10 Berks football records unlikely to be broken (anytime soon)
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Nick Singleton took a Sharpie to the Berks scoring and rushing record book during his four seasons at Gov. Mifflin, replacing the names of other local greats with his own.
He set records by scoring 44 touchdowns his senior season and 116 in his career, the latter figure topping the existing Berks record by a whopping 37.
He ended up rushing for 6,326 yards over four seasons, smashing the Berks record early in his final season and eventually topping it by more than 1,500 yards. Had a good chunk of his senior season not been erased by COVID-19 issues his final numbers would’ve been staggering.
What he’s done at Penn State in the years since hasn’t been a huge surprise; anyone who saw Singleton run for the Mustangs knew he was special.
Still, as impressive as his records are, they aren’t untouchable. Exeter’s Jayden Zandier and Muhlenberg’s Cameron Small reminded of us that last season when each went over 2,000 yards.
It’s not hard to imagine another special talent busting out for 1,000 or more yards as a freshman, then, with good fortune and good health, following with seasons of 1,500, 1,800 or more.
Nineteen players in Pennsylvania history have topped 7,000 career yards. Hopewell’s Rushel Shell set the Pennsylvania standard in 2011 with 9,078 yards.
Some of Chad Henne’s career passing marks could be topped, too. He threw for 7,071 yards and 74 touchdowns over three seasons at Wilson. Impressive numbers, no doubt. But some day, somewhere in Berks, someone could erase those marks — quite possibly someone Henne coaches at Wilson, or at one of his quarterback camps.
Every record, it has been said, is made to be broken. Some will be more difficult to top than others. Here’s a look at 10 Berks football records unlikely to be broken . . . any time soon:
Longest field goal
Schuylkill Valley’s Darin Tranquillo dropped jaws in 1998 when he nailed a 57-yard field goal at the end of the first half against Daniel Boone.
That historic kick sailed past the Berks record by 10 yards.
It took five more years before another Berks kicker, Ben Dato of Wyomissing, cleared 50 yards, hitting from 53 against Littlestown.
In the 20 years since only three other Berks kickers – Kutztown’s Max Randolph, Wyomissing’s Jonah Bowman, and Gov. Mifflin’s Jackson Schools – have topped 50. Bowman’s was the most notable; his 52-yarder against Aliquippa set the record for a PIAA championship game.
The fact that Tranquillo’s record has stood for 26 seasons, that no one’s come all that close since, and that most coaches are reluctant to even try from such a distance, tells you this record could stay on the books a while longer.
Longest defensive score
Muhlenberg’s Vaughn Carraway recorded the longest touchdown in Berks history in 2007 when he intercepted a pass in the back of the end zone and returned it 108 yards for a touchdown against Pottsville.
Four years later Wyomissing’s Mason Smith scooped up a fumble 8 yards deep in the end zone and daringly took it out, going the distance to match Carraway’s mark.
The chances of someone topping those plays are slim. The longest possible return would be 109 yards, which would mean a defender would have his cleats virtually on the back line of the end zone when he took possession of the ball.
Touchdowns in a game
Nick Singleton ran for seven touchdowns, six in the first half, in a 2021 District 3 playoff game against Warwick – and didn’t break the Berks record.
He merely tied it.
Sixty-seven years before that West Reading’s Dan Capozello scored seven TDs in game.
Forty-three years before that Reading High’s John Charlton scored seven times against Allentown.
Sure, someone might have a crazy night and score eight TDs, but it’s unlikely. We went nearly seven decades between seven-touchdown performances.
Plus, with the mercy rule now in effect one-sided games are shortened, giving a standout player less time to make return trips to the end zone.
Longest punt return
On punts that can reach the end zone special teams coaches tell their return guys to set up at the 10 and let anything over their head go. It’s too risky to try to return a punt that deep in your territory, so it’s better to take your chances and let it bounce — hopefully into the end zone.
That’s what makes Luke Stopper’s 98-yard return for Conrad Weiser in 1996 stand out – and why it’s been on the books for nearly three decades. A gust of wind blew the ball over Stopper’s head and he retreated to field it at the 2, rather than let Kutztown down it there. Sound strategy, but not the way his coaches drew it up.
Since balls kicked into the end zone at the high school level can’t be returned, it’s unlikely this record will ever be topped. Certainly there aren’t any coaches out there hoping one of their guys tries it.
