Red Knights, Ruben Rodriguez chasing gold — and a lofty spot in Berks hoops history
When Ruben Rodriguez and his Reading High basketball team take the court at the Geigle for a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal Friday they’ll be chasing more than just a championship: They’ll be chasing history.
The Red Knights have won two straight district titles. Rodriguez, who played at Muhlenberg as a freshman, has won three in a row.
Three more wins and they’ll take an even loftier spot in Berks basketball history.
If the top-seeded Red Knights (24-1) raise the trophy at Giant Center March 2 they’ll become only the second team in program history and the fifth from Berks to three-peat at that level.
If that happens Rodriguez, a 6-2 senior guard, will stand alone: No other Berks boys basketball player has been a starter and key piece on four straight district championship teams.
A couple of years ago, after Reading coupled a district title with a PIAA championship, his coach Rick Perez labeled Rodriguez a born winner, and he has been.
His credentials are staggering: Two-time All-State pick, two-time Berks Player of the Year, 1,838 points, etc., etc.
In the postseason he takes his game to a higher level: He is 18-2 in playoff games with the Red Knights and 24-3 overall.
In District 3 play he’s unbeaten, a perfect 10.
Judging by what the Red Knights have done this season, the fact that they’re ranked among the top handful of teams in the state, and that they haven’t taken a loss to a Pennsylvania team there’s a good chance Rodriguez can complete his perfect run in districts.
It starts Friday against Chambersburg (14-9), the No. 8 seed and a 63-56 winner over No. 9 Carlisle on Tuesday. A win will send Reading to the PIAA Tournament for the ninth straight season – the longest streak in program history.
Reading could play No. 4 York High (18-4) or No. 5 Waynesboro (20-3) in the semifinals.
The other side of the bracket is populated by No. 2 Cumberland Valley, No. 3 Hempfield, No. 6 Central York and No. 7 Wilson (17-7), which plays at Cumberland Valley Friday.
The Bulldogs advanced with a 48-40 opening-round win over Cedar Crest. They need one more win, either over Cumberland Valley or in the playback round, to return to the state tournament for the first time in three years.
They were denied a trip in 2021, Stevie Mitchell’s senior season, due to COVID-19. Only district champs advanced that season; Wilson was edged by Reading for in the district title game.
The Bulldogs came up one win short of a trip to states last year, losing at Cumberland Valley 44-41 in a seventh-place game.
The Red Knights enter districts with plenty of momentum; they’re riding a 15-game winning streak after overtaking Exeter 70-63 in the Berks Conference championship game.
Rodriguez enters districts as the No. 10 scorer all-time in Berks and No. 4 in Reading history. He needs 13 points to match Stu Jackson (1,563) and 31 to tie Donyell Marshall (1,591). Walker IV’s record appears unattainable.
You would have to go back 66 years to find Reading’s last district three-peat, to 1957. The Red Knights, led by All-State pick Willie Pegram, beat Boyertown in the semifinals and Hanover 45-34 for their third straight championship. Bill Horine was the head coach of the last two teams; Charles Dunkleberger coached the first.
Mount Penn was the last Berks team to win three straight district titles, from 1970-72.
West Reading, riding the biggest Cowboy of them all, Ron Krick, won championships in 1959, 1960 and 1961.
Kutztown, under the legendary John Silan, won five consecutive district titles, from 1949-53.
Only one other Berks coach, Snip Esterly, has won more than three straight: He won in 2010 and 2011 with Central Catholic and 2012 and 2013 with Berks Catholic.
Reading is the only Berks program to three-peat in the largest classification.
