Boyertown – Berks Sports Report

Jami Sands-Boyertown

Paul Roberts — Mon, 19 Aug 2024 21:25:57 +0000

After more than two decades as an assistant, Jami Sands has become the head football coach at Boyertown. “It’s refreshing and it’s a new challenge. It’s almost as if I was a chef getting new ingredients. It’s gonna be exciting,” he said. Sands was the defensive backs coach at Wilson, his alma mater, for the past four years. He ran for nearly 1,600 yards as a senior in 1995. Sands averaged a staggering 8.6 yards per carry for his career with the Bulldogs. He’s a member of the Wilson Hall of Fame. Sands talked about leaving the staff in West Lawn. “You have to follow where the opportunities go. You can’t always have everything perfect the way you want,” he replied. Sands is a 2001 graduate of Kutztown University. He played both football and baseball for the Golden Bears. Sands spent eight seasons at Lancaster Catholic with head coach Bruce Harbach. He was the defensive coordinator when the Crusaders won the state championship in 2009. Sands was an assistant under Mark Evans at Manheim Township for eight years before going to Wilson. He coached alongside Doug Dahms who holds the Bulldogs school record with 185 victories. Sands takes over a Boyertown program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2013. The Bears were (3-7) overall and (1-4) in the Liberty Division of the Pioneer Athletic Conference in 2023. “It’s a very good division. It’s gonna be a gauntlet for us to run. It’s not a friendly schedule for a first-year head coach,” noted Sands. The Liberty Division includes Spring-Ford, Perkiomen Valley, and Owen J. Roberts. Those three schools won 26 games a season ago. The Bears fell to Methacton and Pottsgrove by just three points apiece. Justin Konnick stepped down following two years at the helm. Sands has been busy evaluating the returning players at Boyertown. “The boys have not been discouraged with moving positions, trying new things that they’re maybe not comfortable with. It’s been a real positive,” emphasized Sands. There are some holes to fill at the skill positions. Cole Yesavage and quarterback Ryder Gehris graduated. Yesavage rumbled for 1,448 yards and 16 touchdowns on a whopping 204 carries. Senior Nick Billetta and junior Logan Oakes will see time at running back this fall. Jason Oakes, Logan’s older brother, led the Bears with 67 tackles last year. Connor Foskey is expected to take over at quarterback. Juniors Tilman Henley and Connor Houck will be two of his targets. Sands makes his head coaching debut this Friday when Boyertown hosts Upper Perkiomen. “I’m just thrilled that Boyertown has given me that opportunity,” he said.

Fleetwood hires Bieber

Paul Roberts — Tue, 14 May 2024 22:15:00 +0000

Jason Bieber is very familiar with Fleetwood. He graduated from the high school there in 1994. Bieber’s first coaching job was with the Tigers’ boys basketball team. He was an assistant under Joey Palacz thirty years ago. On Tuesday night, Bieber was officially approved as Fleetwood’s varsity boys basketball coach.

Bieber spent the past two years as the head coach of the Brandywine Heights’ girls basketball team. The Bullets went (14-8) last season, but missed the Berks County and District 3 playoffs. He has an overall record of (264-216). Bieber spent four years coaching the girls team at Tulpehocken. He was the Boyertown girls basketball coach for 13 seasons. Bieber guided the Bears to the Class 6A state championship in 2017. Boyertown defeated North Allegheny 46-35 at the Giant Center in Hershey.

There was an opening at Fleetwood after Terry Sitler retired. He led the Tigers for a dozen years with a mark of (138-126). Fleetwood finished (22-5) two seasons ago and was the District 3-4A runner-up. That squad included Jake Karnish who ended his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer with 1,420 points. The Tigers were (20-6) this year. Their starting lineup featured five seniors and included 1,000-point scorer Aiden Soumas. Fleetwood wound up fourth in the District 3-4A tournament. The Tigers lost 79-52 to Scranton Prep in the first round of the state playoffs. Sitler was (264-294) overall including his twelve seasons at Brandywine Heights. Bieber said he’s excited for this new opportunity.

Luke Giering-Exeter

Paul Roberts — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 16:42:00 +0000

