Football Notebook: Two grand, busy day in the borough, chasing 600 and more
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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Twin Valley has had fewer 1,000-yard rushers than any other Berks program. The Raiders appear intent on making up for lost time this season.
Sophomore Drew Engle has already topped 1,000 yards and junior Evan Johnson needs 35 yards Friday at Ephrata to join him.
That would give the Raiders two 1,000-yard rushers in one season after producing just three in their first 27 seasons.
Even more interesting: Engle and Johnson next year could become the first Berks tandem to go for 1,000 yards in back-to-back seasons.
Only one other player – Conrad Weiser’s DJ Robinson – has been part of two 1,000-yard tandems: With quarterback Mike Oliveto in 2010 and with running back Codie Butler in 2009.
There’s more: With three regular season games remaining and a postseason game just about a lock, Engle and Johnson could become the first pair of backs to each top 1,300 yards in a season.
And . . . their total could end up as the highest in Berks history.
None of that happens, of course, without an offensive line that has been gashing big seams for them to dash through. The Raiders offense begins with the work of the guys up front: Center Noah Roehm, guards Paul McClune and Greyson Miller, tackles Aris Drake and Sam Donnellan, as well as H-back Ean Winchester and tight end Jonathan LaBruto.
The highest single-season rushing total for a Berks tandem is 2,831 yards, by Gov. Mifflin’s Wilson Fontanez and Jan Johnson in 2014. Johnson was a quarterback, of course.
The highest total by a pair of running backs is 2,607, by Robinson and Butler.
And since you were about to ask: The record for brothers in the same backfield is 2,493, by Berks Catholic’s Isaac and Cooper Lutz in 2015.
There have been 17 previous 1,000-yard tandems; Conrad Weiser has had four of them.
Gov. Mifflin has had more 1,000-yard rushers than any Berks team, with 25. Wilson has had 24.
Full box scores were not kept by the Reading Eagle or Reading Times until about 1980 and full records for all teams don’t exist before that time. However, given the explosion of offensive football in the 1990’s and since, and the relatively conservative nature of high school offenses in the 1960’s and prior, it’s safe the believe there weren’t a whole lot of 1,000-yard rushers back in the day.
Quiet exit for future Trojan
Unlike last season, when he dominated both lines and played a pivotal role in a 20-16 win over Wilson, Hempfield’s Deyvid Palepale was rather quiet Friday night against the Bulldogs.
The All-State lineman was credited with just two tackles and the Black Knights couldn’t stop Wilson in losing 49-34.
As it turns out, that might be the final high school game for Palepale.
Word drifted out earlier this week that he was no longer on the team; Jeff Reinhart of Lancasteronline.com confirmed that early Tuesday, reporting that Hempfield coach George Eager said Palepale’s removal from the roster was due to disciplinary reasons.
Palepale played a huge role for the Black Knights in winning the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title last season but things quickly went awry after that.
Following the season he announced he was leaving Hempfield to attend IMG academy in Florida; IMG attracts elite athletes and plays a national schedule. About a month later he reversed course and announced he was staying at Hempfield.
In July Palepale announced his commitment to Southern California.
Busy day in the borough
Saturday won’t be your typical Homecoming at Wyomissing.
If the weather cooperates a little it could be the biggest Homecoming in school history, and that will have nothing to do with the game.
Following the Spartans’ Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 game against Conrad Weiser a dedication ceremony will take place to officially name the field in honor of longtime coach Bob Wolfrum.
The school board announced in April that the A-Field would be renamed Bob Wolfrum Field.
Expect dozens and dozens of former Spartans to be there to honor Berks’ winningest coach.
If you include his time as an assistant football coach and head baseball coach Wolfrum has coached more than 1,100 games and won nearly 770 of them. This is Wolfrum’s 50th season with the football team.
He has coached more than a 1,000 different student-athletes over 78 seasons in football and baseball. More if you count his one season as an assistant girls basketball coach for Mike Mitchell.
Thirty-five minutes prior to the 1:30 kickoff four new members of the Wyomissing Football Association Hall of Fame will be inducted.
Homecoming activities will take place during halftime.
Chasing 600
Wilson is closing in on some big milestones.
After winning their fifth straight game last week the Bulldogs are within two of 600 victories.
They play Penn Manor (3-4) Friday and at McCaskey (2-5) in Week 9.
A win this week will clinch a winning record and extend Wilson’s streak to 48 consecutive winning seasons, longest in the state. That streak began in 1976. Ridley lost its’ 54-season winning streak in 2020, when it went 3-3 during a COVID-shortened season.
One more win will also clinch a 60th straight non-losing season. The last of those came in 1963; a year later John Gurski arrived and everything changed in West Lawn.
Just three programs in District 3 have more than 600 wins: Steel-High (802), Bishop McDevitt (631) and Middletown (604). Each of them have been playing for over 100 years; Wilson didn’t start football until 1945.
Wilson is currently fifth in victories among District 3 teams. Manheim Central nailed down No. 600 last week.
(PhilMarPhoto)
Rising Saint
It didn’t take long for Josiah Jordan to become an impact player at Wilkes University.
The freshman from Berks Catholic scored three touchdowns in a 63-14 victory over Juniata two weeks ago and was named Colonel male athlete of the week.
Last week he rushed for 91 yards and a TD on 11 carries.
He’s second on the team in scoring and rushing and is the Colonel’s primary kickoff returner, averaging 22.7 yards on his 24 returns.
Jordan was a Class 3A All-State pick and Defensive Back of the Year in Section 4 of Lancaster-Lebanon League last season. He rushed for 1,225 yards and scored 22 TDs.
True Warriors
No team in the Lancaster-Lebanon League has played a more unforgiving schedule than Warwick.
Here’s the Warriors’ week-by-week, with their opponent’s current record:
- Cocalico (6-1)
- Ephrata (6-1)
- Cedar Crest (5-2)
- Conestoga Valley (6-1)
- Manheim Central (6-1)
- Exeter (7-0)
- Souderton (7-0)
The Warriors get credit for the biggest win of the season, 17-14 over Cocalico in Week 1. They’ve lost six straight since.
Things ease up a bit for them now: They play Muhlenberg (1-6) Friday and Lebanon (0-7) the following week.
