Jack Riffle, Fleetwood seniors, ready to set tone for Berks-Lebanon stars in Tri-County Game
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Matt Hoffert had heard good things about Fleetwood quarterback Jack Riffle but the Hamburg coach had never seen him play until practice began earlier this month for the Tri-County All-Star Game, which features the top seniors in Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon counties.
In just a few practices the starting quarterback and head coach for the Berks-Lebanon squad have bonded, with Hoffert becoming a big fan of the Tigers’ record-setting passer.
Hoffert appreciates the way Riffle has taken a leadership role on the team and the way he’s thrown himself into preparation for a game that won’t count in the standings or help anyone find a spot on a college roster.
“He has literally taken this like it’s a Week 10 game and we’re going for the playoffs,” Hoffert said, “like it’s the most important game of the year. I’m really impressed by him.”
Riffle and his Fleetwood teammates, among them wide receiver Mason Musitano and running back Czion Brickle, will be critical for the undermanned Berks-Lebanon team.
A number of top Berks and Lebanon players weren’t available to play in the game, due to spring sports, injuries, or other commitments. Some top college programs don’t allow their recruits to play in all-star games such as this, for fear of injury, or because they want them on campus for the spring term, or early in the summer.
That will make it difficult for the Berks-Lebanon team when it lines up against the league’s top seniors from Lancaster County Friday at 7 at Manheim Central’s Rettew Field.
“We already know we’re the underdog,” Hoffert said, “and we all love it. These guys will be out there to prove a point.”
The Berks-Lebanon team is without Penn State recruit Caleb Brewer of Wyomissing, Coastal Carolina commit Zack Zandier of Exeter, Princeton recruit Ryker Jones of Wyomissing and Naval Academy commit Paul McClune of Twin Valley, among others.
Muhlenberg’s Kyle Archie and Wyomissing’s Drew Forrey qualified for the PIAA Track and Field Championships this weekend.
Elco’s Jake Williams, the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 Offensive Back of the Year, isn’t on the Berks-Lebanon roster, either. Neither are any players from Cedar Crest, Elco, Gov. Mifflin, Kutztown, Northern Lebanon, or Wilson.
When Daniel Boone’s Dean Rotter had to pull out of the game it left Riffle and Berks Catholic’s Will Hess as the only quarterbacks on the roster. With Hess expected to see time as a slot receiver Riffle will be expected to go the whole way behind center.
Expect him to throw a lot, and to target Musitano, a lethal combination that helped carry the Tigers to a winning record and an Eastern Conference Class 4A championship last fall.
Riffle completed a program-record 128 passes as a senior, 59 of them to Musitano, who set program records for catches in a season and career (115) and finished with 1,662 career receiving yards. The all-league receiver is committed to play at Millersville.
Riffle, committed to play at Albright, threw for a program-record 415 yards in his final game, for 1,603 for the season and for 2,941 in his career, third-most in Fleetwood history.
All-League tight end Mason Semmel of Hamburg, committed to play at East Stroudsburg, should be a big target for Riffle as well. They formed a connection in practice.
“(Riffle) was saying he wished he had Mason to throw to for a whole season,” Hoffert said.
The Berks-Lebanon squad is thin at running back, too, which mean Brickle should get a lot of touches. He ran for 1,575 yards and scored 24 touchdowns last season. Sevon Parham of Conrad Weiser and Kyle Koennecke of Palmyra will also see time at running back.
Other top players on the Berks-Lebanon squad include Annville-Cleona’s Cael Harter, the Section 5 Defensive Back of the Year; Reading High’s all-league defensive lineman Michael Odeyemi; and Annville-Cleona’s Darrian Holloway, the Section 5 Offensive Lineman of the Year.
The Lancaster roster includes a pair of top quarterbacks, Zac Hahn of Manheim Central, the co-Offensive Back of the Year in Section 2, and Kye Harting of Garden Spot.
They’ll have some attractive targets in Section 5 Wide Receiver of the Year Artie Poindexter of Columbia, all-league tight end Bode Sipel of Manheim Central and all-league pick Aaryn Longenecker of Cocalico. Sipel and Longenecker were selected Defensive Back of the Year in Section 2 and 4, respectively.
The backfield could include all-league pick Brycen Armold of Manheim Central and Lancaster Catholic’s Eli Cunningham, the Outstanding Back in Section 5.
Lancaster is without several top players, among them Manheim Township quarterback Hayden Johnson and Manheim Central defensive back Aaron Enterline; they were picked for the Big 33 Classic, which will be played Sunday.
This is the second year for the Lancaster vs. Berks-Lebanon format. It had previously been a North/South format before 13 Berks teams joined the league for the 2022 season.
“For having only four practices, I’m impressed with how far we’ve come,” Hoffert said. “We have so many good kids on this team. I couldn’t ask for a better group.”
Berks-Lebanon roster
| Mason Semmel | TE/LB | Hamburg |
| Alex Bentz | WR/DB | Hamburg |
| Cael Harter | DB | Annville-Cleona |
| Will Hess | QB/DB | Berks Catholic |
| Jack Riffle | QB | Fleetwood |
| Evan Blickley | TE/LB/LS | Wyomissing |
| Sevon Parham | LB/RB | Conrad Weiser |
| Gavin Reiking | DB | Exeter |
| Nathan Eisenhooth | WR/DB | Palmyra |
| Dean Rotter | QB/DB | Daniel Boone |
| Mason Musitano | WR/DB | Fleetwood |
| Connor Pennington | OLB | Berks Catholic |
| Josiah Wright | DE | Lebanon |
| Czion Brickle | RB/LB | Fleetwood |
| Manuel Codero | DB | Reading High |
| Kyle Koennecke | RB/LB | Palmyra |
| Devin Garcia | FB/LB | Berks Catholic |
| Luke Impellizzeri | LB | Berks Catholic |
| William Maurek | PK/P | Fleetwood |
| Damian Miller | OL/DL | Annville-Cleona |
| Kadin Jones | OL/LB | Palmyra |
| Owen Hause | OL | Hamburg |
| Markel Norris | DL | Twin Valley |
| Hunter Svoboda | OL/DL | Fleetwood |
| Noah Roehm | OL | Twin Valley |
| Jordan Meyer | OL/DL | Daniel Boone |
| Darrian Holloway | OL | Annville-Cleona |
| Sam Donnellan | OL | Twin Valley |
| Aiden Fitzgerald | OL/DL | Conrad Weiser |
| Bryce Kamp | OL/DL | Hamburg |
| Owen Reber | OL/DL | Berks Catholic |
| Michael Odeyemi | DL | Reading High |
| Timmy Montijo | DE | Annville-Cleona |
| Jayden Gulley | DL | Schuylkill Valley |
| Jack Hafer | PK/P | Twin Valley |