10 most memorable Berks football games of 2022 (some of which you’d like to forget)
An unbeaten season and section championship riding on a goal-line stand?
A state playoff game that sees two touchdowns scored in the final minute? Another decided in the final seconds?
Those were the highlights of another incredible Berks football season. Here’s a list of the 10 most memorable football games of the season involving Berks teams — including some which you’d sooner forget. Plus, for good measure, 10 more games worth recalling.
(Click on the score to find a recap of the game.)
Eagles’ coach Matt Bauer called it a “storybook ending” and was — so unbelievable it was almost like a fairy tale, two unbeaten, state-ranked teams battling to the last play.
The Barons had a first-and-goal at the 2 with 90 seconds left, a couple yards away from winning the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title. The Eagles came up with an incredible defensive stand, Kyle Lash recording a tackle for loss on first down, Lucas Palange a sack on second down and finally an interception in the back of the end by Nate Pashley on third down.
Manheim’s Aaron Enterline played an incredible game, with two TDs and two interceptions; Exeter’s Joey Schlaffer came up with a huge 70-yard TD after his team had fallen behind 17-6, it’s largest deficit of the season to that point.
Neumann-Goretti 20, Wyomissing 17
Two touchdowns in the final minute of a state playoff game? Unheard of, unbelievable and for the unbeaten and top-ranked Spartans practically unbearable.
They rallied with an incredible two-minute drill, passing the ball downfield to take a 17-14 lead on Charlie McIntyre’s 10-yard catch with 34 seconds.
The Spartans’ top-ranked defense needed just a couple of stops but couldn’t come up with them, a busted coverage allowing Qaasim Major to run free down the sideline where he pulled in a 44-yard TD and scored with eight seconds left.
Wyomissing was stopped seconds away from a third straight trip to the PIAA championship game.
“It hurts,” said Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum. “I thought we had escaped.”
They ran their offense to perfection in the opening half, building a 21-0 lead in a PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal. No one figured they’d be holding their breath at the end, their season hanging on a last-second field goal attempt.
Aaron Johnson’s 32-yard try sailed inches wide, giving the Spartans a reprieve and their 13th straight victory.
“You can’t be super happy about a win like this,” said Wyomissing fullback Matt Kramer. “And you don’t always deserve to win the game. But seeing that kick go wide means you get to live to see another day.”
Schuylkill Valley 41, Hamburg 34
Dominic Giuffre turned the Frost Bowl into his personal showcase, rushing for a program-record 302 yards and scoring four touchdowns — one from 96 yards.
The Hawks kept pushing, scoring in the final minute to make it a one-possession game and forcing the Panthers to recover an onside kick to secure their sixth straight win and remain in contention for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 title.
Pierce Mason, showing no signs of an ankle injury that had slowed him throughout the second half of the season, scored four touchdowns and ran for 268 yards as the fourth-seeded Hawks beat the fifth-seeded Trojans in a District 3 Class 3A semifinal.
The Hawks posted five unanswered scores to erase an early 14-0 deficit. The highest-scoring team in program history went for 376 yards on the ground and 517 total yards, topping 40 points for the eighth time.
Lancaster Catholic 38, Hamburg 35
This rare midseason match-up of unbeaten and state-ranked Section 5 teams turned into a wild shootout, one that wasn’t decided until the final seconds when the Hawks were stopped at the Crusaders’ 30.
Hamburg tied it with 4:43 left on a Derek Ruiz TD run before Catholic took the lead with 1:16 left on a short field goal.
Despite playing without injured lead rusher Pierce Mason the Hawks rushed for 320 yards and produced 448 total yards.
Lancaster Catholic 44, Schuylkill Valley 41
The Panthers scored three late touchdowns to storm back from a 21-point deficit, tying the game with 3 1/2 minutes left only to see the Crusaders escape with another close victory.
A short field goal with 22 seconds left completed Catholic’s perfect season and clinched the Section 5 title; the Panthers would’ve shared the title with the win.
Dominic Giuffre did all he could to save the Panthers, matching a program-record with six TDs, the last with 3:33 left to make it 41-41.
The teams combined for over 900 total yards.
The Bulldogs defense couldn’t get off the field at the end, yielding a 76-yard, 17-play drive over the final 7 1/2 minutes that saw the Black Knights take their first lead of the game with 17 seconds left. The drive was pivotal, essentially costing Wilson its third straight Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 crown.
“It was frustrating,” said Bulldogs cornerback Cam Jones of a drive which saw the Black Knights convert twice on long third downs and once on fourth down.
Hempfield coach George Eager, a former standout at Manheim Township and Franklin & Marshall, called the win “the greatest sports moment of my life.”
Hempfield went on to collect its first section title since 2005.
Elizabethtown 47, Twin Valley 42
The Raiders took the lead for the third time, at 28-25, on quarterback Evan Myers’ third scoring run but couldn’t off the Bears’ high-powered passing attack.
Elizabethtown’s Josh Rudy passed for 317 yards, part of a 537-yard offensive output.
The Raiders managed nearly 400 total yards, with Myers passing for 180 and Jaydon Goebel scoring on a pair of short TD runs.
The lead changed hands five times, the last on the third on Nick Lentz’s four TDs in the final minutes of the third quarter.
The Cougars got a late touchdown to snap a tie and secure their third win, their most in six years and equalling their win total of the previous five season.
They did it with a pounding ground game that saw Jacob Lafferty, Dakota Thomas and Brendan Ackley each rush for over 100 yards — a rarity in the sport. They amassed 463 rushing yards.
And while we’re at it, 10 more noteworthy games . . .
Wyomissing 41, Berks Catholic 24
Andrew Kurtas blasted a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the first half, giving the Saints a 10-7 lead and marking the only time all season the Spartans would trail at the half. They responded like champs, reaching the end zone on their next five possessions.
Wilson 27, Manheim Township 21
Cam Jones’ 6-yard TD run snapped a fourth-quarter tie and capped a huge night that saw him rush for 248 yards and a pair of scores, keeping the Bulldogs’ feint hopes for a Section 1 alive. (They ended up second when Hempfield closed with a win over Reading High.)
The win also clinched a trip to the district playoffs.
The Blue Streaks tied the score eary in the final quarter on Declan Clancy’s 45-yard run.
The Mustangs got a 33-yard field goal from Jackson Schools with 29 seconds remaining for their first win.
The Eagles, headed for a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 championship, made a statement with a resounding win on the road against the eventual Section 1 champion Black Knights. They led 30-7 at halftime.
Hamburg 39, Annville-Cleona 26
Pierce Mason matched program records with five touchdowns and 292 rushing yards in the Hawks’ Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 debut.
Kutztown 34, Northern Lebanon 28
The Cougars, getting 187 rushing yards from Dakota Thomas, built a 34-14 lead in snapping their 70-game league losing streak.
Reading High 33, Muhlenberg 20
Quarterback Amier Burdine rushed for 141 yards and two TDs, passed for a third, and the Red Knights gave head coach Troy Godinet his first win as they recaptured the “Battle of the Border” trophy.
Twin Valley 43, Milton Hershey 29
Sophomore Evan Johnson broke off three long scoring runs and rushed for 205 yards as the Raiders earned their first District 3 playoff victory.
Wyomissing 21, Lampeter-Strasburg 0
The Spartans’ top-rated defense pitched a shutout against a team averaging 40 points per game and clinched a perfect regular season and the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 title.
The Scouts went for two and the win and got it, Donovan Gingrich hooking up with Trey Dianna with 1:02 remaining.
