Tackling-machine Hemberger shattering records for Western Reserve

Correspondent file photo / Michael G. Taylor. Western Reserve's Nathan Hemberger (10) and Isaac Burnett (56) combine to tackle Campbell's Kevin Timlin (2) for a loss during a game on Sept. 27. Hemberger now holds both the Blue Devils' single-season and career tackles records.

BERLIN CENTER — Coming into the season, linebacker Nathan Hemberger had his sights set on one last major defensive record at Western Reserve.

Hemberger had already set the school’s single-season tackles mark (176) last season as a junior, but he wanted to break the program’s career tackles mark.

In a Sept. 27 victory against Campbell, Hemberger achieved that milestone, breaking Bob Banks’ school record of 312 career tackles that was set from 2005-08.

“I honestly didn’t think I’d beat it that game,” Hemberger said. “I felt like I had an off game that game. … I definitely knew I was close. Going into the game, I knew I only needed like 10-12 tackles, something like that. All throughout the season, that has been my goal, to beat that other tackling record that was still up there.

“It just means I’ve set the bar high. I’ve set an example for the young ones below me and the ones that are coming up. It’s just a number for them to chase after and keep grinding towards, and I think that’s what means the most to me.”

Hemberger finished the 2023 season with 176 tackles in 12 games, and currently has 145 tackles in nine games so far this year. With one regular season game and the playoffs still to come, he’s on pace to again set the single-season tackles mark that he originally broke last season.

Altogether, he has tallied 363 total tackles and counting during his varsity career with the Blue Devils.

“Anytime you talk about career numbers, you’ve gotta stay healthy,” head coach John Armeni said. “It’s a longevity game, and he’s a transfer player here, so he’s broken that record with only two-and-a-half years playing. But I’m not surprised because from the first moment I met him, his talent, energy and determination has been evident for all our coaches. So you pair that non-stop motor with his God-given talent, and then his willingness to play injured, hurt or banged up, and that’s when you get an opportunity to break some of those career records.”

Hemberger has come a long way since his first varsity season as a sophomore when he played in just three games after transferring to Western Reserve.

“I feel like over the last couple years I’ve definitely grown more mentally than anything,” Hemberger said. “Just being able to keep my cool on the field, less temper tantrums, less attitude and keep my head in the game.”

As an inside linebacker, Hemberger is literally and figuratively the heart of Western Reserve’s defense.

His play is contagious and it spreads to his other Blue Devils teammates.

“I think he’s our identity defensively,” Armeni said. “Every good football team has an identity offensively and defensively, and he’s provided that for us defensively, and it’s been important. Our defense has steadily gotten better the last three years, and it’s in no small part due to his efforts in the middle. He makes the guys around him want to be more physical and play harder, and he gets them going with his non-stop, sideline-to-sideline effort defensively.”

Hemberger relies on his “aggressive” playing style to attack opposing offenses from the second level of the defense.

This often allows him or a teammate like linebacker Dom Ricciardi to get into the backfield and stop opponents for a loss or stuff them at the line of scrimmage. Getting stops in short-yardage situations is something that the Blue Devils have had ongoing success with this season.

It’s happened in several key games throughout the year, including the opener against Crestview, against Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference powerhouse Springfield and even last week against Mineral Ridge’s Stack-I formation.

“In most high school games in general, when a team gets second-and-1, third-and-1 or even fourth-and-1, you know the chains are going to move. It’s a formality,” Armeni said. “I think in those moments, you really recognize what (Hemberger) brings to the table, with being able to get through crowded heavy formations and find the ball carrier. … That’s not easy to do. It takes great discipline, it takes a lot of instincts and something a little extra.”

This season, Hemberger and the Blue Devils’ defense have held opponents to an average of just 14 points per game en route to an 8-1 record.

As a result, Western Reserve sits as the No. 1 seed in the Division VII Region 25 computer rankings. With that, the Blue Devils have already clinched a first-round home playoff game and guaranteed top-four seed regardless of the result of Friday’s regular season finale against Jackson-Milton.

“I think if you told me at the beginning of the year that we’d be 8-1 and ranked No. 1 in our region, I’m pretty sure I would have taken that,” Armeni said. “What makes me excited is that right now we’re getting healthy. We are continuing to get better. We had a hiccup a few weeks ago against Springfield — they beat us and our kids were disappointed, but the last couple weeks, we got back to business.

“Them having that workman-like mentality makes me excited because that’s what it takes in the playoffs because you face other talented teams. We tell our kids all the time, be happy, but don’t be satisfied. Those satisfied teams are the teams that go home Weeks 11, 12 or 13. We want to keep striving for more.”