Football Notebook: League rivals, Berks coach, approaching century mark

The oldest rivalry in Berks football history will see its historic 100th meeting Friday night when McCaskey meets Reading High at Shirk Stadium.

The Red Tornado and Red Knights first played 130 years ago, in 1892. It was Reading’s first game — and first loss, 20-8.

Players of that era wore leather helmets and took a train to road games at Lebanon, Pottsville, Pottstown and Lancaster. The fare could cost a quarter, and players had to pay their own way.

There were very few high school programs in that era and schools often played college JV squads, rec teams and club teams, many with adult players.

The initial game wasn’t a fair match: Lancaster had started its program two years earlier and was coming off a 7-0 season.

The Red Knights soon turned the tables. The next time they met, in 1894, Reading won 20-0. Lancaster wouldn’t win again in the series until 1909.

The teams began meeting on a regular basis in 1928 and met every season — even playing through World War II — for 47 straight seasons, through 1974.

They began meeting on a yearly basis again in 1987, when Reading joined the Lancaster-Lebanon League, and played 23 straight seasons. The series was interrupted briefly when Reading joined the Berks Football League in 2010.

It resumed in 2012 as a non-leaguer and has been played every year since, with the exception of 2020 when Reading fall sports programs were shut down due to the coronavirus.

With Reading returning to the Lancaster-Lebanon League this season they’ll now meet annually in Section 1 play.

The Red Knights lead the series 48-46-5.

They’ve met once in the District 3 playoffs, the Red Knights winning a 2003 Class AAAA semifinal 21-14 — a week after McCaskey stopped the Red Knights from recording a perfect regular season with a 24-21 win at Shirk Stadium.

Closing in on 100

Matt Bauer can become the 12th coach in Berks football history and the second at Exeter to record 100 wins if the Eagles beat Muhlenberg Friday.

Bauer, in his 14th season, has a 99-52 record.

Only Don Thomas, who coached 24 seasons at Exeter, has more wins. Thomas retired following the 1982 season with a 123-99-6 record.

Bauer will be one of five active Berks coaches with 100 wins, joining Wyomissing’s Bob Wolfrum (343), Berks Catholic’s Rick Keeley (272), Wilson’s Doug Dahms (175) and Conrad Weiser’s Alan Moyer (136).

Chasing 600

Wilson maintains a slim lead over Manheim Central in all-time wins, 590-589. The Bulldogs are 5-1 this season, the Barons 6-0.

Steel-High is the all-time leader in District 3 with 809 wins. Bishop McDevitt is second with 611, Middletown third with 607 and Wilson and Manheim Central fourth and fifth, respectively.

Middletown’s program was suspended this year due to a preseason hazing incident.

Manheim’s program began in 1947; Wilson’s began in 1945.

Scoring spree

Exeter has scored 35 or more points in each of its first six games for the first time in program history.

The Eagles are averaging 43.1 points, second-highest in the Lancaster-Lebanon League and fifth-highest among District 3 teams. (Hamburg is averaging 48.8 points.)

The Eagles beat Lebanon 69-22 in Week 5, the second-highest scoring total in program history. They set the record last year in a 77-7 win over Muhlenberg; they play the Muhls this week.

Exeter (6-0) is off to its best start since winning its first 11 games in 2015, when it finished 11-1.

Mind-numbing numbers

How dominant has Wyomissing been?

In six games the Spartans have punted six times.

They are averaging 9.1 yards per carry, completing 70.6 percent of their passes and have turned the ball over just four times.

They’re winning by an average of 35.3 points, a figure that would be considerably higher if head coach Bob Wolfrum didn’t make sure to pull his starters every time his team builds a 35-point lead and starts the running clock.

Talk about your tough schedules

Cumberland Valley is sitting atop the District 3 Class 6A power ratings because of its strength of schedule: At .717 it’s the second-highest of any team in District 3.

The Eagles’ schedule has included Central York (5-1), Harrisburg (4-1), Manheim Township (4-2) and Spring-Ford (4-1); their loss came to Harrisburg.

Central Dauphin (.798) has the highest strength of schedule in the district: The Rams (2-4) have played Coatesville (6-0), State College (6-0), Central York and Wilson (5-1).

Daniel Boone has the fourth-highest strength-of-schedule rating, at .708. The Blazers have played Exeter (6-0), Elizabethtown (6-0) and Garden Spot (5-1).

Twin Valley (.646) has the second-highest rating, behind Boone, of any school in Class 4A or smaller. The Raiders have played unbeatens Elizabethtown and Solanco and have 5-1 Garden Spot this week.

70-something

Muhlenberg’s 70-0 loss to Manheim Central last week was the worst shutout loss the Muhls have suffered in their 78 seasons.

The previous were a 51-0 loss to Exeter in 2020 and a 51-0 loss to Gov. Mifflin in 1957.

The 70-point margin matched the largest loss in program history; the Muhls lost to Exeter 77-7 last season.

Getting his kicks

Lampeter-Strasburg grad Matthew Wright was signed by the Kansas City Chiefs last week and kicked a pair of field goals and five PATs in a 41-31 win over the Tampa Bay Bucs.

He made 15-of-18 field goals in high school and was a Pennsylvania Football News first-team All-State pick in 2013. He went on the play at the University of Central Florida.