Ruben Rodriguez-Reading

As we know from the classic comedy Animal House, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Nobody needs to tell Ruben Rodriguez when to get going. The 6’1 junior was a prime time performer for Muhlenberg as a freshman and he has only gotten better over the past two seasons at Reading. After Berks Catholic clawed its way to within six points early in the fourth quarter, Rodriguez responded with five consecutive points including a three-point play. That kick started a 9-0 run by the Red Knights and gave them a 45-30 advantage over the second-seeded Saints. Reading earned its 24th Berks County championship with a 51-35 victory in front of 3,698 at Santander Arena. Rodriguez ended up with 22 points which boosts his career total to 1,183. He was thrilled to help the six seniors on the team get a county title. Wilson had won the previous two BCIAA championships. Rodriguez said, “It feels great to finally get one under my belt and to do it in front of the city with my brothers, there’s no better feeling.” We talked about his dunk with under two minutes to go. The all-state selection explained how the (22-3) Red Knights were able to put away the (20-4) Saints for the third time this season. Rodriguez is the leading scorer in Berks County at 19 points per game. He gave credit to Amier Burdine for an outstanding job on defense. The 6’1 junior forward also chipped in with eight points. Xavier Davis, a 6’2 senior, added six points. Reading held Berks Catholic to just three points in the second quarter on a trey from the left corner by Christian Cacchione. The Saints trailed 28-12 at halftime. They were down 35-14 in the third quarter before Jay Jay Jordan came alive. The junior point guard jammed eight points into the third period. Jordan finished with twelve. Ryan Koch, a 6’3 junior, scored eight of his team-high 13 points in the second half. Berks Catholic was outscored 15-7 in the fourth quarter. The Saints were 9-12 from the free throw line, while the Red Knights went 13-18. They only connected twice from beyond the arc. Berks Catholic hit four triples. The Saints were held 25 points under their season average. Rodriguez discussed the lofty expectations that come along with playing for Reading, and how he handles them. The Red Knights have won 22 District 3 titles, two state championships, and a state record 2,210 games overall. He believes their loss at Muhlenberg ten days ago was a wake up call for the Red Knights. They’re now (5-2) vs. Berks Catholic in county finals. Head coach Rick Perez picked up his 245th career victory. Jim Gano holds the school record with 251. Snip Esterly slips to (766-211) over 33 years. His Saints will enter the District 3-4A playoffs as the top seed. Reading is the #1 seed in Class 6A. Rodriguez is very confident going into that tournament. He told me that the Red Knights can go back-to-back. They knocked off Wilson 66-58 in last year’s District 3-6A Final.