Five Fast Friday Football Facts for Week 1
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
1
Muhlenberg and Wilson each kick off their 80th season, the Muhls tonight, the Bulldogs Saturday.
The Muhls debuted in 1945 under head coach Scoop Clemens and went 2-4-1. By their third season they were 8-2 and won the first of five straight Berks League championships.
The Bulldogs debuted the same year and went 1-4, their only season under coach Warren Eberly. They had a winning record in their second season, going 4-3-1 under Robert Thompson.
Wilson didn’t enjoy an extended run of success until 1966, John Gurski’s third season, when they went 8-2. They haven’t had a losing season since 1963.
Muhlenberg enjoyed its greatest success under Gurski protégé John Yocum, who posted 20 consecutive winning seasons and won 10 league championships from 1989-2008.
Muhlenberg opens at home against Schuylkill Valley; Wilson opens on the road against Cheltenham (at Upper Merion).
2
Wyomissing has won seven straight season-openers, the longest active streak in Berks.
Hamburg and Twin Valley have each won their last three openers; no other Berks team has won more than two in a row in Week 1.
The Spartans have gone 12-1 in season-openers since 2011, their lone loss coming 32-7 at Pottsville.
Last season Berks teams went 6-8 in Week 1.
Wyomissing opens Saturday at home against Southern Columbia.
3
Exeter has beaten Daniel Boone 11 straight times, the longest winning streak in the series, which began in 1960. They play tonight in Birdsboro.
The Blazers had won eight in a row, under former coach Dave Bodolus, before the Eagles started this streak in 2012, Matt Bauer’s fourth season as Exeter coach.
Exeter leads the series 42-22-1 and 39-18-1 since the Pig Iron Trophy was first put up for grabs in 1966.
The teams have met every season since 1960 with the exception of 2021, when the game was cancelled due to COVID-19 issues.
4
Muhlenberg and Schuylkill Valley meet tonight for the first time since 2003.
The former Inter-County League rivals were sent to opposite sections when the Berks League split into two sections. Now the Muhls play in Section 2 and the Panthers in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The Muhls have a 15-3 lead in the series. They took the first meeting in 1981, Muhlenberg’s first season in the I-C after moving over from the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
5
Kutztown and Fleetwood meet tonight to play for the Hall of Fame Trophy for the 11th time; it is their 23rd meeting overall.
The Cougars won the first nine meetings but the Tigers have dominated since, winning 12-of-13.
Kutztown’s last win in the series came in 2016.
In 2008 the Cougars won 45-44 in three overtimes. The game went to OT the following season, too.
In 2015 Fleetwood won 57-32 with Luke Emge throwing five touchdown passes and running for two scores.
