Who will be behind center for Friday’s Berks football openers?
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Legendary Oakland Raiders coach John Madden didn’t like instability at the quarterback position.
The Hall of Fame coach once famously said: “If you’ve got two quarterbacks, you have none.”
Matt Bauer doesn’t subscribe to that theory. The Exeter coach is weighing the possibility of playing two quarterbacks Friday in the season-opener against Daniel Boone and likes what he’s seen from each.
“I think I have two viable options,” Bauer said of sophomore Riley Martinez and senior Nathan Pashley. “They both have different strengths, and I think we have a good chance with both of them.”
Bauer has generally entered the season with a solid quarterback situation during his 15 years as head coach. The Eagles have had some of the best quarterbacks in the league, among them Colin Payne, Gavin McCusker, Kolby Haag, Brandon Unterkoefler and Chase Yocum.
This season Bauer is in the same boat with Reading High coach Troy Godinet and Gov. Mifflin coach Jeff Lang, each of whom have overseen ongoing quarterback competitions since the spring.
Six of Berks’ 14 Lancaster-Lebanon League members return a starting quarterback: Berks Catholic, Conrad Weiser, Daniel Boone, Fleetwood, Twin Valley and Wilson.
Evans Myers at Twin Valley and Dean Rotter at Boone are three-year starters. That puts them and their teams at an advantage heading into Friday’s openers.
Not so at Kutztown, Muhlenberg and Wyomissing, among eight Berks teams which will be sending out first-time starting quarterbacks.
That can be limiting for the offensive coordinator. Things move quickly under those Friday night lights, especially early in the season, so some teams tend to be more conservative with their play-calling.
Maybe not so much at Hamburg, where first-year starter Tyler Shuey has quickly taken over graduated Xander Menapace’s role as a so-called “field general.” The junior is confident in his abilities and his teammates are confident in him: He was their overwhelming choice as a team captain. (The coaches selected the other three captains.)
“Xander was our coach on the field,” Hoffert said of the Hawks’ three-year starter. “Ty’s been doing that the last couple weeks. He’s been moving these guys around, making sure we’re in the right spots to be successful.
“That’s what I want in my quarterback, and he’s doing a great job with that. It’s amazing to see that from a guy who hasn’t had a lot of reps.”
There’s been an interesting battle for the starting job at Reading High between sophomore Jason Plylaharn and junior Kayson Fritz. Red Knights coach Troy Godinet said he’ll announce the starter at Thursday’s practice; he said he’s been impressed with both candidates.
“Jason has a good command of the offense,” Godinet said. “He has the confidence that he’s gonna make the right reads on a consistent basis, and he’s gonna carry himself like a leader. He’s gonna do everything you look for in a quarterback.”
Plylaharn was the starting quarterback on the ninth-grade team last season. Fritz hasn’t played the position since youth ball. In fact, he wasn’t even on the team last season. He approached Godinet in the offseason and said he wanted to play quarterback.
“He had the arm talent,” Godinet said. “We put him in there and he started learning the offense. He showed the things we want to see as far as growing within the offense.”
Godinet will pick one guy and go with him. At Mifflin, Jeff Lang plans to play both senior Bryce Wunderlich and junior Javien Pletz.
“I’ve been waiting for one of them to out-do the other,” Lang said.
He has no problem seeing them share the job; the Mustangs have done that before with success. In 2016 Austin Baker and Kam Wolfe were used interchangeably, Baker more in running situations, Wolfe more in passing downs. The Mustangs won 10 games and a Berks Football League Section 1 championship.
Pashley wasn’t in the quarterback mix last season at Exeter but Bauer needed someone to compete with Martinez during the offseason and chose the all-league safety because of his athleticism and leadership abilities.
Pashley, who has never played quarterback before, adapted to the position so well that he created a true competition, one that might extend into the season.
“We’re going to be evaluating a little bit longer,” Bauer said. “I’m not opposed to (alternating by) series on Friday night if need be, just to see who has the hot hand and who gets it going.”
Martinez has more experience at quarterback, but not at the varsity level. He’s big, has all the tools and was raised for the position; his father, James, is a former head coach and quarterbacks coach.
“He’s smart with the football,” Bauer said. “He is a sophomore, and the game moves pretty fast. I think he’s up for the challenge. He’s used to playing at that speed. We’re going to be cautious and see what works best for us.”
Here’s a rundown of what each Berks team is looking at as the season begins:
Berks Catholic: Senior Will Hess returns after starting the whole way last season, when he completed nearly 62 percent of his throws.
Conrad Weiser: Junior Donovan Gingrich is back after throwing for 10 touchdowns and over 1,000 yards. He’s expected to utilize his running skills even more this season.
Daniel Boone: Senior Dean Rotter inherited the starting job in the season opener in 2021 when Carter Speyerer was injured and lost for the season. He threw for over 1,200 yards and eight TDs last year. He ran for nearly 600 yards and seven TDs and could be utilized more in that part of the game.
Exeter: Sophomore Riley Martinez and senior Nathan Pashley could share time.
Fleetwood: Jack Riffle threw for 1,335 yards as a junior, the most of any returning quarterback in Berks, though he completed less than half his passes and threw 10 interceptions. The Tigers are hoping that with a better running game and better offensive line he’ll be more efficient.
Gov. Mifflin: Senior Bryce Wunderlich and junior Javien Pletz could share time.
Hamburg: Junior Tyler Shuey won the offseason competition by displaying strong leadership abilities and command of the offense.
Kutztown: Junior Colten Mathias, a pitcher on the Cougars’ district championship baseball team, gets his first start against Fleetwood.
Muhlenberg: Junior Aaden Lopez, a right-handed pitcher in baseball, has the required arm strength and gets his first start, against Octorara.
Reading High: Sophomore Jason Plylaharn Jr. or junior Kayson Fritz will be announced Thursday as the starter against C.D. East; it will be the first varsity game for either.
Schuylkill Valley: Junior Logan Nawrocki wasn’t the starter last season but he saw a lot of time behind center, especially during the Panthers’ six-game midseason winning streak. He completed 52 percent of his passes and had a 7-to-1 touchdowns-to-interceptions ratio. Also a running threat.
Twin Valley: Evan Myers passed for 1,204 yards as a sophomore and more than 2,700 yards in two season. He ran for over 500 yards last season.
Wilson: Senior Tommy Hunsicker returns after completing 55.0 percent of his passes for 1,065 yards and 11 TDs. He showed tremendous improvement at the end of the season.
Wyomissing: Senior Logan Hyde was a starting safety on the Spartans’ district championship team. He brings a running element the Spartans haven’t had at the position in a while. He took a lot of snaps late in games last season with the Spartans well ahead.
