Berks/Lebanon coach eager to see the stars shine in Tri-County showdown
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The practice sessions have been few. Player availability has been limited. Still, Brett Myers is looking forward to coaching the Berks/Lebanon squad Friday in the 23rd annual Tri-County All-Star Game at Manheim Central.
The top senior football players from Berks and Lebanon counties join forces to play the top seniors from Lancaster County; kickoff is set for 7 at Rettew Stadium.
“There are a lot of challenges having an All-Star game in May, because there’s so much going on with these seniors,” said Myers, the head coach at Twin Valley. “We’ve got really great kids. Having 35 seniors who love football and want to get one more game in, it’s fun to be around those guys.”
The Berks/Lebanon squad hasn’t scored in either of the two match-ups since this format was adopted in 2023. It may again be considered an underdog going against a Lancaster roster that includes eight All-State picks, including Caileb Howse, Dominic Brown, and Emory Fluhr, who led Lampeter-Strasburg to the PIAA Class 5A championship game, and Manheim Township’s Declan Clancy, the Outstanding Back and co Offensive Back of the Year in Section 1.
Myers isn’t concerned about any of that.
“It’s an All-Star game,” he said. “It’s an opportunity for these guys to shine and have some fun and play. This is a chance for them to compete and to represent not only their family and their home school (but) a community that’s a little larger, Berks County and Lebanon County, and all of the L-L.
“There’s a lot of good football (in this league); let’s put on an event that people enjoy watching and get to see how much passion we have for the game.”
The Berks/Lebanon roster certainly isn’t short at the quarterback position. Logan Nawrocki of Schuylkill Valley and Evan Myers of Twin Valley were All-State picks, and Conrad Weiser’s Donovan Gingrich, the Offensive Player of the Year in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, is coming off a strong performance in the PSFCA Big School All-Star Game.
They combined to throw for more than 14,000 yards and nearly 150 touchdowns during their high school careers.
“Some people question why we have three (quarterbacks on the roster),” said Brett Myers, who will be coaching his son Evan for the final time. “Well, who do you leave off?”
Indeed. Evan Myers passed for 5,772 career yards, second in Berks County history to Wilson’s Chad Henne. He also rushed for 965 yards as a senior and averaged 8.4 yards per carry. Nawrocki set program single-season records and led the entire league with 2,559 passing yards and 35 TDs, with only four interceptions. Gingrich had a 17-to-2 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio and completed 66.6 percent of his passes.
Brett Myers’ biggest problem Friday might be finding enough playing time for each.
“We’re gonna figure it out,” he said. “You never know, we might have some plays where two or three of them are on the field at the same time.”
Their top targes figure to be Evan Rittle of Conrad Weiser, Receiver of the Year in Section 3, and Carter Redding, who led Exeter with 36 receptions and eight TD catches.
Evan Johnson of Twin Valley, Justin Kaplan of Palmyra, and Kai Rivera of Lebanon will take turns in Myers’ single-back formation. Johnson averaged 9.1 yards per carry over his career, with over 3,300 career rushing yards.
Exeter’s Genuine Stutzman, an all-league tight end in Section 2, will see time at that position, as will Schuylkill Valley’s Luke Spotts, an All-State pick who led the entire league in receptions, receiving yards, and TD catches.
Spotts played in the Big School game Sunday, as did Schuylkill Valley teammate Cooper Hohenadel and Twin Valley’s Aris Drake; Annville-Cleona’s Jonathan Shay played in the Small School game.
Wilson’s Anthony Geloso and Derek Reiniger will be key cogs on an offensive line that includes Drake, a Navy recruit.
Evan Myers is one of five Twin Valley players named to the 35-player Berks-Lebanon squad. Conrad Weiser, the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 champ, also has five players on the Berks-Lebanon roster.
A number of top Berks and Lebanon players are not available to play in the game due to spring sports, injuries, or other commitments, such as graduation or prom.
The Berks-Lebanon team is without Exeter’s Logan Wegman, a Navy recruit, All-State pick and the Outstanding Lineman and Offensive Lineman of the Year in Section 2. He’s one of the top throwers in the state and chasing a PIAA championship in the shot put.
Also missing from the roster are All-State picks Madyx Gruber of Wilson; the Outstanding Back in Section 1; Jayden Zandier, Exeter’s record-setting tailback; and Twin Valley’s Carter Faubel, the Outstanding Lineman in Section 4.
The shorthanded Berks-Lebanon team was overwhelmed in last year’s game, yielding long touchdown strikes on the first two possessions of the game en route to a 35-0 loss.
In 2023 the game was stopped at halftime due to a medical emergency in the stands; Lancaster was leading 14-0 when the game was suspended.
Brett Myers is well aware of the past history of the game but remains unfazed.
“I’m a competitor, I like to win, but I’m more excited to watch these 70 kids playing their last high school football game, and I get to be a part of it,” he said. “I’m really excited to see the energy they bring and watching them have fun and compete.”
Berks/Lebanon roster
| Aris Drake | Twin Valley | OL |
| Samson Evans | Muhlenberg | OL/DL |
| Anthony Geloso | Wilson | C |
| Casey Gerhart | Exeter | LB |
| Donovan Gingrich | Conrad Weiser | QB |
| Bryce Gumby | Berks Catholic | RB/DB |
| Max Heffner | Daniel Boone | WR/DB |
| Cooper Hohenadel | Schuylkill Valley | S |
| Kaleb Holl | Conrad Weiser | OL |
| Ayden Jimenez | Wyomissing | OL/DL |
| Evan Johnson | Twin Valley | RB |
| Justin Kaplan | Palmyra | RB/DB |
| Bryce Keller | Annville-Cleona | RB/DB |
| Ashton Kiebach | Conrad Weiser | DE |
| Matt Knight | Twin Valley | WR |
| Brayden Malloy | Elco | OL/DL |
| Alex Malone | Conrad Weiser | PK |
| Riley Messinger | Northern Lebanon | P |
| Evan Myers | Twin Valley | QB |
| Logan Nawrocki | Schuylkill Valley | QB |
| Carter Redding | Exeter | WR |
| Derek Reiniger | Wilson | G/DL |
| Evan Rittle | Conrad Weiser | WR/DB |
| Kai Rivera | Lebanon | RB |
| Kenly Rivera | Reading High | OL/DE |
| Brendan Ryan | Northern Lebanon | WR/S |
| Jonathan Shay | Annville-Cleona | RB |
| Dequan Small | Muhlenberg | DE |
| Luke Spotts | Schuylkill Valley | TE/WR |
| Brady Stoops | Elco | DE/RB |
| Devyn Sutton | Berks Catholic | LB |
| Genuine Stutzman | Exeter | TE/LB |
| Eli Thompson | Northern Lebanon | DE |
| Malacai Victa | Annville-Cleona | OL/DL |
| Brendan Yagle | Twin Valley | CB |