Despite on-court battles, Reading High, Wood coaches remain close

Reading High and Archbishop Wood waged a taut battle for the PIAA Class 6A championship a year ago. The Red Knights won it 58-57, with Joey Chapman stealing a pass in the final seconds to clinch it.

Despite the contested ending — Vikings coach John Mosco protested that Chapman walked after making the steal — the game brought the two programs, and its coaches, even closer.

Rick Perez, the Red Knights coach, and Mosco have known each other for years, since both were assistants, Perez at Reading and Mosco at Neumann Goretti.

Even though they’re rivals, positioned to contend for the same championship — they meet again Sunday in the second round of the PIAA Tournament — they remain close.

After last year’s championship game Mosco invited Perez to bring his team to the Diane Mosco Foundation Shootout — a memorial fund-raiser for Mosco’s late wife — at Archbishop Wood. (The Red Knights beat La Salle College 52-32.)

In turn, Perez invited Mosco to play at the Geigle Classic in January. The Red Knights edged the Vikings 64-58.

“How many teams schedule each other after coming off the championship?” Mosco asked rhetorically. “Not too many teams in the state would do that.”

Mosco brought his team to Reading so that his players could soak in the rich atmosphere of the Geigle and also to gain some familiarity with the court. If his team gets past Reading Sunday at 1 at Easton Area Middle School it could end up playing a state quarterfinal or semifinal at the Geigle, a frequent PIAA host for later-round games.

Perez was thinking ahead, too, when he set up a rematch with Wood. He wants to expose his players to the best programs in the state so that they can measure up and see what’s in store for them once the PIAA tournament begins.

“Yes, we go to war on the court,” said Perez, “but I have nothing but the most respect for (John) for what he’s done in the basketball community. It’s a no-brainer: You want people like John, you want his program, to bless the Geigle with their presence.”

There’s a mutual respect between the programs and the coaches.

“Rick’s here for the kids; he’s here for the right reason,” Mosco said. “It’s not about himself.

“It’s not about him going to the next level (to coach). He doesn’t pad his schedule. He could play teams (just to get wins). He came down and played La Salle at my event. He played us. He could’ve gotten a lesser team to come play him and get the win, but he wants to challenge his kids.”

Mosco, in his ninth season as head coach at Wood, has rebuilt on the fly after graduating three 1,000-point scorers from last year’s nationally ranked team, which was unbeaten before losing to Reading at Giant Center.

The Vikings picked up Drexel recruit Justin Moore when Bishop McDevitt of Wyncote closed following last year and have seen some younger players progress and emerge as top-flight talent.

The Vikings (18-7) challenged for the Philadelphia Catholic League title, finishing third, a game back of Roman Catholic and West Catholic.

They beat Roman 64-61, Neumann Goretti 92-78 and Devon Prep — which beat Reading — 71-61 during league play. They lost to Archbishop Ryan in the league playoffs and entered the state playoffs as the No. 3 seed out of District 12.

Wood opened the state playoffs with a 77-50 win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh, the No. 5 team out of District 11. That 27-point margin was easily the biggest for any Class 6A team in the opening round.

“They may not be as highly touted at this point (as last year’s team) but they still have a high level of talent,” Perez said. “(Jalil) Bethea, he’ll be an outstanding name in Pennsylvania over the next two years. He’s playing some amazing basketball right now.”

Bethea was a third-team all-league pick; he scored 23 points in the win over Plymouth-Whitemarsh.

“Right now, they’ve got a minimum of three Division I players on their roster,” Perez said, pointing to Moore, Bethea and 6-7 junior Carson Howard, a second-team all-league pick. “That’s nice to have.”

The Red Knights (26-3) have Berks Player of the Year Ruben Rodriguez, a junior drawing Division I offers, but are without senior Daniel Alcantara, who was also getting Division I looks. He’s out for the season with a broken hand.

The way last year’s game ended, with Chapman making the clinching steal with 3.2 seconds left, then possibly taking an extra step as he celebrated the play, could have driven a wedge between the two programs. It hasn’t.

“When you look back at it, they played better than us and got the ‘W,’ ” Mosco said. “You always want to go back to one or two calls. We had a chance to win; their player made a great play with the steal. Even if they call him for a walk, the outcome could’ve been the same, you never know.

“That’s what high school basketball is about, that game. Each team respected each other and played the right way. If we get that shot off and win the game, we’re all in the same place. Somebody’s gotta win and somebody’s gotta lose.”