Four Downs: 4 big takes from Week 12

By Mike Drago Last updated Nov 16, 2022

Four biggest takeaways from Week 12 of the 2022 high school football season:

1ST DOWN

After 11 mostly lopsided games games, will Wyomissing finally be pushed to the wire in the District 3 Class 3A championship game against West Perry?

Probably not quite to the wire, but the Mustangs have some good players and figure to put up a good fight Saturday at the A-Field.

They led 28-0 in the second quarter Friday on the way to handing 10-0 Lancaster Catholic a 63-20 beating. The week before they were up 45-7 on Schuylkill Valley in the fourth quarter. Earlier in the year they clobbered Trinity — which just won the Class 2A championship — 40-14. (Wyomissing beat the Shamrocks 35-14.)

West Perry (10-1) has a talented quarterback in Marcus Quaker, a good receiver in Ian Goodling and some other college prospects. Of course, it hasn’t faced a defense quite like Wyomissing’s.

Hamburg was averaging 44.4 points before Saturday. It scored one TD against the Spartans in the first three quarters.

Wyomissing’s Matt Kramer fights for yards against Hamburg. (Tim Macrina photo)

2ND DOWN

Exeter can win a 12th game for the first time in program history Friday when it meets Northern in a District 3 Class 5A semifinal.

The Eagles figure to get that win — and maybe a couple more. They’re ranked No. 2 in the state in 5A and look as good as anybody right now.

If red-hot Cocalico can knock off top-seeded Solanco, which struggled to hold off Shippensburg, the Eagles will get to play the district title game on their home field — yet another first for the program.

Exeter opened a season 11-0 just once before, in 2015 when it won the Berks Football League championship (with a comeback win over Gov. Mifflin) and beat Cedar Crest in the opening round of district. That season ended against Cumberland Valley in the quarterfinals.

Exeter’s Mason Rotelli heads upfield against Dover. (Susan L. Angstadt)

3RD DOWN

It was a tough weekend for the top teams in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Lancaster Catholic, Hamburg and Annville-Cleona were outscored by a combined 170-61 in the District 3 playoffs. The 10-0 Crusaders were beaten by six touchdowns.

Overall, the Lancaster-Lebanon League has nine of the 14 teams playing in semifinals or a championship game next weekend.

It’s certain to have at least one team in the championship game in each of the five largest classes. (Annville-Cleona played in the 2A title game.) There could even be a pair of all-L-L finals, if Exeter beats Northern in Class 5A and Twin Valley pulls off the upset over No. 1 Bishop McDevitt in 4A.

There are three L-L vs. L-L match-ups in the semifinals: No. 1 Hempfield vs. No. 5 Manheim Township in Class 6A; No. 1 Solanco vs. No. 12 Cocalico in 5A; and No. 2 Manheim Central vs. No. 3 Lampeter-Strasburg in 4A.

Wyomissing’s Chase Eisenhower tackles Hamburg’s Xander Menapace. (Tim Macrina photo)

4TH DOWN

Brett Myers readily deflects any credit for Twin Valley’s success this season. The Raiders head coach is always quick to credit his seniors for their leadership and all of his players for the work ethic that helped them earn, and then win, the first home district playoff game in program history Friday.

Myers was immensely proud of the effort displayed in the 43-29 win over Milton Hershey and was able to share it with his old coach, Denny Iezzi, who attended the game.

Myers played for Iezzi at Middletown, coached with him when Iezzi was the Exeter head coach from 2002-06, and has remained close in the years since.

Iezzi, the former Daniel Boone star, has been a big influence in Myers’ football career and can share in the Raiders’ success story.