Bevy of top QBs, RBs, WRs set to make return when season kicks off
Nick Singleton won’t be the only familiar name in the Berks football headlines this season.
Gov. Mifflin’s three-time Berks rushing champ and Penn State recruit is the marquee figure in Berks football in 2021 but a number of the top passers, rushers and receivers from last season also return.
Exeter’s Joey Schlaffer, the Receiver of the Year in Section 1 of the Berks Football League, returns after a big sophomore year.
Conrad Weiser’s Aanjay Feliciano, the Berks Receiver of the Year, is back, as is his quarterback, Logan Klitsch, who was Offensive Back of the Year in Section 2.
All told, three of the top four passers, the top three rushers and four of the top five receivers will return to the field when the season kicks off Friday, Aug. 27.
Singleton was the Berks Player of the Year and Offensive Back of the Year after rushing for 1,303 yards and scoring 24 touchdowns in eight games.
He was Berks’ only 1,000-yard rusher in the COVID-shortened season.
Twin Valley Dominic Caruso was second in Berks in rushing, going for 929 yards in six games.
Exeter’s Eric Nangle was third in Berks rushing, with 774 yards in eight games.
Singleton enters the season with 4,267 rushing yards, 511 short of Iggy Reynoso’s Berks record.
Caruso became the Raiders’ all-time rushing leader last season and heads into the season opener against Garden Spot with 3,221 yards.
He can become just the sixth player in Berks history to reach 4,000 yards.
Caruso owns program records for rushing attempts in a season and career, touchdowns, and points.
Wilson’s Jadyn Jones didn’t get a lot of touches last season but he made them most of them, averaging 6.9 yards and scoring six TDs in seven games. He figures to handle a heavier share of the load as a senior.
Klitsch led Berks passers with 1,330 yards and 15 TD tosses last year in leading the Scouts to an unbeaten regular season. His 170.1 passing efficiency rating was second-best in Berks, behind Wyomissing’s Zach Zechman, who has graduated.
Fleetwood’s Tanner Maddocks, who committed to Villanova earlier this summer, was second among Berks passers last season with 1,256 yards. He was fourth in passer rating.
Daniel Boone’s Carter Speyerer returns after throwing for 945 yards in eight games, fourth among Berks passers.
Two of Berks’ top passers from last season have switched schools.
Brad Hoffman is now competing for the starting job at Wilson after recording a 156.3 passer rating at Berks Catholic, third-best in the county.
Ryan Scheivert, ranked sixth among Berks passers as a junior at Twin Valley, is now playing at Berks Catholic. He’ll compete with Mitchell Gatz for the Saints’ starting job.
Alex Vassallo is back at Daniel Boone after leading Berks receivers with 41 catches for 481 yards and three TDs as a junior. He needs 39 catches to become third at Boone with 100 or more career catches and 368 yards to become the third with 1,000 career receiving yards.
Feliciano led Berks receivers with 596 yards and tied for the lead in TD receptions with Twin Valley’s Trey Freeman, who also returns; each had seven TD catches.
Freeman’s 24.1 yards-per-catch average was tops in the county among receivers with 20 or more receptions; Schlaffer was next at 23.3.
Freeman needs 22 catches to tie the program career mark of 81, set by Nick Kurtz in 2019. Caruso is not far behind; he has 56 career receptions, three less than Freeman. Both have been starters since their freshman seasons.
Freeman needs 137 receiving yards to top the career program record of 1,282, set by Kutz in 2019. He already owns the program record with 12 career TD receptions.
Nine All-Berks picks — that’s about one-third of the team — return.
Back on offense are Singleton — picked at both running back and kick returner — Feliciano, Schlaffer and Berks Catholic’s Christian Cacchione, selected as an all-purpose back.
Returning on defense are Conrad Weiser lineman Brett Organtini, Exeter linebacker J.R. Strauss and Cacchione, a defensive back.
Cacchione, who played receiver his first two seasons before switching to running back as a junior, needs one reception to tie Cooper Kutz’s program record of 37, set in 2013. His 726 career receiving yards are a program record.