Red Knights end winless streak at expense of mistake-prone Red Tornado
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Logan Moyer — LNP/Lancasteronline
LANCASTER — Wearing a helmet apparently isn’t necessary in order to run for a touchdown.
When Reading’s Daron Wilkins crossed the goal line for his second touchdown of the game Saturday against McCaskey his head was not covered.
| Final | |
| Reading | 14 |
| McCaskey | 6 |
“Big guy took it off,” Wilkins said of an opponent who pulled his helmet off trying to tackle him. “Just ripped it off.”
Wilkins ran for both of Reading’s scores in a 14-6 win over McCaskey in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 matchup at Lancaster Catholic.
They were his first scores of the season. He entered play with negative rushing yards on the year.
“He had some injuries he was dealing with and things of that nature,” Reading coach Troy Godinet said. “But he’s a great kid, loving kid. He stepped up and finished.”
The Red Knights had scored just five touchdowns in their first six games; they had been shut out twice.
With Section 1 leader Manheim Township, Oxford, and Hempfield ahead on the schedule Saturday’s game represented the last realistic remaining opportunity for the Red Knights (1-3, 1-6) to win a game this season.
It was their first win since beating McCaskey 38-14 last season. It had lost nine straight since.
“It’s good for them to feel what victory feels like,” Godinet said. “They’ve been winning in a lot of other aspects outside of the scoreboard, in the classroom and community service. It just feels good for them to feel what victory is like on the scoreboard.”
It was a game that took over three hours to complete, largely due to the 30 penalties for 267 yards assessed to the two teams. Eight of those penalties were personal fouls.
The meeting was the 103rd between the two schools, which first met in 1892. Reading leads the series 51-47-5.
“This is a big rivalry to us,” Godinet said. “I take pride in it. Things are going to get chippy. Crazy happened, but the way our guys responded, I was proud of them.”
McCaskey coach Todd Mealy said the feeling for the rivalry doesn’t run as deep at his school.
“It’s like a lost rivalry,” Mealy said. “I think the fans get excited about the game, but the players don’t see it as the rivalry it once was.”
Both teams, mainly McCaskey (0-4, 0-7), had big plays wiped off the scoreboard due to penalties. McCaskey also turned the ball over three times, twice on fumbles and once on an interception by Lysandes Tabares.
“In many ways, we beat ourselves,” Mealy said. “We had way too many penalties in Reading’s territory, particularly in the red zone. . . I don’t think we did the things to win the game tonight.”
McCaskey thought it had tied the game in the final two minutes on what would have been a 10-yard touchdown run by Quinnes Jones-Hawkins until the score was wiped off the board by a holding penalty.
| SECTION 1 | League | Overall |
| Wilson | 3-0 | 6-1 |
| Manheim Twp. | 3-0 | 6-1 |
| Cedar Crest | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Hempfield | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Penn Manor | 1-2 | 2-5 |
| Reading High | 1-3 | 1-7 |
| McCaskey | 0-3 | 0-7 |
A few plays later a fourth-down pass was batted down, securing the win for the Red Knights.
Hawkins’ two touchdown runs came on a 6-yard score in the first quarter on fourth down and a 3-yard score in the third quarter.
McCaskey’s lone score came on a 1-yard touchdown run by Jones-Hawkins after a 62-yard pass from Liam Stinchfield to Johnzell Sibley.
For Reading, a win is a win – no matter how ugly it looked. The Red Knights are hoping that momentum will carry throughout the final weeks of the season.
“I tell our kids not to look at the scoreboard,” Godinet said. “Be the best you can be in every single aspect and the wins will follow . . . I’m happy with where we’re at with our young guys.”
The Red Tornado has Cedar Crest, Wilson and Penn Manor remaining on their schedule. The Comets (2-5) represent McCaskey’s last best shot at a win this season.
“The objective is to become better football players and be a better team Week 10 than we were Week zero,” Mealy said. “We go back to work on Monday and we try to get better as football players.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading | 8 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 14 |
| McCaskey | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | McCaskey | Jones-Hawkins, 1 run (kick failed) | 5:51 |
| 1 | Reading | Wilkins, 6 run (Bradley run) | 1:58 |
| 3 | Reading | Wilkins, 3 run (run failed) | 1:54 |
Team statistics
| READING | MCCASKEY | |
| First downs | 9 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-127 | 31-120 |
| Passing yards | 58 | 169 |
| Total yards | 185 | 289 |
| Passes | 5-7-0 | 8-15-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 2-32.5 | 2-32.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 12-107 | 18-160 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Reading: Zu. Boston 20-88, Wilkins 8-28, Weaver 5-12, Bradley 5-4, Team 2-(-2), Fleming 1-(-3).
McCaskey: Pettway 8-60, Stinchfield 9-31, Jones-Hawkins 9-22, Paula 2-5, Rivera 3-2.
PASSING
Reading: Fleming 3-3-0–32, Wilkins 2-4-0–26.
McCaskey: Stinchfield 8-14-1–169, Jones-Hawkins 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Reading: Weaver 3-24, Boston 1-19, Plyaharn 1-15.
McCaskey: Sibley 4-113, Jones-Hawkins 3-43, Rivera 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
Reading: Tabares.
