Franklin – Berks Sports Report

Ken Manfredi-Franklin High School

Paul Roberts — Sun, 19 Jun 2022 11:04:00 +0000

The West Reading-Sacramento Basketball Cultural Exchange is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. Ken Manfredi has been able to experience this unique program as both a player and coach. He was on the Sacramento All-Star team that came to Berks County in 1990. They ran into a star-studded West Reading squad that included Donyell Marshall and Del Savage of Pottstown. Marshall scored 1,581 points at Reading High and went on to spend fifteen seasons in the NBA after a stellar career at UConn. Manfredi told me that the gym was packed for that summer league matchup 32 years ago. He said, “We were floored. We got ran out of the gym. I think we lost by 25-30 points. It was a wake up call.” Manfredi, who played at Division II UC Davis from 1992-‘96, compared Marshall to Kevin Durant due to his wingspan and shooting ability. He has been coaching high school basketball since 2000. Manfredi is the head coach at Franklin High School in Sacramento. He previously coached at Redwood, Elk Grove, and Monterey Trail. He brought a young team to the Reading area this week. Three of his ten players had never been on a plane before. Only two of them had visited Washington, D.C. prior to this experience. Manfredi emphasized that the trip has been terrific. “The hospitality that Mr. Kuhn and the whole community have set up with Reading, West Reading, and Berks County; it’s been fantastic,” he said. Ed Kuhn is stepping down as the full-time director of the West Reading Summer League after this year. Adam Ressler will take over the West Reading-Sacramento Cultural Exchange program. Franklin faced Exeter, Wyomissing, and Conrad Weiser during this past week. The Wildcats met the West Reading All-Star team on Saturday morning. Bryce Gumby, a rising sophomore at Berks Catholic, poured in 19 points and splashed five 3-pointers in a 72-64 victory for West Reading. Mark Rajnath of Schuylkill Valley added 13 points and Keith Neal from Oley Valley had twelve. Rising senior Aydan Claro finished with a team-high 14 points for Franklin, including eleven in the fourth quarter. Coach Manfredi’s son, Treyson, provided twelve points and seven rebounds. Kason Johnson, an all-league selection this year in the Delta League, also had a dozen. On Saturday night, the Wildcats lost to Berks Catholic 56-46. The Saints trailed by two points at halftime. Franklin cut a double digit deficit to three in the fourth quarter before coming up short. Manfredi and I discussed the style of play on the West Coast versus the East Coast. He mentioned that teams in Berks County tend to be more physical, while the brand of basketball in California is more up-tempo. The Franklin team got to check out New York City on Sunday. They’ll head back to Sacramento on Monday. Hopefully, their return flight is a little less adventurous!

Joey Schlaffer-Exeter

Paul Roberts — Wed, 24 Nov 2021 17:01:00 +0000

How impressed has Joey Schlaffer been with Penn State head coach James Franklin? Schlaffer told me that Franklin is “the best coach in college football.” We talked about Franklin’s new 10-year contract and the family environment in State College. Schlaffer, who committed to Penn State one month ago, was named a first-team wide receiver in Berks County. The 6’6, 210-pound junior has a team-high 36 catches and 6TD. He’s averaging nearly 19 yards per reception. Seventh-seeded Exeter travels to Shillington on Friday to take on unbeaten Gov. Mifflin in the District 3-5A championship. Schlaffer explained what it’s like competing against Nick Singleton, another PSU commit. Singleton holds the Berks County record with 6,286 career rushing yards. The Mustangs beat the Eagles 54-21 in early October. Singleton ran for 248 yards and 4TD. Schlaffer said this year’s Exeter team is built different than others. We discussed their dominant performance at #2 seed Manheim Central in the quarterfinals. The (9-3) Eagles rolled to a 43-26 victory. They took down #6 Cedar Cliff 42-35 in the semifinals. Schlaffer also revealed his favorite food on Thanksgiving. His answer will definitely surprise you!

Nick Singleton-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 23 Sep 2021 19:46:00 +0000

James Franklin made an appearance at Gov. Mifflin’s game vs. Harrisburg last week. Franklin arrived in Shillington in a helicopter and saw the Mustangs roll to a (49-13) win. I asked PSU commit Nick Singleton which teammate and coach would he trust the most to fly a helicopter! We also talked about the White Out against Auburn. Singleton is Berks County’s all-time rushing leader with 5,000 yards. The 218-pound senior is averaging 12 yards/carry. He told me that, “he can get a lot better.” Singleton discussed the keys to beating (3-0) Episcopal Academy on Friday. He ran for 155 yards and 3TD in the rout of Harrisburg. Singleton said he loves facing tough competition. Gov. Mifflin is the top-ranked team in the state in Class 5A.

Nick Singleton-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 26 Aug 2021 19:44:00 +0000

Nick Singleton was the most highly recruited running back in Berks County history. I asked him why he chose Penn State and how difficult it was to say no to Nick Saban. Singleton was a Class 5A All-State pick and the Berks County Player of the Year. The 218-pound senior ran for 1,300 yards last season. He averaged 12.5 yards per carry with 24 TD in only 8 games! Singleton needs 512 rushing yards to break the all-time Berks County record. You’ll find out exactly how much he can lift and how fast he can run. It’s no surprise that Singleton is one of the top high school RB’s in the country. He’s also extremely humble off the field.