Head – Berks Sports Report

Konlan Krick-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Tue, 28 May 2024 13:41:00 +0000

Wyomissing has found its new boys basketball head coach. Konlan Krick will be taking over the Spartans’ program. Krick has been an assistant coach at Exeter for the past seven years. He also played for the Eagles and averaged a team-high 14 points during the 2011-12 season.

Krick will be replacing Garrett Etzel at Wyomissing. Etzel spent one year as the Spartans’ head coach. They went (11-11) this winter. Etzel left Wyomissing to become the head coach at Gov. Mifflin, his alma mater. The Spartans will be losing six seniors to graduation including Aiden Schippers, Alex Campbell, and Logan Hyde.

Doug Dahms-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 08 Oct 2022 01:04:00 +0000

Wilson’s football program has always been known for its physical and fundamentally sound defense. Although Hempfield didn’t light up the scoreboard at John Gurski Stadium, Bulldogs’ head coach Doug Dahms was disappointed. “I’m very upset with the way we tackled, and we’re gonna go back to the drawing board. They must of had 150 yards after touch. Defensively, we did not make the plays,” he lamented. The Black Knights piled up 238 yards in the second half of a stunning 20-16 victory at West Lawn. Hempfield put together a 17 play, 76-yard drive that took nearly seven and a-half minutes off the clock in the fourth quarter. Stephen Katch, a 190-pound senior, crashed into the end zone from two yards away for the go-ahead score with only 17 seconds remaining. Junior quarterback Jackson Landis came up big on that series. He found Andy Garcia for 12 yards on third-and-eleven with five and a-half minutes left. He then dumped off a pass to tight end Aidan Shorter on fourth-and-three from the 32-yard line with two minutes to go. Shorter refused to go down and stretched out the football for a pivotal 4-yard gain. Moments later, Landis and Garcia hooked up again for 18 yards to the 9-yard line. Katch completed the comeback and put a halt to Wilson’s 16-game winning streak over the Black Knights. Garcia, a 140-pound senior, racked up 101 yards on seven receptions. Landis went 16-of-26 for 269 yards, including a 58-yard touchdown pass to Micah Gates early in the third quarter. Gates (4 catches/124 yards) ripped the ball away from 6’1 senior cornerback Rafael Fernandez to even it at 10 apiece. The Bulldogs broke the tie on Cam Jones’ 48-yard touchdown run with 3:26 remaining in the third period. Jones stepped through a tackle near the line of scrimmage and sprinted down the right sideline. Cannon Biscoe connected on a 29-yard field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter to get Hempfield within 16-13. Biscoe converted a 20-yard field goal on their opening possession. Jones had given Wilson the early advantage with a 53-yard touchdown run up the middle on the second play from scrimmage. The Holy Cross commit had a career-high 189 yards on 15 carries. “Great balance, great vision, physical [and] fast. Everything you want,” replied Dahms when asked about Jones. Ben Rada booted a 25-yard field goal late in the second quarter for a 10-3 edge, but Dahms wasn’t pleased with their effort on special teams. Rada missed a 37-yard field goal and an extra point. He also had a 28-yard field goal attempt blocked by Jacob Karkoska. “Difference in the game. That’s frustrating, but we got down into the [red] zone so many times and we’d stall or make a penalty, or we’d do something dumb,” stated Dahms. The (5-2, 2-1) Bulldogs were limited to 55 passing yards overall and 123 yards in the second half. Wilson was held to six points after halftime. “We’ve got to get more consistent up front. We still made too many mistakes. You can’t make mistakes against a good football team,” explained Dahms. The (6-1, 4-0) Black Knights stopped the Bulldogs’ 16-game league winning streak. Dahms gave credit to Hempfield head coach George Eager who’s a former assistant at Wilson. “He’s doing a great job. He’s got a great staff. They’ve got that program rolling right now. They’re gonna win the league championship. Kudos to him,” emphasized Dahms. Eager is in his third season at the helm of the Black Knights. Brian Williams came up with two interceptions for Hempfield. Deyvid Palepale made five tackles. The 6’3. 315-pound junior has offers from Penn State, Louisville, and Temple. Nick Weitzel contributed a team-high nine tackles (3TFL) for Wilson at defensive end. Tackling is definitely going to be a focal point at practice next week in West Lawn.

Tim Mertz-Kutztown

Paul Roberts — Tue, 12 Apr 2022 21:13:00 +0000

I asked Kutztown head coach Tim Mertz what his expectations were before the season. Mertz paused, and then paused some more. Finally, with a grin on his face, he collected his thoughts and said he has high hopes. In his humble fashion, Mertz referred to his team as “solid.” It was very apparent that the longtime skipper didn’t want to go overboard. However, Mertz is well aware that 2022 could be much more than a solid year for the Cougars. He knows a quality ball club when he sees one. Mertz is the winningest coach in school history with a record of (319-171). He has more victories than any active coach in the Berks League. Mertz guided Kutztown to District 3 championships in 2006, 2007, and 2019. The Cougars finished as the state runner-up in 2007. They fell to Bald Eagle Area 6-1. Mertz is in his 22nd season as manager. The Kutztown graduate told me that he wouldn’t coach anywhere else. He added that being around the players keeps him feeling young. The Cougars knocked off Brandywine Heights 4-2 on Monday night. Grant Fitzgerald allowed two runs on six hits over six frames. The senior lefty struck out eight and helped himself with an RBI single in a 3-run fifth inning. The Alvernia commit earned his second win in just four days. Mertz thought Fitzgerald kept the Bullets off-balance with his changeup and curveball. He gave credit to the hitters for showing discipline and laying off the high fastball of promising junior Carson Renner. Fitzgerald and Renner were all-division selections a season ago. Both teams have a lot of experience. Pinch-hitter Bryce Schafer tied the game at 2-2 with a sacrifice fly in the fifth. Mertz emphasized that Schafer has been working hard after shoulder surgery. He’s cleared to swing, but can’t play defense. Ian Fenerty delivered a go-ahead RBI double before Fitzgerald drove in the final run. Matt Remick had two strikeouts in a perfect seventh inning. All-division catcher Nick Hugo chipped in with two singles. Each squad had six hits. Renner gave up four runs, three earned, in 4.2 innings with three strikeouts. The (1-3, 0-1) Bullets captured the Division 4 title last year under Chris Cole. He stepped down after 18 seasons, 230 wins, two District 3 championships, and the 2009 state crown. Ron “BooBoo” Schaeffer Jr., a 2003 Central Catholic grad and former Penn State-York head coach, has taken over for Cole. Jesse Breunig and Jaeger Smeltz had RBI singles for Brandywine Heights on Monday. Mertz was very happy with the outcome at Timothy Breidegam Field. He replied, “It’s early, but this is huge.” We talked about the race in Division 4, as well as the competition in the Berks League. Mertz doesn’t think there’s one juggernaut in the county this year. The (3-2, 2-0) Cougars are ready to prove that last season’s (9-12, 4-7) campaign was an aberration.

Brian Kopetsky-Muhlenberg

Admin — Fri, 23 Apr 2021 21:54:06 +0000

Thanks to Muhlenberg head coach Brian Kopetsky for taking some time to talk after an 11-0 loss to Wilson. The Muhls had just 3 seniors in their lineup tonight. They’re now 7-1. Coach Kopetsky is approaching 300 career wins at ⁦ @MuhlsAthletics ⁩ ⁦ @MuhlsBaseball
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