Week 4 Glance: New league, schedule, present some unusual early match-ups

Berks’ move to the Lancaster-Lebanon League has created a more competitive football landscape and some interesting new rivalies.

It’s also dumped tradition on its head, what with some early season match-ups usually reserved for later in the season.

Wyomissing vs. Berks Catholic in Week 4?

The “Backyard Brawl” had always been played on the final weekend of the season and determined the Berks Section 2 championship.

It’s being played tonight as the Section 4 opener.

Exeter vs. Gov. Mifflin in mid September?

The Eagles and Mustangs have, in many years, met late in the season and played for the Berks Section 1 title. Now they’re making their Lancaster-Lebanon League debuts against each other, tonight at Mifflin Stadium, in a game that will shape the Section 2 race.

There was a time when the annual Reading High-Wilson game was the biggest of the season in Berks football and often decided the L-L Section 1 championship. The Red Knights (2-1) and Bulldogs (2-1) are reunited in Section 1 for the first time since 2009; they’ll open league play against each tonight at Shirk Stadium in their first meeting since 2013.

Former Berks 2 rivals Twin Valley (2-1) and Fleetwood (2-1), now playing in Section 3, and Kutztown (1-2) and Schuylkill Valley (1-2), now in Section 5, also make their L-L debuts tonight against each other.

So do Muhlenberg (1-2), Daniel Boone (1-2) and Hamburg (3-0); Saturday, Conrad Weiser (1-2) plays its first game in the new league.

No matter when they play Exeter (3-0) vs. Mifflin (1-2) is a big game, and it is again.

The roles are reversed from when they met last season in Week 7. At that point the Mustangs were unbeaten, ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 5A and featured a Penn State recruit, Nick Singleton.

Now, Singleton’s doing his damage at Penn State and the Mustangs are 1-2.

It’s Exeter with the powerhouse team and the Penn State recruit, tight end Joey Schlaffer. The Eagles are ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 5A and have plowed through their first three opponents.

“They’re playing the way I want to play football,” Mifflin coach Jeff Lang of Exeter. “They’re gonna jam it down your throat then, when you can’t stop the run, they’re gonna suck you in and put one over the top. They’re playing the football that we’re used to playing.”

The Eagles have recorded shutouts over Daniel Boone and West York and their first-string defense hasn’t allowed a point. First-year starting quarterback Mason Rotelli has completed 71 percent of his passes with seven touchdowns and is the top-rated passer in Section 2, according to stats compiled by lancasteronline. Richie Karstien leads the team with 240 rushing yards and is averaging 7.1 yards per carry.

“A lot of people say that they’re even better than they were last year,” said Lang, “and there are some aspects of the game that I think they are better than last year.

“They have a lot of those kids who were playing on that team who are back. They’re used to the competition and they’re trying to make a name for themselves just like we were last year.”

A 54-21 loss to Mifflin in early October dropped Exeter’s record to 4-3 and jeopardized the Eagles’ playoff chances. They rebounded to win their final two regular season games, entered the District 3 Class 5A Tournament as the No. 7 seed, then won four straight games, the last three on the road.

They ended Mifflin’s perfect season by pitching a perfect game in the district title game, winning 31-28 to earn their first championship and first trip to the PIAA Tournament.

That loss is surely weighing on the Mustangs’ minds, as will the loss earlier this week of basketball coach Kyle Conrad, who died after a lengthy battle with cancer. Several Mifflin football players, including quarterback Delsin McNeil and wide receiver Gerrell McNeil, played for Conrad. Lang had him as a student at Mifflin.

A moment of silence will be observed in his honor before tonight’s game. Helmet stickers, honoring Conrad, have been ordered and will be worn by the Mustangs throughout the season.

“We know we’re going up against a really good football team,” said Lang, “and I think our kids are pretty focused on what they need to do this week.”