Berks senior stars to face Lancaster’s best in Tri-County All-Star football game
Berks seniors will finally get another chance to play in an All-Star football game.
After six seasons on the sidelines Berks players will participate in the Manheim Touchdown Club’s 21st annual Tri-County All-Star Game May 26 at Manheim’s Elden-Rettew Stadium.
With 13 Berks schools joining Wilson in the Lancaster-Lebanon League for the 2022 football season, players from each of those schools are eligible to play in the game.
Seniors from 14 Berks schools will join with top players from five Lebanon County schools to face a team composed of players from 16 Lancaster County schools and Octorara. The league is comprised of 36 schools.
Exeter’s Matt Bauer has been selected to coach the Berks/Lebanon squad. Bauer’s team won the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title last season.
Hempfield’s George Eager will coach the Lancaster squad. His team won the Section 1 title.
The Berks roster includes four All-State picks: Exeter’s Lucas Palange, the Berks Linebacker of the Year; Exeter’s Kyle Lash, the Berks Defensive Lineman of the Year; and Matt Kramer and Drew Eisenhower of Wyomissing. It also includes the Berks Receiver of the Year, Ruben Rodriguez of Reading High.
Players selected for the Big 33 Classic, Wilson’s Cam Jones and Exeter’s Anthony Caccese, were not eligible for selection. Neither are seven players selected to play in the East/West 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.
Also, Wyomissing’s Jven Williams and Exeter’s Joey Schlaffer, certain picks for the Big 33 Classic, are already enrolled at Penn State and therefore ineligible for the game.
There’s plenty of talent left to stock the Berks/Lebanon team, including All-Berks picks Nick Weitzel and Landon Farrell of Wilson, Amier Burdine of Reading High, Gio Cavanna of Muhlenberg, and Adam Noll of Conrad Weiser.
Wyomissing has five players selected for the game, Exeter and Wilson four each.
For many years top Berks seniors completed their high school football career in the Berks Senior Classic, but that game hasn’t been played since 2016. The game lost its primary sponsorship following that season and the game was suspended.
“It’s great for the kids,” Bauer said of the new opportunity. “It’s a great experience to get these kids together one more time. I’m excited to see these kids play together. Hopefully, it’s a good, competitive game.”
There could potentially be conflicts with multi-sport athletes involved in spring sports; the PIAA Track and Field Championships are the same weekend as the game, and the District 3 baseball and lacrosse tournaments will be ongoing.
Bauer said practices will be scheduled on Sundays to avoid conflicts with other sports. Track athletes who qualify for stats may need to pull out of the game.
The five Lebanon County schools with players selected are: Annville-Cleona, Cedar Crest, Elco, Northern Lebanon and Palmyra. Lebanon High does not have a representative.
Wilson, a member of the Lancaster-Lebanon League for nearly 50 years, has sent players to the Tri-County Game each season.
