Week 12 Glance: Raiders need to become road warriors this postseason
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Back-to-back losses late in the season have made Twin Valley’s path to a District 3 championship much more difficult.
The Raiders rolled through the first seven weeks without breaking a sweat and were ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 4A for three weeks. Losses to Wyomissing and Lampeter-Strasburg in consecutive weeks cost them the chance to open the playoffs at home for the third straight season.
The fifth-seeded Raiders (8-2) open on the road Friday at No. 4 Susquehanna Township (8-2) in a district quarterfinal. A win will likely send them back to Lampeter-Strasburg, where they were blitzed by seven touchdowns just a few weeks ago.
That 62-14 loss to the top-seeded Pioneers, preceded by a 34-24 loss to Wyomissing, may have dented the Raiders’ record, and their egos, but Brett Myers doesn’t believe there will be any residual effect after losing to two of the teams they may have to eventually beat to win their first district championship.
“Our guys are focused on getting better every day,” said the Twin Valley coach. “They’re not really worried about records and what’s (been) going on. Our kids’ intensity and focus has been great. That’s a sign of our maturity and leadership in the locker room. The week of Daniel Boone was the best week of practice we’ve had all year.”
The Raiders stopped the bleeding in Week 10 with a 54-7 win over Boone but what that’ll mean now that the playoffs are in full swing is hard to say. The Blazers won just once this season; Susquehanna Township was beaten just once.
The Indians took a loss against Boiling Springs when it was discovered they used an ineligible player in the 61-10 win.
That score is more in line with what Susquehanna Township has done throughout the season, which they ended with six straight wins. After a first-round bye they enter the postseason ranked No. 10 in the state.
“There’s a reason they’re 9-1 (on the field),” said Myers. “They’re a good football team. They obviously have some speed with their receivers, a big offensive and defensive line, and they’ve got a really good linebacker (Kaseemh Singleton-Brown).”
Myers said that Twin Valley career touchdowns leader Evan Johnson, who missed the final two games of the regular season due to an illness, will be on the field Friday. As for Drew Engle, who set the program rushing record last season, the prognosis is not as good; he hasn’t played since Week 1.
Twin Valley was one of eight Berks teams which qualified for districts. Gov. Mifflin was eliminated in the opening round. Wilson and Conrad Weiser, like Twin Valley, had first-round byes. Exeter, Schuylkill Valley, and Berks Catholic advanced with wins last week.
Here’s a glance at the other games:
- Wilson (9-1) needed a big goal-line stand to turn back Cedar Crest (8-3) 14-7 in their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 meeting seven weeks ago at Gurski Stadium. The Falcons won their Class 6A opener last week 49-29 over Hempfield. The second-seeded Bulldogs are looking for their first postseason win since 2021. They got knocked out in the opening round by Cumberland Valley and Harrisburg, respectively, the past two seasons. This is their first home playoff game since 2019.
- Conrad Weiser is 10-0 for the first time since 1996. Their only loss that season, coincidentally, came to Bishop McDevitt, which happens to be the third-seeded Scouts’ opponent Friday in Robesonia. The sixth-seeded Crusaders (9-2) won their Class 5A opener 42-7 over Lower Dauphin. They’re looking for a fourth straight district championship after bringing home the 4A prize the last three years. The Scouts, also playing in 5A for the first time, haven’t won a district game since 2019.
- Exeter (10-1) finds itself just one win away from a potential rematch against Conestoga Valley, the only team to beat the Eagles this season. They’re on a mission after the controversial ending against the Buckskins. To get a chance for payback the eighth-seeded Eagles must hand Class 5A top seed New Oxford (10-0) its only loss in this quarterfinal. The Colonials haven’t won a district game since 2019.
- Wyomissing (8-2) earned the No. 2 seed and a first-round bye in Class 4A. It is seeking a sixth straight district championship after claiming the last five 3A titles. Seventh-seeded East Pennsboro (8-3) went 18 years without a district win before beating Susquehannock last week. Now it heads to Wyomissing, where the Spartans are 14-0 in district games, Saturday for a 1:00 p.m.
- Third-seeded Schuylkill Valley (9-2) can set a program record for wins and for consecutive victories (nine) by beating second-seeded Trinity (8-2) in a Class 3A semifinal Friday at Camp Hill. The Shamrocks, who earned a first-round bye, have won eight of their last nine games, the lone loss coming to Susquehanna Township 40-34 in double-overtime.
- Berks Catholic (7-4) hasn’t lost since giving up a last-minute touchdown bomb to Schuylkill Valley’s Kowen Gerner six weeks ago. If the fifth-seeded Saints can upset top-seeded Bermudian Springs (9-1) on the Eagles home field Friday they might get a second crack at the Panthers (provided they beat Trinity). Bermudian has won nine straight since an opening-week loss to New Oxford, which is unbeaten and the top seed in Class 5A.
