Four Logan Nawrocki TD passes carry Schuylkill Valley
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
By Pete Beck — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Schuylkill Valley began to find its footing following a rough non-league schedule by trouncing Kutztown 50-24 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 opener for both teams Friday night at Leesport.
The Panthers (2-2) got a huge boost from Logan Nawrocki, who passed for 262 yards and four touchdowns; he also ran for a a score.
Nawrocki was able to find his main play-makers, Lucas Spotts and Kowen Gerner, in open space, exploiting a thin Kutztown secondary; each of the seniors had a pair of scoring receptions.
Based on his performance Friday, and throughout his record-setting career, you would think taking what the defense allows was Nawrocki’s customary approach. However, Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach admits that this is an emerging skill for his senior quarterback.
“We give him things that he can handle,” said Harbach. “He throws the long ball very well, and now he’s starting to improve his short throws a little bit and apply what we’re teaching, moving through his progressions. He’s really developed in that way.”
The Panthers offense came out quickly, engineering long scoring drives on their first two possessions. Gerner added a scoop and score 30-yard fumble recovery to make it 21-0 at the end of the first quarter scoring.
Beginning in the second quarter, Kutztown (0-4) was able to make a little headway on the ground. The Cougars put together a 15-play, six-minute scoring drive to pull within two scores, but were unable to contain Spotts, who hauled in a 49-yard touchdown pass from Nawrocki just before the half.
“Coming off of last week was a tough loss (22-10 to Fleetwood),” said Nawrocki. “But we came into this week well prepared, Coach had a good game plan and we executed.”
That game plan didn’t include any self-inflicted wounds, but untimely penalties cost the Panthers; they amassed seven penalties for 43 yards, wiping a long scoring play off the board and allowing a stalled Cougars drive to continue via a roughing the passer penalty.
“I’m a little disappointed in our penalties,” said Harbach. “There were too many times we had a penalty at a critical moment, and we need to clean that stuff up.”
Moving forward, Schuylkill Valley has its sights set on finishing atop Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. It shared the title with Annville-Cleona and Lancaster Catholic last season, when it set a program record for victories.
“We’re 1-0 in the section now, and I tell the kids that every week is a championship game,” said Harbach. “We’ve got to run the table if we intend to be section champs; we’ve got to keep improving every week.” “Obviously, we want to keep winning, make the playoffs and go as far as we can,” added Nawrocki. “But first, we want to be section champs.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Kutztown | 0 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 24 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 21 | 7 | 15 | 7 | 50 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Spotts, 22 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 9:52 |
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Nawrocki, 4 run (Wamsher kick) | 5:36 |
| 1 | Schuylkill Valley | Gerner, 30 fumble return (Wamsher kick) | 5:21 |
| 2 | Kutztown | Bahr, 2 run (Sherry run) | 1:00 |
| 2 | Schuylkill Valley | Gerner, 44 pass from Nawocki (Wamsher kick) | 0:23 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Spotts, 11 pass from Nawrocki (Wamsher kick) | 5:44 |
| 3 | Schuylkill Valley | Gerner, 6 pass from Nawrocki (Camauff run) | 1:37 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Mathias, 6 pass from Stoess (Bahr run) | 5:46 |
| 4 | Schuylkill Valley | Pyle, 29 run (Wamsher kick) | 3:30 |
| 4 | Kutztown | Schlappich, 2 run (Stoess pass to Mathias) | 0:56 |
Team statistics
| Kutztown | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 13 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 46-138 | 15-89 |
| Passing yards | 109 | 279 |
| Total yards | 247 | 368 |
| Passes | 5-15-2 | 16-21-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-27.5 | 1-27 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-20 | 8-43 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Kutztown: Ackley 17-81, Swoyer 6-25, Bahr 9-23, Sherry 4-11, Stoess 4-9, Schlappich 1-2, Walters 3-(-5), Team 2-(-8).
Schuylkill Valley: Hohenadel 6-43, Pyle 2-30, Kowalski 2-15, Cammauf 2-10, Team 1-(-1), Nawrocki 2-(-8).
PASSING
Kutztown: Stoess 5-14-1—109, Mathias 0-1-1—0.
Schuylkill Valley: Nawrocki 15-20-0—262, Aletras 1-1-0—17.
RECEIVING
Kutztown: Mathias 4-56, Undercuffler 1-53.
Schuylkill Valley: Spotts 7-144, Gerner 5-80, Hohenadel 2-0, Lackner 1-38, Durland 1-17.
INTERCEPTIONS
Schuylkill Valley: Kowalski, Ortiz.
