Game of the Week: Twin Valley (7-1) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (8-0)
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Twin Valley (7-1) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (8-0)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Pioneer Field.
Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 records: Raiders 4-1, Pioneers 5-0.
Series: First meeting.
Fast fact: The Pioneers have won nine or more games in each of the last five seasons, with District 3 championships in 2019 and 2020.
(PhilMarPhoto)
Raiders update: Lost chance to win Section 4 title outright last week with 34-24 loss to Wyomissing. . . Can still share it with a win over Pioneers and a Lampeter-Strasburg win next week at Wyomissing. . . Shared Section 3 title last year with Ephrata and Garden Spot. . . Evan Myers topped 100 rushing yards for the fourth time this season and is closing in on first 1,000/1,000 season by a Berks QB since 2017. . . Myers has rushed for 729 yards and passed for 1,106. . . He has passed for 5,280 career yards and needs 21 to pass Daniel Boone’s Chris Bokosky for No. 2 all-time, behind Wilson’s Chad Henne (7,071). . . He’s tied for second in Berks with 15 TD passes and No. 4 in Berks passing efficiency. . . He’s tied for team lead with 11 TDs. . . RB Evan Johnson was held to season-low 43 yards on 21 carries last week. . . He’s fourth in Berks with 728 yards and has rushed for over 3,100 in his career. . . WR Ben Grundy is tied for fifth in Berks 30 receptions and tied for third with six TD catches. . . Have played without program rushing record-setter Drew Engle since Week 1. Engle, who has committed to play lacrosse at Army, rushed for 1,599 yards last season. . . Tumbled from No. 1 in PennLive.com state rankings to No. 9 after first loss. . . Ranked No. 4 in District 3 Class 4A power ratings, behind No. 1 Lampeter-Strasburg and No. 2 Wyomissing. . . A win will clinch an opening-round bye and possibly a quarterfinal home game. . . A loss could cost them a chance to open districts at home for the third straight year.
Did you know? Twin Valley won its first seven games last year for the first time in program history before a Week 8 loss at Ephrata. The Raiders went on to win a program-record 10 games.
(Logan Gehman/LNP photo)
Pioneers update: Off to best start since winning first nine games in COVID-truncated 2020 season, when they took their only loss in PIAA Class 4A semifinals to Jersey Shore. . . Also reached PIAA semifinals in 2019, falling to Thomas Jefferson. . . Have successfully reloaded after graduating 16 starters, including 10 all-league picks. . . Only returning all-league player is PK Peter Fiorelli. . . Key has been the transition of Caileb Howse from RB to QB. . . He is completing 68 percent of his passes for 1,093 yards and 10 TDs without and INT. . . Have turned the ball over just twice this season, once on an INT by backup QB Asher Jones. . . Howse is averaging 9.5 yards per carry, has rushed for 707 yards and scored 11 TDs. . . Dominic Brown leads team with 779 rushing yards and 17 TDs. . . Averaging 42.0 points per game, third-best in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. . . Allowing 7.6 points, fourth-lowest in the league. . . Have mercy-ruled all five Section 4 opponents. . . Averaging 383 yards per game, fourth-most in the league. . . Have scored 44 or more points in all five section games. . . Have gone 37-8 (.822) over last four seasons under head coach Victor Ridenour. . . Looking for first section championship since 2021, when they won the Section 3 title. . . Only league losses the past two seasons have been to Wyomissing. . . Finish regular season next week at Wyomissing. . . Ranked No. 1 in District 3 Class 4A power ratings.
Quotable: “There’s no such thing as a good loss, but I do think that when you lose a football game you can’t miss the opportunity to learn from it. Those young guys are gonna learn that this is what it looks like to play a big-time program. We look forward to what happens down the road.” – Raiders coach Brett Myers, following loss to Wyomissing.
