This is the 22nd Class of the BCFCA Hall of Fame. They will bring the total number of members up to 146. Reading has the most members with 31, followed by Wilson (25), and Muhlenberg (16). Former players must be at least 35 years old to be considered. Former coaches must be at least 50 with 15 years or more of coaching experience.

The annual BCFCA Hall of Fame banquet will be held at the Green Valley Chateau. Thanks to Conrad Weiser football coach Alan Moyer for organizing the event. I’m honored to once again serve as the emcee.

It’s time for another edition of my District 3 rankings. I give you the top five squads in all six classes. Remember that no matter where your favorite school is ranked , the sun will come out tomorrow!

Class 6A

1.Central York

2.Central Dauphin

3.Gov. Mifflin

4.Chambersburg

5.Wilson

Class 5A

1.Hershey

2.West York

3.Exeter

4.York Suburban

5.Lampeter-Strasburg

Class 4A

1.Berks Catholic

2.Eastern York

3.Big Spring

4.Susquehanna Township

5.Bishop McDevitt

Class 3A

1.Trinity

2.Lancaster Mennonite

3.Antietam

4.Halifax

5.Brandywine Heights

Class 2A

1.York Catholic

2.Linville Hill Christian

3.Delone Catholic

4.Greenwood

5.Steel-High

Class A

1.High Point Baptist

2.Shalom Christian

3.York Country Day

4.Lancaster Country Day

5.Ephrata Mennonite

Good things have been happening to Reading’s basketball team since mid-January. The fourth-seeded Red Knights knocked off top-seeded Berks Catholic 48-41 in the BCIAA semifinals at Santander Arena. Reading has won nine of its last ten games. “The boys started to trust each other more. Earlier in the year, we were turning the ball over at a ridiculous clip. We limited turnovers, our defense has been tremendous,” said head coach Francis Camara. He also stressed that maintaining their composure at the end of games has been crucial to the turnaround. Camara’s son, Jeremiah, led everyone with 19 points. “I’m super proud of him. He has the utmost confidence. The kid has so much confidence because he works so hard,” noted Camara. Jeremiah, a 5’9 sophomore, was relentless in attacking the basket. He had six of the Red Knights’ 13 points in the fourth quarter. “It’s a proud moment as a father. It’s beautiful to see. I got a front row seat to watch my son play high school basketball,” emphasized Camara. Reading went on a 9-0 run to start the second quarter and build a 23-11 advantage. The (13-11) Red Knights were up 27-18 at the break. They went scoreless for nearly five and a-half minutes in the third quarter as the Saints climbed within 27-23. A three-point play by Zach Suski made it 31-28 with 1:42 left in the period. Weshly Rosario fed Xavier Beatty for a layup at the buzzer and a 35-28 lead. A steal and layup by Camara extended Reading’s cushion to 41-30 with five and a-half minutes remaining. He scored again with 90 seconds to go after the Red Knights beat Berks Catholic’s pressure. That layup put the (18-5) Saints in a 45-37 hole. Brady Altimar scored and was fouled with 53 seconds to play. The 5’9 junior missed the free throw, but cut the deficit to 46-41. Reading beat the Saints’ trap again which resulted in a layup for Jostin DeCastro with 45 seconds left. The 6’2 sophomore contributed 14 points including six in the final eight minutes. The Red Knights were 6-for-11 from the foul line, while Berks Catholic went 5-for-9. Each team only made two 3-pointers. Kingston McKoy jammed 14 of his 16 points into the first half. The 6’2 junior guard leads Berks County in scoring at 22 ppg. Suski added seven points and freshman guard Carmelo Harper had six off the bench. The Saints had won ten of their previous eleven contests. They Division 1 champions swept Reading in the regular season. The Red Knights didn’t qualify for the District 3 playoffs for the first time since 2001 when they finished (13-13). Friday night’s BCIAA Championship will be their last time taking the court together this season. They square off with Wilson at 8pm. Reading is looking for its 26th Berks County title.

Class 6A-Monday, Feb. 17

#10 Cedar Crest at #7 Wilson

#12 Gov. Mifflin at #5 Central Dauphin

#13 Reading at #4 Mechanicsburg

Class 5A-Monday, Feb. 17

#10 ELCO at #7 Conrad Weiser

#9 Twin Valley at #8 Lower Dauphin

Class 4A

#10 Bishop McDevitt at #7 Berks Catholic on Tuesday, Feb. 18

#6 Susquehanna Twp. at #3 Wyomissing on Friday, Feb. 21

Class 3A-Tuesday, Feb. 18

#6 Columbia at #3 Oley Valley

Here are the matchups involving Berks County teams by classification. All of these games tip at 7pm.

Class 6A-Tuesday, Feb. 18

#12 Cedar Crest at #5 Wilson

#10 Gov. Mifflin at #7 Warwick

#11 Muhlenberg at #6 Central Dauphin

Class 5A-Tuesday, Feb. 18

#9 Middletown at #8 Exeter

#13 Conrad Weiser at #4 York Suburban

Class 4A-Thursday, Feb. 20

#8 Bishop McDevitt at #1 Berks Catholic

#5 Susquehanna Twp. at #4 Wyomissing

#6 Schuylkill Valley at #3 Big Spring

Class 3A-Monday, Feb. 17

#5 Brandywine Heights vs. #4 Antietam at Exeter High School

Class A-Friday, Feb. 21

#6 LaAcademia Partnership Charter at #3 High Point Baptist

#8 Oley Valley at #1 Wyomissing

The Lynx hung around for the first quarter, but the Spartans pulled away for a 58-33 victory. Wyomissing was on top 31-12 at halftime. The Spartans limited the Division 4 champions to 19 points through three quarters. Amaya Stewart, a two-time All-State selection, finished with a game-high 19 points. The 6’1 senior forward is committed to Albany. Karly Hyde added ten points. The sophomore guard sank a pair of 3-pointers. Wyomissing went just 9-of-21 from the free throw line. Kadyn Rhoads led Oley Valley with 17 points, including eight in the fourth quarter. Julia Wagner chipped in with nine points. The Spartans improved to (20-3). They’ve won back-to-back BCIAA championships.

