle set the tone for the West, completing 8-of-11 passes on the opening drive and giving his team the lead with a 1-yard flip to Bishop Guilfoyle’s Hamilton Gates on an improvised play nine minutes into the game.
Nagle kept the pressure on with a series of short passes that helped his team control the game. He ended up clicking on 17-of-25 throws for 254 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
The West didn’t score again until the opening drive of the second half when Trent Adams of Tyrone took a short flip from Nagle and turned it into a 44-yard score for a 14-0 lead.
The East defense, on its heels much of the game, hung tough after that, coming up with a pair of takeaways to keep its team in the game.
Cooper Hohenadel of Schuylkill Valley played safety for the East. He and Spotts were the only Berks players in the game.
Four Berks players – Conrad Weiser’s Donovan Gingrich and Alex Malone, Exeter’s Jayden Zandier and Twin Valley’s Aris Drake — were set to compete in the Big School game, scheduled to kick off at 5 at Chapman Field.
Gavin Harrold of Penn Cambria finished with seven catches for a game-high 122 yards. Gates had seven catches for 64 yards Adams had five catches for 98 yards.
As a senior with the Panthers, Spotts caught 60 passes, most ever by a tight end in Berks County history. The previous Berks record for tight ends was 54, by Conrad Weiser’s Matt Weiser in 2010. Spotts had had 975 receiving yards and 10 TD catches, leading the entire Lancaster-Lebanon League in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns receptions.
He was one of three Schuylkill Valley players to earn Class 3A All-State honors on the Pennsylvania Football Writers team, along with Logan Nawrocki and linebacker Logan Cammauf.
Hohenadel was named Defensive Back of the Year in Section 5 of the L-L.
Hohenadel said he enjoyed being on the field again with his long-time teammate, Spotts.
“Even with him being on offense and me being on defense, we still have that chemistry,” he said. “It spread throughout the team and everybody worked together.”
Despite the loss Spotts enjoyed his experience.
“It was definitely fun competing and practicing with the best in the state,” he said. “I feel I fit right in. It was definitely an experience, a lot different than playing with the regular team.”
