Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
We’ve reached the final week of the regular season and the Section 2 championship in the Lancaster-Lebanon League is still up for grabs. Exeter visits Manheim Central in a heavyweight bout on Friday night. The bell rings at 7pm. Both teams enter with records of (9-0, 5-0). The Eagles are ranked second in the state by PennLive in Class 5A. The Barons are #6 in 4A.
You could probably fill a library with all of the historical notes about Manheim Central. This is the football program’s 75th season. The Barons have won 592 games. On Friday, they’ll be looking for their 28th Section 2 championship. Manheim Central has earned a record 18 District 3 titles including an astounding 10-peat from 1992-2001 in Class 3A. The Barons have made 33 appearances in the District 3 tournament with a total of 59 victories. Those are both records among District 3 schools. In 2003, Manheim Central made it to the top of the mountain by capturing a state championship. The Barons have been a state runner-up three times, most recently in 2018 under the direction of Dave Hahn.
This is Hahn’s 8th season as the skipper at Manheim Central. He was an assistant for twenty years under the legendary Mike Williams who won 348 games over 34 seasons. Williams guided the Barons to 16 District 3 titles and a state championship. Hahn played his college football at East Stroudsburg. He was the center when a guy by the name of James Franklin was the quarterback. I think you recognize that name.
Hahn’s son, Zac, is now running the offense at Manheim Central. The 5’11, 192-pound junior has thrown for 1,774 yards and 24 touchdowns with just two interceptions. 6’2 junior Aaron Enterline is a big play wide receiver. He’s averaging 29 yards per catch with ten scores. Bode Sipel, another junior, has a team-high 30 receptions and 6TD. The Barons can hurt you on the ground as well. Brycen Armold is second in the L-L League this year with 1,620 rushing yards. The 5’8, 172-pound junior has reached the end zone 26 times. Manheim Central is averaging 465 total yards and 56 points per game, both tops in the L-L League. Senior defensive end Jaden Weit leads the squad with 69 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Senior linebackers Nick Haas and Rocco Daugherty have combined for 129 tackles.
The Eagles can play some “D” as well. Only Wyomissing is allowing fewer points than Exeter in the L-L League. Opponents have been limited to 10.7 ppg. by the Eagles. Delaware commit Anthony Caccese has a team-high 17 tackles for loss and six sacks. Lucas Palange, a 235-pound senior LB, leads Exeter with 54 tackles. Kyle Lash has contributed 10TFL and 3.5 sacks. Caccese, Palange, and Lash also start on the offensive line. They’re joined by twins Matt and Ryan McConnell. For the first time in four weeks, that OL will be at full strength which is good news for Richie Karstien. The 215-pound senior is four yards shy of 1,000 this season. He has hit pay dirt 16 times. PSU commit Joey Schlaffer is a matchup nightmare. The 6’6, 215-pound senior has 29 catches for 646 yards and 9TD. He can line up all over the field including quarterback. The Eagles are putting up 42.6 points a night. Mason Rotelli has passed for 1,195 yards and 16TD with only three picks. The 6’1, 170-pound senior has also ran for seven scores. In addition to Schlaffer, Rotelli has another big target in 6’5 junior TE Zach Zandier.
Recent history is in the corner of the Eagles. They beat the Barons 43-26 a season ago in the District 3-5A quarterfinals. The game wasn’t even that close. Exeter led 36-0 at halftime. The seventh-seeded Eagles went on to win their first District 3 championship. Matt Bauer is in his 14th season as the head coach in Reiffton. The Muhlenberg graduate reached 100 career victories just a few weeks ago.
We’ll find out which team will remain undefeated and add a Section 2 crown to its trophy case. I’ll see you in Manheim on Friday!