Four Downs: Four big takes from Week 3
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Four biggest takeaways from Week 3 of the 2024 high school football season:
1ST DOWN
The Wilson Bulldogs were more impressive in their loss Friday at Nazareth than they were in either of their two wins – maybe more impressive than they’ve been in a couple years.
They showed resiliency and heart and perhaps an identity in that 35-31 loss to one of the top-ranked Class 6A teams in the state.
“We’re a tough team, I’ll tell you that,” said quarterback Madyx Gruber, “a really tough team.”
The Bulldogs more than showed they’re ready for their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 schedule and that by Week 10, when they travel to state-ranked Manheim Township, they’ll be ready to compete for a title.
You couldn’t have said that a few weeks ago when a relatively young team with a first-year quarterback first took the field. Gruber has shown what Offensive Coordinator Jeremy Palm saw in the spring when they made his conversion from wide receiver: An athlete with a knack for making plays and leading a team.
The Bulldogs cranked out 27 first downs and 434 total yards and had the ball at the 1 with a minute to go before a fumble into the end zone ended their shot for an upset.
They’ll be a tough out the rest of the way.
2ND DOWN
Exeter hasn’t been challenged yet – the Eagles are winning by an average of 42 points – but it’s safe to say they’re as good as advertised.
They came into the season as the favorite in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League because of their wealth of talent: All-State running back Jayden Zandier, Naval Academy lineman recruit Logan Wegman, returning quarterback Riley Martinez and a boatload of other play-makers.
They’re still the team to beat but there are others in Section 2 capable of doing that. Conestoga Valley is 3-0 and has outscored its opponents by 111 points. Ephrata showed its mettle with a 31-14 win over Manheim Central and by hanging with Section 3 favorite Garden Spot Friday night.
Exeter gets Ephrata in Week 6 and Conestoga Valley in Week 9 – both at home.
The Eagles get their first real test Friday at Gov. Mifflin.
Those two old-school Berks Football League rivals have a little history together; it should be fun.
3RD DOWN
Friday night would’ve been a lot more fun if we had seen Twin Valley and Exeter on the same field rather than watching the Raiders and Eagles run laps around inferior opponents.
It would’ve been a challenging game for both. To date, neither has seen that: The record of their six opponents is a combined 2-16.
Twin Valley found a Charter school that apparently doesn’t recruit: The Raiders scored seven first-quarter touchdowns on the way to a record-setting 69-0 rout of Olney Charter.
It’ll be more of the same as the Raiders get into their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 schedule: Elco, Octorara, Northern Lebanon, and Donegal don’t figure to offer much resistance against one of the best teams in District 3 — regardless of classification.
Week 8 can’t come soon enough: That’s when Twin Valley and Wyomissing square off in what looms as the Section 4 title game.
4TH DOWN
Is it too soon to write off Schuylkill Valley?
In a word, yes.
The Panthers are sitting 1-2 after losses to Muhlenberg and Fleetwood. They struggled to hold off winless Daniel Boone in Week 2 for their only win.
Not the start Bruce Harbach wanted, for sure, but things get a lot easier from here out. Muhlenberg, Boone, and Fleetwood are each Class 5A schools; Schuylkill Valley is 3A. It plays just one larger school the rest of the way, Hamburg.
The Panthers should be fine now that they’re into the Section 5 portion of their schedule. Most of those small schools got knocked around in their non-league schedules. Take away Hamburg’s forfeit win and the eight schools are a combined 7-16.
The section remains wide open but the Panthers still have more talent than anyone other. They should be fine.
Same goes at the District 3 level. No Class 3A team has stood out to date in that 12-team field. Again, the Panthers should be fine if they can tighten up their defense and get the ball to their play-makers.
