Four Downs: Four big takeaways from Week 11 in Berks football

Four takeaways from Week 11 of the 2021 high school football season:

1ST DOWN

College coaches love bowl games because they extend their seasons for a month or more, giving them extra practice time other programs don’t get. It gives them a chance to get younger players more involved.

Same goes at the high school level. There aren’t bowl games but an extended run to the state playoffs means an extra month and another 20 practices.

And when you’re blowing out teams along the way, as Wyomissing has done the past few years, it gives your sophomores and juniors who don’t start a chance to get postseason experience.

That’s been a big plus for Wyomissing and the reason guys such as Drew Eisenhower, Matt Kramer and Jven Williams were able to step right into key starters roles this season without missing a beat.

A lot of the guys on the field over the final three quarters of the Spartans’ record blowout Saturday over Northern Lebanon will be the front-line guys next season.

2ND DOWN

What would’ve been one of the best games in the state last season was wiped out by COVID: Gov. Mifflin vs. Warwick. They were set to play for the District 3 Class 5A championship but an outbreak at Warwick caused the program to shut down the week of the championship game. That was a devastating blow.

It would’ve been a tremendous game, a slug fest along the lines of what the Mustangs encountered the next week against Pine-Richland.

A year later the Mustangs and Warriors are set to play, in a district quarterfinal. This isn’t quite the same star-studded Warriors team that featured five All-State picks, including quarterback Joey McCracken and Wisconsin-bound lineman Nolan Rucci (Mifflin had four All-State picks in 2020). Still, the Warriors were good enough to give Manheim Central its only loss a few weeks ago.

3RD DOWN

It took 21 seasons but Fleetwood finally has a football championship.

The Tigers were disappointed not to make the District 3 Tournament — they were 15th in a 14-team Class 5A field — but went out with a win, beating Boyertown 47-35 for the Eastern Conference Class 5A/6A championship.

Sure, that’s a second-tier tournament, kind of like the NIT in college basketball, but there’s value there. Bob Wolfrum and Mick Vecchio will tell you what winning an EC championship did to boost their programs at Wyomissing and Gov. Mifflin, respectively. Steve Beatty is hoping it pumps momentum into Fleetwood’s.

There’s something to be said about walking off the field a winner at the end of the season.

4TH DOWN

Good luck filling out your ballot for Receiver of the Year. It’s tough to pick just one.

Conrad Weiser’s Aanjay Feliciano and Twin Valley’s Trey Freeman put up two of the greatest receiving seasons ever seen in Berks.

They’re the first pair to accumulate 1,000 yards in the same season, and they’re among just three ever to top 2,000 career yards.

Feliciano owns the Berks Triple Crown after leading the league in receptions (68), yards (1,249) and TD catches (15). He finished his career with 2,055 yards — all in three seasons.

Freeman owns the Berks all-time receiving mark with 2,250 yards. He had 57 catches for 1,104 yards and eight TDs this season.

They’ll both have a shot at All-State honors, Freeman in Class 5A, Feliciano in 4A.