Baseball is a funny game. One minute you’re in complete control and the next you’re fighting to stay on top. Exeter held off Boyertown 10-8 on a sunny Saturday in Reiffton. The Eagles led 7-0 in the 4th inning, but needed St. Joseph’s commit Alex Kelsey to get them out of a 7th inning jam. Kelsey took over for sophomore Mason Goodhart with two men on and nobody out. The hard-throwing southpaw struck out two and didn’t allow a run to earn the save. Exeter jumped on senior Devin Hoelzle for four runs in the first frame. Joel Ummarino ripped a three-run homer down the right field line. “That was awesome…he’s huge for a sophomore,” said Luke Giering. Ummarino (6’2, 230) plays linebacker and defensive end for the Eagles’ football team. Brenton Feathers, one of four sophomores in the lineup, added a RBI single to left in the 1st inning. Junior Jonah Mayer took over for Hoelzle in the second. Mayer gave up one unearned run on a pair of hits in two innings. Todd Moyer, who’s in his 41st season as the Bears’ coach, then turned to sophomore lefty Luke Hagan. Giering’s two-run line drive double to left off of Hagan put Exeter in front 7-0 in the fourth. Giering went 3-for-3 with two doubles. The Eagles piled up eleven hits. “We’re explosive. We’re definitely dangerous. We’re gonna hopefully show some teams that we’re better than they think,” stated Giering. Exeter has scored 26 runs in three games. Giering and Kelsey are the only senior starters for head coach Justin Freese. This is his 29th year as the Eagles’ skipper. Boyertown got on the board in the 5th inning thanks to a wild pitch and a RBI groundout by Logan Barndt. Exeter tacked on three runs in the bottom half of the inning. Freshman catcher Brandon Weller and sophomore shortstop Jake Franek provided RBI doubles. Chase Youse knocked in their final run with a single down the third base line. Hagan was charged with five runs, four earned, on six hits in 2.2 innings. The (0-3) Bears had managed just two runs in their first two contests. They erupted for six runs in the 6th inning. Randy Wynings launched a RBI double to center before Beck Babb hammered a two-run double to left field. Gavin Miller’s outing ended after he walked Easton Albert with the bases loaded. Goodhart walked cleanup hitter Gavin Slaughter to force in another run. Designated hitter Connor Moyer struck out to end the threat. However, Boyertown was now within two runs at 10-8. The top of the 7th began with an error and a walk. That’s when Freese called upon Kelsey to seal the deal. Miller picked up the win despite not getting a lot of help from his defense. The junior allowed eight runs, seven earned, on seven hits and five walks. He struck out four and hit two batters over 5.2 innings. “He’s a great pitcher. He comes in and throws strikes. We gotta be a little better behind him. Whenever we have Gavin on the mound, we can beat anybody,” remarked Giering. Hafer was 2-for-3 with two runs. Six different players drove in runs for the Eagles. Moyer and Ryan Soffa each had a pair of hits for the Bears. Exeter’s young squad improved to (2-1). “I think it’s a good learning moment,” said Giering.

Grady Garner-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Sun, 10 Sep 2023 09:54:00 +0000

Grady Garner knows all about Gov. Mifflin’s physical brand of football. The 190-pound junior fullback grew up watching his brothers, Lucas and Tucker, play for the Mustangs. “I’ve always looked up to them my whole life. I wear #40 because of my brother Lucas,” replied Grady. Lucas rumbled for 1,200 yards and scored 15 TD in 2015. It was Grady’s time to shine on Friday night in Shillington. He ran for three touchdowns as Gov. Mifflin raced out to a 35-0 halftime advantage over Boyertown. The game was postponed to Saturday morning due to lightning. The (2-1) Mustangs knocked off the Bears 35-16. Gov. Mifflin’s option attack resulted in 49 runs and just three pass attempts. That ratio is just fine with Garner. “I love it. I love it. It’s what I play for. I just play to hit people…I love the Mifflin offense, ground and pound,” he emphasized. Garner piled up 185 yards on 25 touches. The Mustangs marched 67 yards on the opening drive which was capped by a 6-yard run by junior quarterback Javien Pletz. After a fumble by Cole Yesavage, Garner went 41 yards to the house on the next play. The avalanche continued as Brandon Jones blocked a Boyertown punt and Stewart Janowski recovered it in the end zone. It was 21-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter. Garner wasn’t finished. He ran through three tackles for a 25-yard score with 31 seconds remaining in the opening period. Garner’s 18-yard burst up the middle made it 35-0 with one minute left before halftime. The powerful fullback, who’s also a sprinter on the track team, had already gone over 100 rushing yards. The (1-2) Bears played inspired football on Saturday morning in front of a sparse crowd, while the Mustangs mixed in several of their backups. Cade Sennott took the second half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. After forcing a Gov. Mifflin punt, Yesavage broke free for a 59-yard run to the Mustangs’ 15-yard line. A 4-yard TD run by senior quarterback Ryder Gehris and a two-point conversion from Yesavage got Boyertown within 35-16 with two minutes left in the third quarter. With the clock running due to the mercy rule, the Mustangs put together a drive that lasted twelve minutes. They eventually turned it over on downs at the 12-yard line with 1:53 to go. Janowski, a 225-pound RT/DE, got a sack on fourth down to end the Bears’ final possession. Boyertown was limited to four first downs and 95 total yards. Yesavage had 77 yards on 13 carries. The 6’2, 210-pound senior ran for 1,276 yards and 17 TD a season ago. Gov. Mifflin amassed 293 yards on the ground. Garner praised his offensive line. “I owe them everything. They played amazing. I wouldn’t be able to score without them,” he said.