STAYING UNBEATEN
Hamburg defeats Kutztown 42-7 to go to 5-0, but standout running back Pierce Mason leaves the game in the fourth quarter due to injury
As each team went to gather around its coach on the field following Hamburg’s 42-7 win over visiting Kutztown Friday, Hawks running back Pierce Mason rode to the locker room on a cart.
The senior, who came into the game leading the county in rushing, suffered what appeared to be an injury to his right leg or ankle with 8:06 left on a backwards pass that lost 2 yards.
He limped off the field with assistance, then was looked at by team personnel.
It was all part of an uneven night for Hamburg, which showed flashes of why it’s unbeaten, but also made too many mistakes for coach Matt Hoffert’s liking in the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5 game.
“We have a lot of things to clean up,” Hoffert said. “Penalties are a killer. We can’t have that. That’s what I said to them down there, we could be really good, but we’re stopping ourselves. So we got to clean all that stuff up and we have a very short time before we play Lancaster Catholic, so we got to get ourselves together.”
The Hawks (2-0, 5-0) will look to open 6-0 for the first time since 2006 when they travel to Lancaster to take on the undefeated Crusaders next Friday. Whether they will have Mason, who ran for 123 yards and two touchdowns Friday to push his totals to 841 rushing yards and has 18 total touchdowns this season, remains to be seen.
At least for Hoffert and his staff, the upcoming week’s teaching moments will come off a victory.
Hamburg committed 10 penalties for 91 yards. One penalty on third down gave the Cougars (0-2, 1-4) a first down on their scoring drive. Another wiped out a 58-yard run by Mason in the third quarter.
“Penalties hold us back a lot,” said Hamburg receiver Cohen Correll, who enjoyed a career night with eight catches for 142 yards and a touchdown. “There’s always room for improvement.”
Mason also lost a fumble at the end of a 26-yard reception inside the Kutztown 5 near the end of the first half.
But it obviously wasn’t all bad for the Hawks on Homecoming.
Relying more on senior quarterback Xander Menapace and the passing game, Hamburg rolled up 401 total yards. Menapace completed 15-of-21 passes for 247 yards and three touchdowns without an interception.
“We’re just going to take what they give us,” Hoffert said. “We’ve been running the ball, I mean, Pierce Mason has been running all over the place, and he runs hard. But If they’re gonna give us the passing game, we’re going to take advantage because we have the guys that convert. So whatever you give us, we’re going to take advantage.”
Mason, who also caught one pass for 26 yards, opened the scoring with a 31-yard run on the first drive of the game.
Menapace connected with Mason Semmel for a 14-yard touchdown pass with 10:29 left in the first half to make it 14-0.
It became 21-0 on a 32-yard run by Mason, then Correll scored on a 62-yard pass from Menapace on Hamburg’s next possession to make it 28-0.
“It’s a tight spiral every single time,” Correll said of Menapace’s passes. “I couldn’t ask for a better spot. Hits me in stride. Very consistent.”
Mason lost his fumble near the end of the first half trying to gain extra yards, a sign of what the second half would be like for the Hawks. They committed eight of their penalties after halftime.
Kutztown cut it to 28-7 on the second half’s opening possession, capping a 76-yard drive with a 2-yard run by Dakota Thomas with 5:40 left in the third quarter.
Hamburg closed the scoring with a 29-yard pass from Menapace to Ty Werley and a 15yard run by Derek Ruiz with 6:28 left.
The Cougars had success running all game and finished with 248 yards on 57 carries. Quarterback Jacob Lafferty ran for 103 yards on 24 carries and Brenden Ackley had 68 on 16 carries.
“Our captains said it right at the end,” Kutztown coach Larry Chester said. “That was the best mental game we’ve ever played. We have 17 freshmen. We have 13 sophomores. If they don’t get better from these experiences — that’s a pretty good team — if we don’t get better during these experiences, then what happens when I no longer can say I only have two seniors? When I say we have 17 seniors and we’re not better because of these experiences, then I’m a fool. So this was very, very, very good for us mentally.”
Chester saw his team’s performance Friday against a talented opponent as a big step in the right direction as he continues to build the program.
“We’re gonna get there,” he said. “This is only a year three for my staff. We’re gonna get there.”
On the other side, Hoffert has a team heading into its biggest game of the season knowing what it needs to work on, but also with some uncertainty due to injuries. Senior wide receiver/defensive back Kevin McFarland left Friday’s game in the first half and did not return.
“Always optimistic, and hopefully they’re good,” Hoffert said of Mason and McFarland. “Of course, they always tell me they’re fine. So we’ll see what happens, what our medical staff says.”