Panthers top Hamburg in the Frost Bowl

The 38th edition of the Frost Bowl proved to be a lopsided matchup as Schuylkill Valley defeated Hamburg Area, 42-14, to retain the Frost Bowl trophy for a third straight year.

The Panthers displayed a balanced offense by scoring six touchdowns (3 run, 3 pass) and accumulating 438 yards of total offense (231 run, 207 pass).

The Schuylkill Valley defense pitched a shutout in the first half (42-0) and limited the Hawks to 32 total yards (23 run, 9 pass).

“This game is a big deal to us,” Schuylkill Valley coach Jeff Chillot said. “The kids have played against each other for years. They take it serious and play hard.”

The Panthers (7-3 overall, 4-2 BFL-2) were led by Nick Scheidt with 101 yards on 11 carries and 2 scores and Ryan Matthews with 14 carries for 78 yards and 1 TD plus 2 catches for 61 yards and 1 TD.

Quarterback Kyle Beissel completed 10-of-11 passes for 207 yards and 3 TDs. Adam Drumgoole caught 4 passes for 80 yards and a score and Garrett Strobel had 2 catches for 39 yards and a score.

“The offense played great,” Chillot said. “We had a plan, executed it and got what we expected (from the offense). The team bounced back (3 losses in previous 4 games).”

The Panthers scored on its third play of the game when Beissel connected with Matthews for a 40-yard TD. Schuylkill Valley scored on its next two drives with Scheidt and Matthews each scoring on four-yard runs.

The Panthers opened up a 28-0 first quarter lead when Beissel threw an 11-yard pass to Strobel for the score with 25 seconds left in the quarter.

In the second quarter, Beissel and Drumgoole connected for a 20-yard TD pass and Scheidt finished the scoring in the half by running 57 yards for a TD and a 42-0 lead for the Panthers.

Hamburg Area (4-6, 2-4) could only muster 32 yards of offense in the half on seven possessions.

“The defense was awesome,” Chillot said. “(Hamburg) has playmakers in (Montay) Berger, (Ronald) Thompson and (Joey) Raffensperger. We respected that and prepared for them.”

Berger was a bright spot for the Hawks with 92 yards on 11 carries. He surpassed the 1,000-yard mark for the season in rushing yards. For the game Hamburg Area had 153 rushing yards and nine passing yards.

The victory makes the overall Frost Bowl record 19-18-1 in the Hawks favor.

The Panthers played without running back Eryk Cerankowski who sat out the game due to a concussion in the previous game. Chillot said that he expects Cerankowski to be ready for the district playoffs.

Schuylkill Valley will meet Berks Catholic at Forino Sports Complex on Nov. 9 in District 3-AA playoff action. The Panthers fell to the Saints, 21-20, at home on Oct. 5 when a two-point conversion failed in the last minute of the game.