Red Knights show some fight, but not much offense, in loss to Academy Park

By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent

Reading High didn’t give up.

Not when its starting quarterback, who began the season as the second-stringer, took a hit late in the first half and didn’t return.

Not when it trailed by 41 points to begin the fourth quarter.

That’s a message head coach Andre Doyle wants to emphasize as the season churns on and the Red Knights inch closer to their league schedule to finish the year.

“We had to fight throughout the game,” Doyle said after the 41-6 loss to Academy Park Friday at Shirk Stadium. “That’s definitely a positive.

“It’s good to play a team that’s that fast. It helps us with our short sets and the things we have to do on the quick. It will help us for Weeks 4 through 10 (in league play).

“At this point, (we’re) just trying to find our identity so when we get into league play we understand who we are.”

Doyle is hoping to use the loss as a learning moment.

The Red Knights (1-2) face Owen J. Roberts and North County (Md.) the next two weeks, then move into Berks Football League Section 1 play, starting with state-ranked Gov. Mifflin.

Academy Park (3-0) ran for 193 yards and four touchdowns. Abe Sanogo got the party started with four straight carries and 34 yards to begin the game.

Darrell Fields hit Khalil Greenwood on a screen pass for a 25-yard score on the next play at the 9:53 mark of the first quarter.

Joe Davis ran for all 30 yards and the touchdown on the second scoring drive that ended with less than a minute on the clock.

In the second quarter Sanogo scored on a 25-yard run with 4:50 left. About two minutes later, Eric Willis took a punt 40 yards to the house and the Knights went up 27-0.

Davis scored again on a 6-yard run with 8:53 left in the third. A botched punt gave Academy Park the ball at the Reading High 28 with less than three minutes left in the quarter; it took Terrence Oliver three runs to take it the distance and run the clock out on the third.

The “fight” the Red Knights showed was evident in the fourth quarter, holding Academy Park scoreless and resulting in a 64-yard touchdown run by fill-in quarterback Ruben Rodriguez, who’s a wide receiver.

Starting quarterback Daryonel Fontanez came out of the game after being shaken up by what appeared to be a late hit with 2:34 left in the first half.

Fontanez has been starting in place of quarterback Amier Burdine, who injured his collarbone in a preseason scrimmage.

The Red Knight managed just two first downs and 65 total yards. They punted eight times.

With the Red Knights down 27-0, Doyle said he made a decision to start preparing for next week and took Fontanez and DeShawn Wilson — who scored five TDs in last week’s win over Lebanon — out of the game.

“We were going against a really sound, quick team up front,” Doyle said. “It’s good that we were able to see that because who knows what you’re going to see down the road. I think that was good for us because we’re young. There were just too many mistakes. We have to sound in and get ready for next week.” Academy Park and Sanogo, whose eight-year-old cousin had her life taken in a shooting at the Knights’ stadium on opening night, have won two in a row since the tragedy. The Knights have outscored opponents 125-13 this season. “They came out with tenacity, fight and courage and played exceptionally well,” Doyle said. “They represented their school, themselves, and their families really well. We pray for those who were affected by (the shooting) situation. They’re a class act.”