Shane Hulmes started his high school football career as a really good player and left having put his mark on the entire program as one of the best in his senior class.

The growth and accomplishments from his career on the field and his ability in the classroom will allow him to continue his football and academic pursuits at Bucknell University.

Hulmes was the anchor of one of the best defensive units in Pennsylvania, leading the team with 165 tackles, 77 of which were solo tackles. He also led the defense with 17.5 tackles for loss, 7.5 sacks, and seven forced fumbles in his senior season.

“I think that once I got to the varsity level, I was able to figure out the schemes and everything on the defensive side pretty quickly and year after year, I just picked everything up and got better at executing them,” said Hulmes, a linebacker. “By the time I was an upperclassman, I knew the schemes really well and didn’t have to think as much about what I had to do and was able to play and have fun.

“I owe a lot to the coaching staff. I was familiar with them even before I made it to varsity and had a good relationship with them. Our coaching staff are all awesome. I’ve been saying that we have the best coaching staff in the state; we’re all really close.”

The class of 2026 had an impressive run at Northwestern that included playing in three straight PIAA championships and winning one in the 2024 season. As freshmen, the class also went to the state 3A semifinals and finished its four seasons with a 57-5 record, going 46-2 over the past three seasons with a 31-game winning streak that ended in the 2025 PIAA championship game.

The Tigers went unbeaten in 2024 and won a state title.

“We’ve had a lot of success and that along with getting to play football with my best friends every day for the past couple of years means the world to me,” said Hulmes. “It’s been a blessing. It’s been something that I’m able to look back on for the rest of my life and will be able to cherish all those memories. I made best friends, so I’m really grateful for that and the success we had is really special.”

The Bucknell campus in Lewisburg is impressive and Hulmes was immediately struck by how beautiful it is.

The football stadium is historic, built in 1924 and renovated in 1989. It’s named after former Bucknell football player Christy Mathewson, who happens to be a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Academically, Bucknell is highly regarded and gives Hulmes everything he wanted.

From a football standpoint, as members of the Patriot League, the Bison make an occasional trip to the Lehigh Valley to face Lehigh and Lafayette, giving Hulmes the chance to play in front of some of his friends and family close to home.

“The campus is beautiful and when we got on the football facility and everything is all together there, it’s just beautiful,” said Hulmes. “Obviously, Bucknell University with the academics, it had all of the things that were on my checklist.

“I wanted to be at a high academic place that would give me a good degree and the academics there are amazing. It kind of had everything and there was nothing really not to like about it.”

One of the great things about the success of the Northwestern Lehigh football program is that the student-athletes get noticed by college coaches.

They have to not just be worthy football recruits, the high academic standards at the school mean that they have to have put in the work to excel academically as much or more than they have on the field.

Hulmes, who was this year’s Lehigh Valley Football National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete, has been able to combine his success on the field with success in the classroom by putting in a lot of hard work.

All of that work has gotten him to a place where he could check off the boxes on his list of things to look for in a college.