Oley Valley has an easy time clinching second Berks IV title in three seasons
Oley Valley’s clincher Friday night was a little calmer than the last time it won the Berks Conference Division IV title.
That came two seasons ago in a double-overtime win at Antietam in the final game of the regular season.
This time the Lynx won with plenty to spare, beating Hamburg 47-25 and with three games remaining and almost two weeks left in the regular season.
“It was business-like,” Lynx coach Matt Barrell said of his team’s eighth straight win. “They knew what they wanted and they went out and took it.”
The Lynx (9-1 Berks IV, 15-4), continuing to play their smothering brand of defense, were up 28-12 at halftime and 38-18 after three quarters. They are allowing 39.9 points during the winning streak.
Chase Rubendall led a balanced scoring effort with 16 points for Oley. David Turchi had 12 and Ben DeBalko 10.
The Hawks (4-4 Berks III, 9-9), playing without No. 2 scorer Xander Menapace, were held to a season-low scoring total. Menapace, who averages 13.7 points, was on a football recruiting visit. Kevin McFarland III, who was averaging a team-best 14.9 points, scored five points. Connor Licklider led the way with 10 points.
The Lynx have won two division titles in a three-year span for the first time since taking three in a row from 1998-2001.
“It’s awesome for the kids that they’re part of a group like this and a record like this,” Barrell said. “It doesn’t happen very often. We’re really lucky (as a coaching staff). It’s a great group and they’re committed to basketball. They love basketball.”
Seniors Keith Neal, Oley’s top scorer, Rubendal, Jaden Kelly and Ethan Gallardo were sophomores when the Lynx were Berks IV champs during the COVID-interupted 2020-21 season. Barrell said that experience has helped this team.
“They learned a lot from that group two years ago, some of the struggles they went through,” Barrell said. “Those young guys saw it, and they wanted this. They want to be part of something special. They feel that.”
The 15 wins are the most during Barrell’s 10 seasons as head coach. The Lynx haven’t won as many as 16 games since 2000-01.
Oley moved up one spot, to fourth, in the District 3 Class 4A rankings with the victory. If it holds that spot it will host a first-round playoff game. If the Lynx win their remaining three games they could finish as high as No. 3. Current No. 3 York Catholic plays Berks Catholic on Saturday.
“They know they’ve gotta stay focus on the task at hand,” Barrell said. “We’ve got one (of our goals) but we’ve got plenty more that we want to accomplish. They know how important each game is for district seeding.”
Oley Valley has won three of its four crossover games against Berks III. It’s only loss came to division champ Fleetwood 59-50.
