Reading High drops season finale to Hempfield
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By John Walk — LNP/Lancasteronline
LANDISVILLE — Up two points on Reading High at halftime, Hempfield football players were tough on each other in the locker room Friday night.
“We were saying things like, ‘It shouldn’t be this close of a game,’ ” Hempfield lineman Simeon Vieland said. “We had to get our attitude right and fight every single play.”
The host Black Knights pulled away for a 42-18 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 victory. In doing so, Hempfield (3-3, 4-6) snapped a four-game losing streak and improved it chances at a postseason berth.
The Black Knights entered at No. 12 in District Three Class 6A power rankings. The top 10 teams make the District 3-6A playoff bracket. So they needed some help elsewhere and got it, as the two teams rated just in front of them (Chambersburg and Cedar Cliff) both lost, which should aid Hempfield’s chances of playing at least one more week.
Reading (1-5, 2-8) jumped out to an early 6-0 lead with a defensive touchdown on a fumble, scoop and score from 34 yards out by Braylon Williams. Hempfield scored on its next two possessions, the latter capped by quarterback Derek Katch hitting wide open tight end Philip Krauser up the middle for a 28-yard TD throw.
Reading immediately responded with a nine-play, 67-yard scoring drive capped off with a 1-yard TD run by Gabe Laws, to cut the deficit to 14-12.
Hempfield pushed the lead to 21-12 on its first possession of the second half, then scored quickly on its next two possessions that ended on a pair of Katch TD bombs.
Katch completed 13-of-22 attempts for 295 yards and three passing TDs to go along with one rushing score. His top target was senior Brayden Charles (nine receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD).
The Red Knights added a fourth quarter score on a 16-yard pass from Jason Plylaharn to Xavier Beatty.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading High | 6 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 18 |
| Hempfield | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Hempfield | Day, 1 run (Biscoe kick) | 11:53 |
| 2 | Reading High | Williams, 34 fumble return (pass failed) | 4:58 |
| 2 | Hempfield | Krauser, 28 pass from Katch (Biscoe kick) | 8:05 |
| 2 | Reading High | Laws, 1 run (run failed) | 4:45 |
| 3 | Hempfield | Caldwell, 1 run (Biscoe kick) | 4:02 |
| 3 | Hempfield | Charles, 50 pass from Katch (Biscoe kick) | 2:22 |
| 4 | Reading High | Beatty, 16 pass from Plylaharn (run failed) | 9:25 |
| 4 | Hempfield | Caban, 43 pass from Katch (Biscoe kick) | 7:58 |
| 4 | Hempfield | Katch, 5 run (Biscoe kick) | 4:09 |
Team statistics
| Reading High | Hempfield | |
| First downs | 9 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 20-89 | 30-63 |
| Passing yards | 54 | 310 |
| Total yards | 143 | 373 |
| Passes | 8-16-2 | 13-22-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 5-30.4 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-65 | 9-95 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Reading High: Laws 6-51, Alvarado 9-26, Plylaharn 5-12, Weaver 1-1.
Hempfield: Caldwell 11-48, Day 6-11, Katch 13-4.
PASSING
Reading High: Plylaharn 8-16-2–54.
Hempfield: Katch 13-22-0–295, Charles 2-2-0–15.
RECEIVING
Reading High: Beatty 4-36, Weaver 2-10, Alvarado 1-8, Santos 1-0.
Hempfield: Charles 9-115, Margeson 6-79, Caban 2-64, Krauser 2-46, Le 1-10.
