Spartans and Saints will team up for East-West Small School game
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They’ll call a brief truce in the “Backyard Brawl” come May 19 when Ryker Jones and Andrew Forrey of Wyomissing run behind Joey Polinsky and Owen Reber in the PSFCA Small School East-West game.
That foursome – rivals during their high school careers — will represent Berks football, along with Twin Valley offensive lineman Paul McClune, selected for the Big School game.
The games will be played at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field, with the Small School game going off at noon and the Big School game following at 5.
The games come one week before the Big 33 Classic, also at Chapman Field.
Five of the eight Lancaster-Lebanon League selections represent Berks schools. The other L-L selections: Placekicker Mina Elzek of Annville-Cleona, in the Small School Game; and wide receiver Nick Palumbo of Manheim Township and defensive end Dhamir Wesley of Penn Manor in the Big School Game.
Pat Mason of Nativity will be the East’s Small School head coach. Roger Beitel of Ligonier Valley will be head coach of the West.
John Donnelly of C.B East will be head coach of the East’s Big School team. John Oswalt of Cumberland Valley will be head coach of the West.
The Small School game includes players from Class 3A, 2A and 1A programs; the Big School game includes players from the three largest classifications. The Susquehanna Rivers is used as the east/west dividing line.
Jones, a Princeton recruit, is a two-time All-State pick. As a senior he was named Linebacker of the Year in Berks County and in Section 4 of Lancaster-Lebanon League and was selected Berks County Defensive Player of the Year by MikeDragoSports.com.
Jones returned from a torn ACL in the 2022 state semifinal bigger and better than ever and recorded 44 tackles and six sacks in 11 games, leading the Spartans to another District 3 Class 3A championship.
He spearheaded the league’s No. 1 defense and averaged 10.6 yards per carry.
Forrey was a stalwart at both linebacker and halfback for Wyomissing but suffered a season-ending knee injury midway through the year. He averaged 9.6 yards per carry and scored six touchdowns.
Polinsky, a Cornell recruit, switched from tight end to tackle as a senior and found his way onto the radar of several Division I programs. He tacked on 50 pounds for his senior season and made a big impact in the Saints’ running game from his spot at tackle.
Reber, an All-Berks pick at guard, helped the Saints rush for over 230 yards per game and win the Eastern Conference Class 3A championship. He will play at Alvernia.
McClune, an All-State pick, was the top offensive lineman on a Raiders team that led the league in total offense (448 yards per game) and rushing yards per game (324).
He is committed to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Eight Berks players were selected for last year’s games.
Exeter All-State lineman Anthony Caccese, who is playing at Delaware, was the lone pick for the Big School game.
Xander Menapace, Pierce Mason and Charles Sheppard of Hamburg, Josiah Jordan and Andrew Kurtas of Berks Catholic and Ian Levering and Brock Kistler of Wyomissing were selected for the Small School game.