Record Berks field lining up for District 3 playoffs
Critical wins last week by Fleetwood, Twin Valley and Daniel Boone helped what’s shaping up as the largest contingent of Berks qualifiers ever for the District 3 football tournament.
With two weeks to go the Tigers, Raiders and Blazers, as well as Wilson and Schuylkill Valley, still have work to do in order to qualify for the district playoffs, which begin Nov. 5, or in Week 11.
At this point 11 of Berks’ 14 District 3 teams are in position to qualify; Berks has never sent more than nine teams to districts before.
Wilson and Schuylkill Valley are each pressed hard against the cut line, ranked No. 8 in eight-team fields for Class 6A and 3A, respectively.
Gov. Mifflin (6-0) and Wyomissing (8-0) remain No. 1 in 5A and 3A, respectively. The Mustangs need just one win in their final two games to clinch the top spot and a first-round bye that goes to top two finishers in Class 5A.
The same goes for the Spartans (though there are no byes in the eight-team 3A field).
Click here to find the District 3 power ratings
The Bulldogs (5-3) may need to win out, against No. 6 Hempfield and No. 7 Manheim Township, to squeeze in. One loss and No. 9 Carlisle (5-3), which plays Altoona (4-4) this week, could slip past.
The Panthers (2-6) have lost three straight but haven’t lost ground because the teams behind them keep losing. Schuylkill Valley has the worst record among programs currently within the various playoff fields. The Panthers play unbeaten Wyomissing this week and are scheduled to close against Hamburg (5-3). No. 9 Bermudian Springs (3-5) figures to win one at least of its remaining games, against Littlestown (2-5) or Biglerville (1-4).
Five Berks teams are in position to qualify in 5A — Mifflin, No. 8 Exeter (5-3), No. 10 Daniel Boone (5-3), No. 12 Twin Valley (5-3) and No. 13 Fleetwood (5-3). Berks has never sent more than four teams into any single class before.
Conrad Weiser (6-2) did those schools a big favor Friday, knocking off New Oxford (5-2), which had been No. 9 in 5A. Ephrata (5-3), which was No. 10, also lost and slipped to No. 14, one spot below the cut line for the 14-team field. New Oxford fell all the way to No. 16.
In Class 4A, Berks Catholic (5-2) dropped out of the No. 1 spot after losing to Exeter. The Saints are No. 2 and will clinch a spot in the 10-team field by beating winless Muhlenberg (0-8) this week. They close the regular season against Mifflin. The Saints are fighting for one of six first-round byes in 4A, and the home quarterfinal that will go with it.
Weiser, at No. 5, is in position for the same things, though it’ll be much tougher for the Scouts to achieve because they closes the season against Wyomissing. The Scouts have a slim lead over No. 6 Northern York and No. 7 Kennard Dale.
Hamburg (5-3) held at No. 3 in 3A despite consecutive losses. The Hawks’ game against Twin Valley this week won’t be played due to a COVID issue; they are schedule to close against Schuylkill Valley. Even with a Week 10 loss the Hawks should make the eight-team field. A top-four finish would give them a first-round home game.
Missing this week’s game will not negatively impact the power rating for Twin Valley or Hamburg.
For an explanation of the District power ratings, click here
District 3 no longer uses Hersheypark Stadium for its championship games. The higher-seeded team hosts in each round, which makes earning a top seed valuable come November.
The only Berks teams out of the running at this point are Reading High in 6A, Muhlenberg in 5A and Kutztown in 4A.
After a COVID-impacted season which saw District 3 slash its playoff fields by half or more, it will return to normal, in terms of playoff participants: Eight will qualify in Class 6A, 14 in 5A, 10 in 4A, eight in 3A, four in 2A and two in 1A. The Class 3A field has been bumped up from six to eight since 2019.