Mifflin, Wyomissing, back at the top in preseason rankings
Wyomissing played for a PIAA Class 3A championship last season; Gov. Mifflin was a play or two away from reaching the Class 5A title game.
Both open the season ranked among the Top 10 teams in their classification, as does Berks Catholic, in PennLive’s preseason football rankings.
The Mustangs, coming off their first District 3 championship, open the season at No. 2 in Class 5A, behind Imhotep Charter.
The Spartans, who have won back-to-back District 3 championships, are No. 3, behind North Schuylkill and defending champ Central Valley.
The Saints are No. 8 in Class 4A.
Wilson, in 6A, and Exeter, in 5A are listed among Teams To Watch in their respective classifications.
Four defending champs open the season at No. 1: St. Joseph’s Prep, in Class 6A; Thomas Jefferson, in Class 4A; Southern Columbia, in 3A; and Steel-High, in 1A.
North Schuylkill, coming off an 8-0 season, is ranked No. 3 in Class 3A. The Spartans won the District 11 championship in 2020 but District 11 schools did not participate in the state tournament due to COVID concerns.
The Mustangs, led by Penn State recruit Nick Singleton, went 8-1 last season, their lone loss coming to Pine-Richland 48-46 in an epic state semifinal. They return 10 starters and are the preseason pick in Section 1 of the Berks Football League, and the presumptive favorite to repeat as district champ.
Mifflin is one of just three District 3 teams listed; Exeter and Manheim Central are each listed as Teams To Watch.
Pine-Richland, with a new head coach, opens at No. 5, the highest of any District 7 Class 5A teams.
The Spartans went 9-1 last season. They beat Middletown 38-16 for the second straight year in the District 3 Class 3A title game, and were defeated 35-21 in the PIAA title game.
Wyomissing took heavy graduation losses, losing All-State players such as Darren Brunner, Zach Zechman and Jordan Auman, but return some talented players, including Richmond recruit and tight end Aiden Mack.
Wyomissing is the only District 3 team among the 16 listed in its classification.
The Saints return 12 starters from a team that went 5-3 and missed the district playoffs. They are among four District 3 teams listed in Class 3, along with No. 2 Bishop McDevitt, No. 9 Cocalico and defending district champ Lampeter-Strasburg, which is a Team To Watch.
Imhotep Charter opted out of the fall season, due to COVID concerns, but returned in the spring and went 4-0.
Central York, with the return of Penn State quarterback commit Beau Pribula, is the highest-ranked District 3 team in Class 6A. The Panthers are No. 4.
Central Dauphin and Manheim Township join Wilson in the Teams To Watch category. The Bulldogs open against Central Dauphin Aug. 27 and conclude their regular season against Manheim Township.
(Schools in rankings below are listed with their district and last season’s record)
| CLASS 6A (with district) | Record | |
| 1. St. Joseph’s Prep (12) | 6-0 | |
| 2. Pittsburgh Central Catholic (7) | 6-2 | |
| 3. Archbishop Wood (12) | 3-4 | |
| 4. Central York (3) | 10-1 | |
| 5. North Penn (1) | 4-1 | |
| 6. Emmaus (11) | 5-1 | |
| 7. Mount Lebanon (7) | 4-3 | |
| 8. North Allegheny (7) | 6-1 | |
| 9. La Salled College (12) | 6-1 | |
| 10. Garnet Valley (1) | 6-0 |
| CLASS 5A (with district) | Record |
| 1. Imhotep Charter | 4-0 |
| 2. Gov. Mifflin | 8-1 |
| 3. Gateway (7) | 5-1 |
| 4. Cathedral Prep (10) | 7-3 |
| 5. Pine-Richland (7) | 11-0 |
| 6. Upper Dublin (1) | 6-2 |
| 7. Penn-Trafford (7) | 6-2 |
| 8. Whitehall (11) | 5-3 |
| 9. Academy Park (1) | 4-1 |
| 10. Moon (7) | 4-3 |
| CLASS 4A (with district) | Record |
| 1. Thomas Jefferson (7) | 10-1 |
| 2. Bishop McDevitt (3) | 6-0 |
| 3. Jersey Shore (4) | 10-1 |
| 4. Belle Vernon (7) | 6-2 |
| 5. Bethlehem Catholic (11) | 4-4 |
| 6. Aliquippa (7) | 9-1 |
| 7. Valley View (2) | 3-3 |
| 8. Berks Catholic (3) | 5-3 |
| 9. Cocalico (3) | 4-4 |
| 10. Pottsville (11) | 6-2 |
| CLASS 3A (with district) | Record |
| 1. North Schuylkill (11) | 8-0 |
| 2. Central Valley (7) | 12-0 |
| 3. Wyomissing (3) | 9-1 |
| 4. Notre Dame (11) | 7-1 |
| 5. Scranton Prep (2) | 4-1 |
| 6. Bedford (5) | 10-1 |
| 7. Neumann-Goretti (12) | 3-1 |
| 8. Hickory (10) | 8-1 |
| 9. Elizabeth Forward (7) | 8-1 |
| 10. Central Martinsburg (6) | 8-1 |
| CLASS 2A (with district) | Record |
| 1. Southern Columbia (4) | 12-0 |
| 2. Farrell (10) | 5-3 |
| 3. Richland Township (6) | 8-2 |
| 4. Sto-Rox (7) | 8-2 |
| 5. McGuffey (7) | 6-2 |
| 6. South Williamsport (4) | 5-2 |
| 7. Wilmington (10) | 10-1 |
| 8. Bellwood-Antis (6) | 7-1 |
| 9. Beaver Falls (7) | 10-1 |
| 10. Windber (5) | 6-2 |
| CLASS 1A (with districts) | Records |
| 1. Steel-High (3) | 10-0 |
| 2. Muncy (4) | 7-2 |
| 3. Old Forge (2) | 5-1 |
| 4. Clairton (7) | 8-1 |
| 5. Redbank Valley (9) | 7-1 |
| 6. Bishop Guilfoyle (6) | 7-3 |
| 7. Rochester (7) | 7-2 |
| 8. Tri-Valley (11) | 5-1 |
| 9. Williams Valley (11) | 8-1 |
| 10. Juniata Valley (6) | 6-3 |