Fired-up Red Knights headed back to district final for fifth straight year

(This story will be updated with details and postgame reaction later tonight.)

They had new warmups and a different starting lineup but little else changed for the Reading High Red Knights Tuesday in a District 3 Class 6A semifinal at the Geigle.

The Red Knights continued to force the issue with their intense defense and controlled the game, shutting down Cedar Cliff’s bigs in a 46-39 victory.

The top-seeded Red Knights (24-3) head to the championship game Saturday at Giant Center at 7:45 against No. 7 Warwick, which defeated No. 3 Central Dauphin, 74-57.

The Red Knights, playing without injured Daniel Alcantara for the first time, were emotionally charged and forced seven first-quarter turnovers, helping them build an early 10-point lead. Reading players and coaches wore a warm-up T with Alcantara’s No. 21, and Joey Chapman switched numbers and wore Alcantara’s No. 21 jersey.

Alcantara was lost for the season after breaking his hand Friday against Wilson in the quarterfinal round. He is scheduled for surgery Thursday and will not play for the next two to three months, according to his mother, Julie Alcantara.

Without Alcantara, their tallest player at 6-5, the Red Knights were badly out-sized along the front line yet still did a tremendous job against 6-8 senior Tyler Houser. Chapman and Xavier Davis combined to hold the VMI recruit scoreless in the first half.

The Red Knights scored the first six points, led 12-2 after four minutes and never trailed. Ruben Rodriguez’s tip-in at the buzzer sent Reading into intermission leading 29-20.

Reading extended its lead to 39-24 in the opening minute of the fourth quarter before the fifth-seeded Colts (21-5) began to chip away, pulling as close to five in the final two minutes.

Ruben Rodriguez scored a game-high 21 points for Reading.

The Red Knights have worked their way to the championship game for the fifth straight year.

Reading High beat Wilson 66-58 in last year’s district championship game and went on to win the PIAA title. Only district champs advanced last year under COVID protocols. This season the top seven teams from District 3 advance to the Class 6A state tournament.

The Red Knights appeared in four of the first five District 3 Class 6A championship games. A year after Harrisburg won the initial Class 6A championship game, the Red Knights beat the Cougars in the 2018 title game. Reading lost to Harrisburg in 2019 and Wilson in 2020.

Cedar Cliff has not played for a district championship since 1997, when it lost the Class AAAA final 69-60 to Chambersburg.