Interceptions in a game
Boyertown’s Jerry Kapp intercepted four passes in a 2017 game against Phoenixville.
Remarkably that feat had been accomplished at least four times previously in Berks, once by Schuylkill Valley’s Steve Kreider, who went on to play in the Super Bowl with the Cincinnati Bengals.
There are many more passes attempted in games now than in 1965, when Daniel Boone’s Dave Edwards picked off four passes against Jenkintown.
Still, five in one game seems like a big number.
After Kapp picked off that fourth pass you’ve gotta imagine the opposing coach instructed his quarterback not throw to ball anywhere near the All-State defensive back’s territory.
Completions in a game
Logan Klitsch made his last game at Conrad Weiser his best, throwing for 399 yards and four touchdowns in a 2021 district playoff loss to Big Spring.
With his team trailing most of the way Klitsch threw 52 times, completing 36. That was seven more complete passes than anyone in Berks history up to that point. No one’s come close over the last few seasons.
As teams continue to throw more often Klitsch’s record figures to come into play. Still, that’s a big number to topple. It’s rare to see a high school quarterback complete as many as 20 passes in a game let alone nearly twice that number.
Receiving yards in a game
In the final game of a winless season, and with several Berks records at hand, Schuylkill Valley and wide receiver Dave Golden went for it.
Golden made the 1984 Frost Bowl a historic one, pulling in 11 passes for Berks-record 271 yards – a huge receiving number at any level. Remarkably he had only a pair of TDs catch in the 41-12 loss, a 25-yarder in the first quarter and a 95-yard bomb in the fourth.
Golden also set the Berks records for catches in a season (64) and became just the second receiver in Berks to top 1,000 yards in a season.
His single-game record has stood for 40 years, and through an era when the passing game has become prominent.
Rushing attempts in a season
High school offenses have opened up exponentially in recent decades with some teams throwing nearly as often as they pass.
That’s a far cry from the case in the 3 yards and a cloud-of-dust era of the 1960’s and 1970’s. Quarterbacks rarely threw more than 10 times in a game.
That’s why Brian Roth’s record of 375 carries over 12 games in 1976 figures to continue to stand for many years. In 1977 Boyertown’s lead back carried it 372 times, also in 12 games.
No one has come close to that in the last half century. In fact, in this millennium only one Berks player has had as many as 300 carries in a season – even with expanded playoffs that give top teams an opportunity to play 14, 15, or 16 times in a season.
Over the last decade no Berks player has had more than 254 carries in a season.
Roth’s career record of 843 carries figures to stand, too. No one’s come within 100 of that number.
Touchdown passes in a game
Matt Miller of Dubois is credited with the state record after throwing 10 touchdowns in a 2015 game against Meadville. So it’s certainly conceivable that someone will break the Berks record, which is six.
Still . . . that record has stood for 35 years, since Reading High’s Todd Landis, working the “Air Jet” passing scheme to perfection, threw for six scores in a 1989 game against Gov. Mifflin.
A bunch of guys have thrown five in a game; it happened three times last season, by Exeter’s Riley Martinez, Schuylkill Valley’s Logan Nawrocki, and Wilson’s Madyx Gruber.
Maybe if they knew they were so close to a record someone would’ve gone for it, but they didn’t.
Again the game-shortening mercy rule works against seeing this record topped. You’ve gotta figure if your QB throws five or six scoring passes you’ll be far enough ahead that another score won’t be necessary.
If that’s not the case then your defensive coordinator may need to start updating his resume.
Completions and attempts in a career
Chad Henne took over as Wilson’s quarterback in the opening game of his freshman season in 2000 and stayed there for four years. He went on to attempt 988 passes and complete 563, setting Berks standards in each category.
Just how unapproachable are those numbers?
Well, Twin Valley’s Evan Myers started every game at quarterback during his four seasons. He passed for 1,000 yards in four straight seasons. . . and yet he’s a distant second in each category, trailing by 153 completions and 277 attempts. He would’ve needed a fifth season, maybe more, to catch Henne.
Someone will have to play every game over four seasons, with multiple playoff games thrown in, and average nearly 25 throws per game to surpass Henne’s totals. Not out of the question but no one’s come close in the past two decades.
