Schuylkill Haven quarterback Max Heim gets set to take the snap behind the Hurricanes' offensive line during their Sept. 26, 2025, win over Williams Valley (Photo by Leroy Boyer).

WILLIAMSTOWN — Schuylkill Haven senior linemen Chase Williams and Wyatt Keefer weigh a combined 662 pounds.

They line up side-by-side on the Hurricanes’ offensive line, then make up two-thirds of Haven’s defensive front. They’re in such great condition physically that they don’t come off the field except for kickoffs.

Friday night in a battle of two of the top three Class AA teams in Pennsylvania, Williams and Keefer delivered a performance that should have college recruiters drooling.

The senior co-captains dominated on both sides of the ball in the second half as the Hurricanes downed Williams Valley 43-29 in a Schuylkill-Colonial Blue Division showdown at Gerry Stauffenberg Field at Viking Stadium.

The victory improves No. 1-ranked Schuylkill Haven to 6-0 overall for the first time since 2008 while the No. 3-ranked Vikings suffer their first loss of the season.

“When we went into halftime … We came out a little slow in the first half,” said Williams, a 6-foot-3, 342-pounder. “Together as a group, no coaches, we brought everybody together, got the energy up.

“We just knew that we needed to stop these guys and get the momentum back in our favor, because obviously going into halftime the momentum was out for us. We knew how big it was to get the momentum back in our favor. (Wyatt and I) did everything we could to get that shifted back for us.”

Williams, Keefer and the Hurricane defense stepped up after Williams Valley used a last-second field goal by Quin Smeltz to take a 22-21 halftime lead.

First, Adam Balulis picked off Williams Valley quarterback Brady Shomper three plays into the second half and returned the ball to midfield. On the next play, Colton Reber broke loose around the end for a 54-yard touchdown. Niko Castillo’s conversion run put Haven ahead for good at 29-22.

On Williams Valley’s next possession, the Vikings faced a fourth-and-5 at the Haven 25. Shomper dropped back, was flushed out of the pocket and then sacked for a 10-yard loss by Keefer, a 6-3, 320-pounder.

“I just wanted to make a big play for my team,” Keefer said. “After that play, I felt everything came together. We felt really good after that.”

Schuylkill Haven followed with a 12-play, 65-yard drive to go up 36-22. Reber rushed four times for 20 yards on the drive, which featured a 33-yard pass from Max Heim to Blake Rossi on fourth-and-14 from the 34. Heim scored from the 1-yard line one play later.

Four plays later, the Vikings again faced a critical fourth-down play, this time a fourth-and-1 at their own 49. Williams stuffed Shomper on a keeper up the middle, giving Haven the ball.

Reber’s 12-yard run seven plays later put Haven up 43-22 with 8:46 left.

On its first three possessions of the second half, Williams Valley was held to 31 yards and two first downs.

“We made some adjustments at half,” Schuylkill Haven coach Mike Farr said. “We executed. We got some stops. We made a couple of more plays than they did.”

The final two scoring drives were powered by Schuylkill Haven’s offensive line, which excelled despite missing senior center Ethan Kline. Sophomore Ayden Flannery stepped in and played well at center and the Hurricanes ran behind right tackle Williams and right guard Keefer for 148 yards in the second half after behind held to 82 in the first half.

Reber finished with 170 yards on 23 carries, running for 134 yards and two touchdowns in the second half.

“We just kept pounding the rock. That’s what we do,” Keefer said. “We open up the holes. We have the best running backs in the area. They’re going to hit that seam 100 miles an hour and they’re going to go for touchdowns.”

Schuylkill Haven’s dominant third quarter came after a first half that resembled two heavyweight fighters trading blows back and forth.

The Hurricanes took an early 7-0 lead on Chase Leibensperger’s 54-yard interception return six plays into the game.

Williams Valley countered with a nine-play, 59-yard drive capped by Shomper’s 2-yard TD but missed the conversion kick. After a defensive stop, the Vikings went up 13-7 on Fletcher Thompson’s 10-yard run.

Schuylkill Haven regained the lead on a Randy Moss-type, 48-yard touchdown catch by Castillo from Heim with 9:38 left in the second quarter. Castillo went up and over the defender, hauled in the pass, came down, did a spin move to break free, then raced into the end zone.

The Vikings answered with a 27-yard touchdown pass from Shomper to Evan Achenbach to go up 19-14. Haven surged back on top 21-19 on a 27-yard pass from Heim to Reber with 37 seconds left in the half.

That was enough time for Williams Valley, which used an 18-yard run by Shomper and a 34-yard pass to Thompson to get close enough for Smeltz to drill a 27-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 22-21 halftime lead.

That’s when Schuylkill Haven’s big boys took over.

“I’m happy for our kids, because no one believed in them,” Farr said. “They thought we were a fluke. We have a lot of players on this football team.

“It was a great football game. Our kids played well. They deserve a lot of credit.”

Game Summary

Schuylkill Haven 43, Williams Valley 29

SH (6-0, 5-0)              7          14        15        7  —    43

WV (5-1, 4-1)             13        9          0          7  —    29

SH — Leibensperger 54 interception return (Fessler kick)

WV — Shomper 2 run (kick failed)

WV — Thompson 10 run (Smeltz kick)

SH — Castillo 48 pass from Heim (Fessler kick)

WV — Achenbach 27 pass from Shomper (run failed)

SH — Reber 27 pass from Heim (Fessler kick)

WV — FG Smeltz 27

SH — Reber 54 run (Castillo run)

SH — Heim 1 run (Fessler kick)

SH — Reber 12 run (Fessler kick)

WV — Bair 27 run (Smeltz kick)

Team Statistics

                                    SH                WV

First Downs                17                 15

Rushes-Yards              36-203          36-216

Passes                          6-16-0          7-16-2

Passing Yards             132               103

Total Yards                 335               319

Fumbles/Lost              3-1                1-0

Penalties                      5-35              3-25

Individual Statistics

RUSHING: Schuylkill Haven — C. Reber 23-170, Castillo 5-46, Goad 4-20, Heim 3-(-6), Team 1-(-27). Williams Valley — Thompson 13-94, Shomper 21-88, Bair 2-34.

PASSING: Schuylkill Haven —- Heim 6-16-0, 132. Williams Valley —- Shomper 7-15-2, 103; Team 0-1-0, 0.

RECEIVING: Schuylkill Haven — Castillo 1-48, C. Reber 3-44, Rossi 2-40. Williams Valley — Achenbach 4-55, Thompson 3-48.

INTERCEPTIONS: Schuylkill Haven — Leibensperger, Balulis.