Penalties again costly as Red Knights blanked by Blue Streaks
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Josh Micsky — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Good habits and discipline are key fundamentals needed for success on the field and in life. Reading Red Knights head football coach Troy Godinet is looking for improvement in those areas following a 54-0 shutout loss to Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 leader Manheim Township Friday at Shirk Stadium.
Reading was hit with 19 penalties, with many being false starts or illegal procedures that consistently killed positive momentum on offense. Combined with last weeks’ 21 penalties, the Red Knights have had 40 penalties in their last two games.
| Section 1 | ||
| Manheim Twp. | 4-0 | 8-0 |
| Wilson | 4-0 | 7-1 |
| Cedar Crest | 3-2 | 5-3 |
| Hempfield | 2-2 | 3-5 |
| Penn Manor | 1-3 | 1-6 |
| Reading | 1-4 | 2-6 |
| McCaskey | 0-4 | 2-6 |
“Discipline doesn’t just show up on Friday nights,” Godinet said “It shows up when you come to school late, it shows up when you don’t go to class, it shows up when you’re not in the weight room, it shows up when you’re not giving it your all in practice. Discipline is doing things the right way on a regular basis.”
The Red Knights (1-4, 2-6) became the third league opponent to be blanked by the Blue Streaks (4-0, 8-0).
Manheim Township was sloppy on both sides of the ball but held a 21-0 lead at halftime, thanks to the first two of Carson Weisser’s three touchdown passes. Declan Clancy had the other Blue Streak touchdown of the first half, capping a drive in which he had runs of 40 and 28 yards. Clancy finished with 148 yards rushing.
The Blue Streaks’ defense bent a bit in the first half but was outright dominant in the second half, not allowing the Red Knights to cross midfield until the final drive of the game. The defense also got on the scoreboard via a Charlie Hill Pick-Six late in the third quarter.
One example of discipline hurting Reading came in the second quarter.
Quarterback Kayson Fritz completed a beautiful over-the-shoulder deep ball to Weaver for a 48-yard gain to the Manheim Township 29-yard line, the deepest penetration by Reading to that point of the game.
After a second-down run of 4 yards the Red Knights were flagged for holding and then a false start, eventually turning the ball over on downs at the 28-yard line after failing to convert a fourth-and-13.
The Red Knights never got the ball closer than the Blue Streaks’ 25-yard line the rest of the game.
“(Manheim Township) puts a lot of teams away in the first half,” Godinet said. “We were right there, down 21-0 and getting the ball back to start the second half. We have to make sure we’re the best us at all times.”
A 54-point loss is a tough way for the Red Knight seniors to go out on Senior Night but Godinet praised the Class of 2025 for their dedication in building the Red Knights the right way.
“I’m proud of them,” he said. “We’ve got (seniors) doing the right things GPA-wise and with community service and we’ve got guys that are going to be playing college football.
“They have wanted to build this program the right way and they have stayed here to do that. They show where this program is going and I don’t think the wins and losses represent what they have done.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Manheim Township | 7 | 14 | 21 | 12 | 54 |
| Reading | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Manheim Township | Haberbosch, 11 pass from Weisser (Morales kick) | 7:07 |
| 2 | Manheim Township | Clancy, 1 run (Morales kick) | 11:12 |
| 2 | Manheim Township | Hill, 14 pass from Weisser (Morales kick) | 8:13 |
| 3 | Manheim Township | Haberbosch, 16 pass from Weisser (Morales kick) | 7:46 |
| 3 | Manheim Township | Arcudi, 3 run (Morales kick) | 5:55 |
| 3 | Manheim Township | Hill, 10 interception return (Morales kick) | 4:17 |
| 4 | Manheim Township | Reed-Jones, pass from Kenneff (kick blocked) | 10:00 |
| 4 | Manheim Township | Whalen, 7 run (kick blocked) | 4:30 |
Team statistics
| Manheim Township | Reading | |
| First downs | 17 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 25-216 | 32-55 |
| Passing yards | 128 | 74 |
| Total yards | 344 | 129 |
| Passes | 11-19-0 | 9-17-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-31 | 7-34 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-112 | 19-134 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Manheim Township: Clancy 13-148, Arcudi 5-43, Whalen 4-20, Destine 2-9, Weisser 1-(-4).
Reading High: Alvarado 9-36, K. Reyes 4-10, Boston 2-4, Beatty 1-4, J. Reyes 1-4, Samuel 1-2, Weaver 1-1, Plylaharn 2-(-1), Laws 1-(-1), Fritz 9-(-2), Bonilla 1-(-2) .
PASSING
Manheim Township: Weisser 9-17-0-88, Kenneff 2-2-0-40.
Reading High: Fritz 6-9-0-69, K. Reyes 3-6-1-5.
RECEIVING
Manheim Township: Dixon 3-39, Clancy 3-8, Haberbosch 2-27, Reed-Jones 1-21, Whalen 1-19, Hill 1-14.
Reading High: Weaver 3-47, Samuel 2-8, Laws 1-7, Beatty 1-6, Alvarado 1-2, Camara 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Manheim Township: Hill.
