Week 9: Fearless Friday Football Forecast (updated with results)
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
It’s the game everyone — at least everyone in the Kutztown locker room — has been waiting for. Finally, in Week 9, the Cougars — close to pulling off an upset so many times this year — go into Friday as the favorite.
Heck, one of our Fearless Forecasters, Phil Marabella, even doubled-down on them. Gutsy, considering the Cougars haven’t won a game this year. Not so a big a risk, Phil explained; Columbia is winless, as well.
That’s just one of the critical games this week: Unbeatens Exeter and Conestoga Valley meet for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 championship. Conrad Weiser and Cocalico play for the Section 3 championship. Twin Valley and Lampeter-Strasburg, each ranked in the Top 10 in the state, meet in a key Section 4 clash.
The closest call on the board is Daniel Boone at Northern Lebanon. The Forecasters are split 6-6 on this one. The Blazers are looking for a second straight win after an 0-7 start. The Vikings are looking . . . for the end zone. They have just one touchdown in their last three games and seven for the season.
The most important game? No doubt it’s Twin Valley/Lampeter-Strasburg. It’s the only disagreement by the Fearless Forecast co-leaders, Jeff Reinhart and Mike Drago, of the 13 games on the Week 9 card. Not surprisingly, both went with the hometown pick.
Each week, MikeDragoSports.com staff writers, photographers, and contributors, along with Reinhart and Mike Gross of football partner LNP/Lancasteronline, will pick all the Berks games, along with other selected other Lancaster-Lebanon League games.
We’ll keep standings and the Forecaster with the most points at the end of the season will get a (relatively) big prize!
Each correct pick earns one point; if a Forecaster “doubles down” on a Berks team and is correct he gets two points. Each Fearless Forecaster can “down double” on a team only once during the regular season (and once again during the postseason)
This week’s games
- McCaskey at Wilson
- Reading High at Oxford
- Conestoga Valley at Exeter
- Elizabethtown at Gov. Mifflin
- Conrad Weiser at Cocalico
- Fleetwood at Solanco
- Wyomissing at Octorara
- Twin Valley at Lampeter-Strasburg
- Daniel Boone at Northern Lebanon
- Annville-Cleona at Schuylkill Valley
- Hamburg at Berks Catholic
- Kutztown at Columbia
- Muhlenberg at Academy Park
| McCaskey Wilson | Reading Oxford | CV Exeter | E-town Mifflin | Weiser Cocalico | Fleet. Solanco | Wyom. Octorara | |
| Jeff Reinhart | Wilson (DD) | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Mike Drago | Wilson (DD) | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Sean McBryan | Wilson (DD) | Reading | Exeter | Mifflin | Weiser | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Matt Hagy | Wilson (DD) | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Logan Moyer | Wilson | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. (DD) |
| Joe Mays | Wilson | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Mike Gross | Wilson (DD) | Oxford | CV | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Sam Cavalieri | Wilson (DD) | Reading | CV | Mifflin | Cocalico | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Phil Marabella | Wilson | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Weiser | Solanco | Wyom. |
| Bruce Badgley | Wilson | Reading | Exeter | Mifflin (DD) | Weiser | Fleet. | Wyom. |
| Chris Deantonio | Wilson | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Weiser | Solanco | Wyom. (DD) |
| Clay Oberholtzer | Wilson | Oxford | Exeter | Mifflin | Weiser | Fleet. (DD) | Wyom. |
| Staff composite | Wilson 12-0 | Oxford 9-3 | Exeter 10-2 | Mifflin 12-0 | Cocalico 7-5 | Solanco 10-2 | Wyom. 12-0 |
| TV L-S | Boone N. Lebanon | A-C SV | Hamb. BC | Kutz. Columbia | Muhl. A-Park | This week | Season total | |
| Jeff Reinhart | L-S | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 11-3 | 103-23 |
| Mike Drago | TV | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 10-4 | 102-24 |
| Sean McBryan | TV | N. Lebanon | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 11-3 | 102-24 |
| Matt Hagy | L-S | N. Lebanon | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 12-2 | 102-24 |
| Logan Moyer | TV | N. Lebanon | SV | Hamb. | Kutz. | A-Park | 10-4 | 100-26 |
| Joe Mays | TV | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 9-4 | 100-26 |
| Mike Gross | TV | N. Lebanon | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 12-2 | 96-30 |
| Sam Cavalieri | TV | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | Muhl. | 9-5 | 95-31 |
| Phil Marabella | TV | N. Lebanon | SV | BC | Kutz. (DD) | A-Park | 12-2 | 95-31 |
| Bruce Badgley | TV | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 9-5 | 94-31 |
| Chris Deantonio | L-S | Boone | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 12-2 | 93-33 |
| Clay Oberholtzer | TV | N. Lebanon | SV | BC | Kutz. | A-Park | 10-4 | 86-40 |
| Staff composite | TV 9-3 | Tie 6-6 | SV 12-0 | BC 11-1 | Kutz. 12-0 | A-Park 11-1 | 9-3 |
