Early turnovers put Red Knights in hole in loss to Panthers
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Andrew Clauser— MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Sloppy play early in the game proved too much for the Reading High to overcome Friday night as C.D. East rolled to a 55-6 victory in a non-league opener at Albright’s Shirk Stadium.
Two early fumbles by the Red Knights deep in their own territory set the tone as the Panthers capitalized with two scores in less than two minutes. Two more touchdowns of 59 and 54 yards boosted the Panthers lead to 28-0 at the start of the second quarter.
The Red Knights started to build momentum in the second quarter. forcing two punts along with an explosive 81-yard TD catch by Xavier Beatty with 2:50 left in the half. Beatty caught the pass in tight coverage and broke free giving the Red Knights some life.
That would be their lone highlight of a long night.
East’s overall speed and fast-setting offense had the Red Knight’s defense scrambling in the second half. Adding to the onslaught were three short punts of (18, 9, and 14 yards) that gave the Panthers good field position and quick scores.
Beatty, a junior, led the Red Knights with two receptions for 95 yards and the lone score. Junior tailback Alexis Alvarado, who took some big hits, led the way in rushing for the Red Knights with 19 carries for 58 yards.
The Red Knights look to bounce back against border rival Muhlenberg in a non-league game next Friday at Shirk Stadium.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| C.D. East | 21 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 55 |
| Reading High | 0 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | CD East | Porter, 7 pass from Jollah (kick failed) | 4:28 |
| 1 | CD East | Prather, 5 run (Bloss kick) | 3:20 |
| 1 | CD East | Armstrong, 59 pass from Jollah (Porter run) | 1:48 |
| 2 | CD East | Prather, 54 run (Bloss kick) | 9:26 |
| 2 | Reading High | Beatty, 81 pass from Fritz (kick failed) | 2:50 |
| 3 | CD East | Arp, 12 pass from Jollah (kick failed) | 10:26 |
| 3 | CD East | Neal, 15 pass from Jollah (Bloss kick) | 7:24 |
| 3 | CD East | Armstrong, 27 run (Bloss kick) | 1:45 |
| 4 | CD East | Prather, 5 run (Bloss kick) | 10:29 |
Team statistics
| C.D. East | Reading High | |
| First downs | 8 | 6 |
| Rushes-yards | 25-223 | 37-59 |
| Passing yards | 167 | 116 |
| Total yards | 390 | 175 |
| Passes | 9-20-0 | 5-6-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0 | 3 |
| Punts-average | 3-37 | 4-16.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 12-125 | 9-78 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
C.D. East: Porter 10-100, Prather 9-96, Armstrong 2-29, Caceres 3-7, Jollah 1-(-9).
Reading High: Alvarado 19-58, Darby 5-28, Laws 2-3, Fritz 8-(-30).
PASSING
C.D. East: Jollah 9-20-0-167.
Reading High: Fritz 5-6-0-116
RECEIVING
C.D. East: Armstrong 3-76, Neal 2-25, Porter 2-9, Prather 1-45, Arp 1-12.
Reading High: Beatty 2-95, Alvarado 2-14, Small 1-7.
