WYOMISSING — Hamburg finally accomplished what it failed to do against Wyomissing when the Berks League rivals first met in the regular season: score a touchdown.
While the eighth-seeded Hawks still fell to the No. 1 Spartans 42-6, Ignacio Reynoso’s 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter prevented Saturday’s District 3 Class AA quarterfinal from being a shutout.
Reynoso led Hamburg’s rushing attack with 71 yards in addition to scoring its only touchdown, while senior quarterback Nick Kuhn completed 10-of-17 passes for 112 yards.
The Hawks also managed to outgain Wyomissing (11-0) in total yards 285-278 despite the lopsided final score. The Spartans were ranked third in the state by PennLive.com and the Pennsylvania Football News entering Saturday’s contest.
“It was kind of like getting the monkey off of our backs, so I’m glad we got over that hump,” Hamburg coach Damian Buggy said of scoring a touchdown against the Spartans. “Iggy (Reynoso) is a very physical runner, and Nick was very efficient finding him in the flat because Wyomissing was taking away everything up the middle.
“We’re definitely going to miss Nick because he’s the complete package at quarterback,” Buggy added. “He’s put so much responsibility on his shoulders, which is exactly what you want out of a senior QB.”
Wyomissing moves on to host Biglerville, a 30-7 winner over Hanover, in the semifinals on a date and time to be determined.
The Spartans spread the ball around offensively, with three different running backs rushing for at least 50 yards and with four scoring touchdowns on the ground.
Brandon Westwood led the way with 99 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Christian Martir carried the ball five times for 50 yards and two scores.
“I have to give Wyomissing credit,” Buggy said. “They’re everything we thought they’d be, which was a state championship-caliber team.”
Hamburg (5-6) had early scoring opportunities but became its own worst enemy by turning the ball over.
The Hawks coughed up two key fumbles in the first half that the Spartans turned into touchdowns.
Hamburg also missed a 30-yard field goal attempt wide right that would have cut its deficit to 14-3 at the beginning of the second quarter.
“We had times where we could have executed better and brought this game a little closer,” Buggy said. “We left a lot of points out on the field.”
Wyomissing made it 28-0 at halftime with Martir’s two touchdowns runs, a 52-yard breakaway from Brandon Workman and a 6-yard run up the middle from Westwood.
The Spartans came out in the third quarter and scored two more touchdowns. The first came on a 32-yard pass from quarterback Charlie Tonneslan to wideout Colin Mastrangelo, and the second on a 14-yard carry from freshman Nolan Babb.
The Hawks finally got on the board with Reynoso’s 1-yard run at the goal line on a drive that was aided by a 23-yard dash by Aaron Nelson.
Nelson finished with four carries for 34 yards and led Hamburg’s receiving unit with five catches for 58 yards.
“That’s the way all of our kids have been playing this year, especially the senior class,” Buggy said. “After the 1-9 season we had last year, it would have been easy to fall back into that losing mentality, but they never quit.
“While the end result of this game wasn’t what we wanted, making the playoffs to play a state-ranked team like Wyomissing is the feather in our seniors’ caps.”
Game Summary
District 3 Class AA Quarterfinal
Ham (5-6) 0 0 0 6 — 6
Wyo (11-0) 14 14 14 0 — 42
Wyo — Martir 34 run (Mendel kick)
Wyo — Martir 8 run (Mendel kick)
Wyo — Workman 52 run (kick blocked)
Wyo — Westwood 6 run (Westwood pass from Tonneslan)
Wyo — Mastrangelo 32 pass from Tonneslan (Mendel kick)
Wyo — Babb 14 run (Mendel kick)
Ham — Reynoso 1 run (kick failed)
Ham Wyo
First Downs 14 10
Rushes-Yards 43-173 35-263
Passes 10-18-0 2-4-1
Passing Yards 112 15
Total Yards 285 278
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-0
Penalties 5-23 2-15
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Hamburg — Reynoso 16-71, Ruiz 10-36, Nelson 4-34, N. Kuhn 9-23, T. Herber 2-6, M. Madara 2-3. Wyomissing — Westwood 13-99, Workman 3-69, Martir 5-50, Smith 4-21, Babb 1-14, Combs 1-8, Naylor 2-7, Marez 1-6, A. Caraballo 3-0, Gonzalez 1-(-5), Holt 1-(-6).
PASSING: Hamburg — N. Kuhn 10-17-0, 112; Reynoso 0-1-0, 0. Wyomissing — Tonneslan 2-4-1, 15.
RECEIVING: Hamburg — Nelson 5-58, Reynoso 2-31, Vazquez 1-15, Payne 1-5, Ruiz 1-3. Wyomissing — Westwood 1-9, Smith 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS: Hamburg — Payne