A couple of thoughts . . . from Week 7
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(Logan Gehman photo)
- Can’t say I’ve ever seen someone so driven to “set the record straight” after beating a team by four touchdowns as Exeter coach Matt Bauer. His team beat Muhlenberg 56-28 a year ago; the outcome wasn’t in doubt for most of the second half. Still, the Eagles’ top-rated defense allowed Cameron Small to run for 346 yards, and their pride was wounded. Bauer drilled into that last week in prepping his team for a battle of unbeatens showdown against the Muhls. This one was even more one-sided than a year ago as Exeter scored nearly every time it had the ball in a 42-12 win. Bauer, of course, was delighted. “We’re set to a higher standard,” said H-back/linebacker Jackson Kozik. “Our coaches push us every week. Even if we win the game, it’s not enough, we always have to prove more and do better. That’s coach Bauer’s mindset. That’s why we play so good.”
- Just four unbeaten teams remain in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, and they run headlong into each other in the next two weeks. Saturday, Twin Valley plays at Wyomissing in a Section 4 battle of state-ranked teams; in Week 9 Exeter plays at Conestoga Valley to determine the Section 2 title.
- Wilson and Manheim Township each took early losses but have been unbeaten in Section 1 play. They’ll meet to decide the Section 1 title in Week 10 at Gurski Stadium. The Bulldogs’ lone loss came in Week 3 against Nazareth, 30-20. The Blue Streaks lost in Week 2 at state-ranked Central York, 36-28.
- The Section 5 title will come down to a Week 10 showdown, too. Annville-Cleona, tied with Berks Catholic for first, ends the season at Forino Sports Complex. While the Saints have been dominant at times in league play the Dutchmen are just scraping by. They edged Lancaster Catholic 21-20 Friday, stopping a two-point conversion bid in the final minute, and Kutztown 42-39 the week before.
- Cameron Small moved up to No. 2 on Muhlenberg’s all-time rushing list Friday, passing Mel Fegely; he’s now at 1,053 yards over two seasons and 18 games. Small is within 197 yards of Jason Reinert’s program record of 3,703 yards. Overall, including two seasons as mostly a backup at Reading, he’s at 3,506 yards, 18th all-time in Berks history. He needs 178 yards to crack the Top 10 and 494 yards to become just the sixth to reach 4,000.
- Exeter could have a 2,000-yard rusher for the second straight year, which has never happened before in Berks football. Leo Brown, the league’s rushing leader, is averaging 166 yards per game. If the Eagles make a return to the district championship game (that means at least six more games) he figures to do it. He’s run for 100 or more yards six straight weeks, with a pair of 200-yard games, including a career-high 275 in the showdown Friday against Muhlenberg. A year ago Jayden Zandier set the Exeter record with 2,093 yards. Of course, the Muhls’ Cameron Small is still a threat to get 2,000 yards. He’d be the first Berks back to do it twice.
- You can’t tell by its 1-6 record but Kutztown continues to make progress. Not that long ago the Cougars were pushovers. None of their opponents feel that way these days. They know they’re going to get a physical, competitive game when they see Kutztown on the schedule. The Cougars pushed Berks Catholic for three hard quarters Saturday before losing 31-7. That came on the heels of a three-point loss to Section 5 co-leader Annville-Cleona and a one-point loss to Hamburg. “We’re better (than we were several years ago),” said Cougars coach Larry Chester. “It takes time to build it to the point where you go out and have certain expectations and you play that way. We have some good kids, some tough kids. . . I hate losing, but we’re losing better. That’s a horrible thing to say.”
- Lebanon now has lost 49 straight games. Governor Mifflin will try to extend that streak to 50 Friday when the two meet in Shillington. If the Cedars don’t win a game this season, they’ll enter next season looking down the barrel of the state record: 56 straight losses by South Philadelphia, from 1990-96. It’ll be years before the Cedars challenge the national record: 92 straight losses, by Columbia of Huntsville, Ala.
- Wilson’s 38-28 win over Hempfield Friday assures the Bulldogs of a 50th straight winning season, the longest active streak in the state. Wilson has enjoyed 62 consecutive non-losing seasons. That latter streak started with back-to-back 5-5 records in 1964 and 1965. Surprisingly, they let that coach stick around for a few more seasons . . . and John Gurski went on to set new standards in the Lancaster-Lebanon League with a 43-2 record over a four-year span from 1978-81. In an era with no postseason play, he recorded four perfect seasons.
- Reading avoided its first winless (full) season in 45 years by beating McCaskey 14-8 Saturday. The Red Knights last went winless in 1980, when they finished 0-10-1. They also went winless during a five-game spring schedule in 2021 after their 2020 season was suspended by the school due to (unwarranted) concerns about COVID.
- Jeremiah Camara’s 241 rushing yards Saturday at Kutztown ranks No. 2 all-time at Berks Catholic. Bryce Gumby set the record last season with 268 yards vs. Lancaster Catholic. Gumby and Cooper Lutz are the only Saints with a pair of 200-yard games.
- Twin Valley continues to be the highest-scoring team in the state, and by a wide margin. The Raiders are averaging 57.0 points per game; Clairton is No. 2 at 52.3. They could end up as just the fourth Berks team to score 600 points in a season. They are the first Berks team to score 60 or more points four times in the same season. Their scoring average figures to take a hit the next couple weeks, with games at Wyomissing and Lampeter-Strasburg.
- Governor Mifflin will likely need to win out to return to the District 3 Class 6A playoffs. The Mustangs, who have lost four straight, finish against Lebanon (0-7), at Elizabethtown (4-3), and against Ephrata (4-3). The Mustangs are 2-5 but are still No. 12 in the power rankings; the top 10 go. Mifflin’s strength of schedule – easily highest among 6A schools – has kept it in the running. Defense has the been the issue: The Mustangs have given up more yards than any team in the 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League; only Daniel Boone, Lebanon and Northern Lebanon have surrendered more points.
- Exeter (5A) and Wyomissing (4A) are No. 1 in the District 3 power ratings but each will have to win out to stay on top. Not an easy chore. Exeter plays at Hempfield (3-4) – which led Wilson 14-7 at halftime Friday — and at Conestoga Valley (7-0) the next two weeks. Wyomissing meets Twin Valley (7-0) this week and plays at Lampeter-Strasburg (6-1) in Week 10.
- What’s happened to wild, rollicking Section 5? That small-school contingent has been known for its wide-open offenses and high-scoring games. Not this season. Berks Catholic (38.1) is the only team averaging better than 30 points per game. Half of the eight teams are producing less than 25 points per game. Hamburg’s at 13.4 and Pequea Valley at 12.4.
- Wyomissing’s Justice Hardy continues to lead the league in humble. A year ago he dominated in a 34-24 win over Twin Valley, the top-ranked team in the state. He rushed for a career-high 196 yards, had a pair of back-breaking receptions for 101 yards, and broke the program record for total yards at 297. It helped propel him to All-State status. He was asked if he expected to be the main focus of Twin Valley’s defensive game plan for the rematch Saturday. “Maybe, but I can name five other great backs (on my team) who can do the same exact thing on any given day,” he said. “So they’re gonna have to game plan for way more than just myself.” Five guys, really? Alex Anzalone, Nolan McCready, Max Hurleman, Ryker Jones, and Pat McDonough were All-State picks at Wyo and none of them ever had a game like that.
