Schuylkill Valley had its best season in the program’s history last year.
The Panthers (6-1, 9-3) set a school record for wins, eclipsing the eight wins of the 2003 and 2012 teams. They also earned a share of the Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5 title with Lancaster Catholic and Annville-Cleona in a three-way tie.
Schuylkill Valley beat Littlestown 45-21 in the District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal before falling to Wyomissing in the semifinals 48-0.
With plenty of positives to look back on, head coach Bruce Harbach likes the direction his team is headed in 2024.
“There’s always room for improvement,” Harbach said. “We’re just working our tails off. We return all of our offense except for our All-State running back (Dominic Guiffre) so, we’re looking forward to that. I knew four years ago this would be a very talented football team.”
“Right now it’s to the point where all the veterans are back and I can call a play and they know it. They’re to the point where they’ve becoming students of the game now. They come back and tell me sometimes what’s there and what’s not there.”
The Panthers lose two All-Berks players in Guiffre and Colby Crillis due to graduation but should return most of their top-five offense in Berks County otherwise. On defense, they also return about seven starters from a season ago.
During the heart of last season, Guiffre missed four games but the Panthers didn’t lose a beat as they won each game outscoring opponents 112-37.
“Well when Dom (Guiffre) was hurt last year, you kind of saw what we’re going to get from this year’s football team with Cooper (Hohenadel) and Logan (Nawrocki) running the ball,” Harbach said.
Hohenadel, a senior running back, rushed for 284 yards, had seven receptions for 71 yards, and eight total touchdowns a year ago.
Senior quarterback Logan Nawrocki had an exceptional season under center in 2023. He completed 127-of-229 attempts for 2,006 yards, 23 touchdowns, and seven interceptions.
“Every year he’s grown,” Harbach said of Nawrocki. “He started halfway through the season as a sophomore. Last year had a fantastic junior season. This year, he’s now become more of a coach on the field.”
Nawrocki will have his top target, Kowen Gerner, back for their senior season.
“We’ve been together for so long, it’s just like a connection,” Nawrocki said of Gerner, a teammate since their youth football days. “This whole offseason, we’ve been going over plays and routes.”
“We just have a connection and we’ve had it for the past few years,” Gerner said. “We just keep growing and getting better. The more we practice, the more comfortable we’re getting in running plays and stuff.”
Gerner, an All-Berks second team selection, caught 48 passes for 976 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2023.
This season the Panthers plan to implement 20-personal and some two-tight end sets to mix up the offense.
The goal is to get the ball outside to their bigger receivers like senior tight end Luke Spotts while gaining some extra blockers up front in the run game.
With the season almost underway, the Panthers’ upperclassmen have all adopted the same mindset of taking the season week-by-week.
“We’ve been working real hard all summer,” Spotts said. “Got to keep working and take it week by week. We have some tougher games this year coming up. Just take it week by week.”
“I think we just need to focus on the opponent that we have coming up and we got to see what their weaknesses are and what our strengths are and see what we can use against them. Just got to keep grinding all season,” Gerner said.
A look at the Panthers
Coach: Bruce Harbach, fourth season, 17-17.
Last year: 6-1 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5, 9-3.
PIAA classification: 3A.
Schedule: Aug. 23, at Muhlenberg; Sept. 29, Daniel Boone; Sept. 6, at Fleetwood; Sept. 13, Kutztown; Sept. 20, at Pequea Valley; Sept. 27, at Berks Catholic; Oct. 4, Colombia Borough; Oct. 11, at Hamburg; Oct. 18, Annville-Cleona; Oct. 25, Lancaster Catholic.
Source: Berkshire mont
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