Football Notes: Family ties, early showdown, loaded schedule & more
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
It would be easy for Berks Catholic to drop Pope John Paul II, a burgeoning small school powerhouse, from its front-loaded schedule, but Saints coach Rick Keeley wouldn’t think of it.
The family connections in the game mean too much to him.
Pope John Paul was formed in 2010 by the merger of Kennedy-Kendrick and St. Pius X; Keeley played and coached at Pius.
His connections to PJP go much deeper than that, though.
Keeley’s youth football coach was John Reed. John’s grandson, Scott Reed, is the Golden Panthers’ head coach. Scott’s father Ron Reed was a role model for Keeley when he was a player.
“Ronnie was that guy I wanted to be like when I grew up,” Keeley recalled of the late Ron Reed, who died in 2000 at age 51. “He’s the kind of player I wanted to be.”
Keeley followed in Ron Reed’s footsteps, at Sacred Heart Elementary, St. Pius X and then Kutztown University. Keeley was four years younger so they never played together but they were assistant coaches at St. Pius X under Jim Mich for two seasons before Keeley moved on to Holy Name.
Keeley played alongside Ron’s brother Tommy at St. Pius. At Holy Name he coached against Scott, who played at Pius. Last season Keeley coached against Scott’s son, Braden.
“It is kind of wild,” Scott Reed said of the four-generation relationship Keeley has had with his family.
Keeley will be tasked again Friday with trying to slow down Braden, an all-league wide receiver and defensive back and a key part of a Pope John Paul II team that is ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 4A.
Scott Reed values the connection with Keeley and the opportunity to play against his teams, which he considers well-coached and respectful of the game and their opponents.
“I have so much respect for the time that he’s put into Holy Name and then Berks Catholic, and the success. . . the ups and downs (he’s had),” Reed said. “(As a coach) I see the challenges, and (know) how tough the job is, and he’s done it for so long and with so much grace.”
Closing in
All-State linebacker Ryker Jones, who has yet to play for Wyomissing due to a knee injury, will miss Friday’s game against Trinity but could be back on the field next week for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener against Berks Catholic.
Jones, a senior committed to play at Princeton, is practicing and making light contact but has not been cleared for full contact, according to Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum.
Once cleared, Jones will initially see time at inside linebacker, according to Wolfrum, with limited duty at halfback. Playing time will expand based on his game-readiness.
Sophomore Chase Eisenhower, who saw a lot of time last season, and Conrad Weiser transfer Luis Huertas have seen the majority of time at inside linebacker in the Spartans’ first two wins.
Jones was injured in a state semifinal in December against Neumann-Goretti. He suffered a torn ACL and sprained MCL.
Early district showdown
There will be a championship preview at Neffsville Friday night when Harrisburg visits Manheim Township.
The Cougars are two-time defending District 3 Class 6A champs and have been playing like it; they beat York High and Delaware Valley by a combined 83-20. They are ranked No. 5 in the state.
The Blue Streaks, favored to win Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, are off to an equally impressive start, knocking out Cumberland Valley 35-6 and Dallastown 56-0. They outscored those two teams 69-0 in the first half.
Harrisburg beat Township 44-6 in last year’s 6A championship. It made the Cougars the only three-time 6A champ. Earlier in the season Township won 24-20 with a last minute score.
Class 6A debuted in 2016. Wilson was the first champ. No other program has won it twice.
Last year the Cougars outscored three teams 120-34 on the way to the championship.
Scouting mission
Conrad Weiser knew it would have a weekly fight on its hand when it was placed in Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League last year, but things look especially tough right now for the Scouts.
Would you believe that eight of their 10 opponents are off to a 2-0 start and that Weiser has the highest strength-of-schedule rating among District 3 teams at .909?
No other team is close (Bishop McDevitt is next at .831.)
Granted it’s early and we’re talking about a small sample size, but there appear to be no easy outs on the Scouts’ schedule. Their opponents are a combined 12-2 to date.
Octorara, which went 1-9 last year, is 2-0 and has outscored its first two opponents 50-7.
The only teams on Weiser’s schedule with losses are Berks Catholic and Cocalico. The Saints lost by four points at state-ranked Loyalsock. The defending District 3 Class 5A champ Eagles lost to Warwick 17-14.
After losses to Garden Spot and Fleetwood things get even tougher this week for the Scouts: They play Twin Valley, which is looking like a District 3 Class 4A contender.
Stats ’n stuff
- Elco’s Jake Williams went for 320 yards and five touchdowns in a 49-7 win over Annville-Cleona last week. That broke Williams’ program record of 319 rushing yards, last year against Octorara. He rushed for 178 of those yards Thursday in second quarter. Williams is averaging 19.1 yards per carry.
- Manheim Township’s Hayden Johnson topped the 5,000-yard career passing mark in the Blue Streaks’ 56-0 win over Dallastown. He has thrown a league-high eight TDs in two games. Last season Johnson passed for a league-leading 2,621 yards.
- Hamburg’s Tyler Shuey is the only passer in the Lancaster-Lebanon League to throw for 300 yards this season, and he’s done it twice – 356 yards in the opener against Halifax, 303 last week against Warrior Run.
- Evan Johnson and Drew Engle of Twin Valley are the No. 2 and 3 rushing leaders, respectively, in the 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League. That’s remarkable because they’re rarely in the backfield together. They generally alternate series. Johnson has 38 carries, Engle 32. They’re each averaging 11.5 yards per carry.
- Deyvid Palepale, the Section 1 Lineman of the Year as a junior, didn’t play for Hempfield Friday in a 28-25 loss to York High. Palepale, a University of Southern California recruit, was on the sidelines in a walking boot during the game.
