Niko Carestia, Schuylkill Haven running back.

Schuylkill Haven

Last season: 9-3

Head coach: Mike Farr

Schuylkill Haven will celebrate its 100^th football season this fall, and the 2024 edition of the Hurricanes is hoping to make it a special one.

After four straight losing campaigns, the Hurricanes broke through last year, going 9-3 overall, winning the Schuylkill/Colonial White Division title and reaching the District 11 Class AA championship before falling to Williams Valley.

Schuylkill Haven looks to take the next step this season, as coach Mike Farr’s squad returns 15 players with starting experience on offense and 11 on defense. Leading that group is junior running back/linebacker Niko Carestia, who rushed for 1,453 yards and 20 touchdowns on offense and compiled 107 tackles, eight tackles for loss and four sacks on defense.

He’ll be joined in the backfield by sophomore Colton Reber, who gained 416 yards and scored four TDs a year ago. The Hurricanes will have to find a replacement for fullback/linebacker Aiden Myers, who rushed for 1,312 yards and 15 TDs on offense and was the Schuylkill County Football Coaches’ Association Dream Team Defensive Player of the Year on defense.

Carestia and Reber will run behind a massive and veteran offensive line that returns all five starters — Adam Malinoski, Brian Moran, Ethan Kline, Wyatt Keefer and Chase Williams. Tight end Chase Leibensperger and receivers Leyden Hertz (19-277, 3 TDs) and Niko Castillo also return. Schuylkill Haven ranked among the area’s top offenses a year ago, averaging 31.9 points and 284 yards rushing per game.

The Hurricanes will have a new quarterback, as last year’s starter, Augustus Warke, graduated. Brayden Fasnacht and Adam Balulis are among the candidates to fill the role.

Defensively, Williams, Keefer, Kline, Moran, Malinoski and Nathan Chamberlain return up front, with Carestia and Reber at linebacker and Hertz, Balulis and Castillo in the secondary. Brody Brand, Brayden Diehl, Blake Rossi, Aaron Gilbert, Leibensperger, Tristan Davis and Logan Goad are among the defensive newcomers. Hunter Correll will handle Haven’s kicking duties.

“We need to have an effective running attack while limiting our opponents’ offensive opportunities,” said Farr, who has compiled a 130-92 record as he enters his 20^th season at the helm. “Defensively, we need to have solid DB play and dominate the box.”

Schuylkill Haven enters the season with 596 all-time victories, needing just four to reach the 600-win plateau. A special ceremony will be held to honor the program’s 100^th season Friday, Sept. 6, when the Hurricanes host Shenandoah Valley at Rotary Field.

The Hurricanes will compete in the new Blue Division (Division III) of the Schuylkill/Colonial Football Cooperative along with Mahanoy Area, Marian, Minersville, Nativity, Panther Valley, Pine Grove, Shenandoah Valley, Tri-Valley and Williams Valley. Schuylkill Haven opens its season Friday, Aug. 23, by hosting backyard rival Blue Mountain.