LEESPORT — Hamburg came into its territorial rivalry game with Schuylkill Valley wanting to prove they were a better than just a one-win football team.
The Hawks also wanted to play the role of spoiler since the Panthers needed a win in the regular season finale to earn a playoff spot in either District 3 or the Eastern Conference.
Hamburg did everything it could to pull off an upset in the 40th meeting of the two teams known as the Frost Bowl.
Yet despite outgaining its rival in total yards, the Hawks managed to shoot themselves in the foot several times and allowed the Panthers to pull away in the second half for a 35-21 victory.
Freshman running back Ignazio Reynoso had a breakout game for the Hawks (1-9, 1-5), gaining 252 yards.
Reynoso also hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Nicholas Kuhn to tie the score at 14 in the third quarter.
Kicker Aaron Nelson was also impressive for Hamburg as he booted a pair of field goals from 25 and 42 yards, respectively, to keep his team within a touchdown of the lead at halftime at 14-6.
But the Hawks also turned the ball over at inopportune times, especially with 2:54 left in the second quarter when Schuykill Valley’s Edward Shuttleworth picked off a Kuhn pass and returned it 99 yards for a touchdown and a 14-3 lead.
Hamburg also fumbled away a scoring opportunity in the third quarter at the Schuylkill Valley 10-yard line which resulted in a Panther score on the ensuing possession — a 78-yard scoring run by Shuttleworth to give his team a 28-14 lead.
“Our kids went into every game this season thinking we were going to win,” Hamburg coach Damian Buggy said. “There’s a ton of positives in the program. This was the first game that Reynoso really came into his own. He always had that big-play potential.”
Shuttleworth, who went over 2,000 yards rushing for his career, also had big-play potential for the Panthers (5-5, 3-3) as he scored four touchdowns, including the game’s first score on a 12-yard run with 10:25 left in the first quarter to give his team a 7-0 lead.
Hamburg answered with a 13-play drive that led to Nelson’s first field goal before Shuttleworth came up big on defense with an interception return for a score that stopped a Hamburg drive in the red zone.
“We made a couple of good plays on defense in fourth-down situations,” Schuylkill Valley coach Jeff Chilot said. “Shuttleworth made a great read on that pass. Even though we were up at halftime, we weren’t happy about it.”
Schuykill Valley went on to score three unanswered touchdowns after Hamburg tied the score in the third quarter, with one of the scores coming on a 64-yard run by Dillon Riley, who rushed for 112 yards.
Game Summary
Ham (1-9, 1-5) 3 3 8 7 — 21 SV (5-5. 3-3) 7 7 14 7 — 35
SV —Shuttleworth 12 run (Lisa kick)
H —Nelson 25 FG
SV —Shuttleworth 99 interception return (Lisa kick)
H — Nelson 42 FG
H — Reynoso 54 pass from Kuhn (Reynoso run)
SV —Shuttleworth 1 run (Lisa kick)
SV —Shuttleworth 78 run (Lisa kick)
SV —Riley 64 run (Lisa kick)
H —Hamilton 11 run (Nelson kick)
Ham SV
First Downs 20 20
Rushes-Yards 48-307 36-355
Passes 10-19-1 2-5-1
Passing Yards 137 30
Total Yards 444 385
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 3-1
Penalties 7-50 9-95
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Hamburg — Reynoso 28-252, Hamilton 9-32, Kuhn 8-17, Nelson 1-4, McAlister 2-2. Schuylkill Valley — Shuttleworth 22-232, Riley 14-112, Sausser 8-11.
PASSING: Hamburg — Kuhn 10-19-1, 138. Schuylkill Valley — Sausser 2-5-1, 30.
RECEIVING: Hamburg — Reynoso 2-55, Henne 5-53, Nelson 2-29. Schuylkill Valley — Spatz 1-19, Fouse 1-11.
INTERCEPTIONS: Hamburg — Nelson. Schuylkill Valley — Shuttleworth.