#5 Conrad Weiser at #4 Reading

The short-handed Red Knights overcame a slow start to beat the Scouts 44-28 at the Geigle Complex. Reading was without Elyssa Spring, Tamyia Collier, and Kailani Ocasio. They were serving the final game of a two-game suspension for their involvement in a fight at Wilson on January 30th. Collier is second on the team in scoring at 9 ppg. Conrad Weiser had a 7-6 edge after eight minutes. The Scouts, who were (6-16, 2-9) a season ago, were outscored 13-to-5 in the second quarter. They trailed 28-20 entering the fourth quarter. Yamilex Rodriguez jammed eight of her fifteen points into the final period. The senior guard got some help from freshman Xiani Beatty. She ended up with eight points and 5’10 junior JilliAnn Laws had seven. The (15-8) Red Knights went 13-for-22 from the foul line, while Conrad Weiser was 11-for-16. Lauren Grabosky, a 6’ senior center, led the Scouts with eleven points. She connected on seven of her eight free throw attempts. Alex Trevena contributed nine points. The senior guard is headed to Kent State for softball. Reading will face top-seeded Wyomissing in the semifinals on Wednesday at Santander Arena.

#6 Twin Valley at #3 Gov. Mifflin

The Division 2 champs gave the Mustangs a bit of a scare in Shillington. The Raiders were in front 16-13 after the opening quarter and 29-27 at halftime. Gov. Mifflin turned the tide in the third period. The Mustangs outscored Twin Valley 18-to-9 in that quarter and went on to win 54-45. Brooklyn George (12), Mia Vasquez (11), and Bella Super (10) all finished in double digits. George, a 5’6 sophomore, was 7-for-9 at the charity stripe. Vasquez scored six points in the pivotal third period. Sophomore Lauren Williams poured in a game-high 20 points for the Raiders. Delaney Hoover chipped in with nine points. Twin Valley went 4-for-8 at the free throw line, while Gov. Mifflin was 14-of-23. The (15-8) Mustangs have to wait to find out who their next opponent will be. They will meet either second-seeded Wilson or seventh-seeded Schuylkill Valley in the BCIAA semifinals on Wednesday at Santander Arena.

Class 6A

1.Central York

2.Cumberland Valley

3.Central Dauphin

4.Mechanicsburg

5.Chambersburg

Class 5A

1.Hershey

2.Manheim Central

3.Octorara

4.West York

5.York Suburban

Class 4A

1.Berks Catholic

2.Eastern York

3.Schuylkill Valley

4.Big Spring

5.Susquehanna Township

Class 3A

1.Trinity

2.Lancaster Mennonite

3.Halifax

4.Antietam

5.Pequea Valley

Class 2A

1.Delone Catholic

2.Linville Hill Christian

3.York Catholic

4.Greenwood

5.Steel-High

Class A

1.York Country Day

2.Lancaster Country Day

3.High Point Baptist

4.Coventry Christian

5.Ephrata Mennonite

The four division champions are automatically in the field. Berks Catholic, Exeter, Schuylkill Valley, and Antietam are currently in first place in their respective divisions. The Eagles have clinched the Division 2 crown.

Two second place teams will earn a spot in the Berks County playoffs. This depends upon who wins the crossover game. For example, Wilson is currently in second place in Division 1 and Conrad Weiser is in second place in Division 2. The Bulldogs beat the Scouts 60-49 so Wilson would get in the tournament. Wyomissing is currently in second place in Division 3 and Brandywine Heights is second in Division 4. The Spartans play the Bullets tomorrow. The winner of that crossover matchup would secure a berth.

The final two at-large selections are based on the highest District 3 power rankings. Muhlenberg (.723) and Gov. Mifflin (.709) would qualify based on that criteria.

The initial seeds for the BCIAA playoffs are determined strictly by the District 3 power rankings. Winning a division championship doesn’t guarantee a team one of the top four seeds. In addition, a coach’s meeting is held before the seeds are finalized. Coaches are allowed to challenge another team’s seed. Once the cases are made, those two coaches must leave the room and a vote is taken among the other six coaches.

The District 3 power rankings change daily as new scores are reported. Based on the current power rankings, these would be the initial seeds for the Berks County boys tournament. I hope this has been at least a little helpful, and you’re not even more confused.

1.Berks Catholic (.788)

2.Wilson (.785)

3.Muhlenberg (.723)

4.Gov. Mifflin (.709)

5.Exeter (.626)

6.Schuylkill Valley (.616)

7.*Wyomissing (.613)

8.Antietam (.572)

*This is contingent upon Wyomissing beating Brandywine Heights tomorrow. If the Bullets win, they would be the 8th seed and Antietam becomes the 7th seed. Brandywine Heights currently has a power ranking of .503

Wyomissing remains on top of my poll. The Spartans are riding a six-game winning streak and are expected to get Audrey Hurleman back soon. The North Carolina lacrosse commit has been out with a knee injury. Amaya Stewart, the two-time Berks County Player of the Year, is averaging 18 points. Wyomissing hosts Twin Valley on Thursday.

Gov. Mifflin has moved up three spots in my rankings. The Mustangs are unbeaten in league play at (4-0). They cruised past Berks Catholic by 20 points and escaped Wilson with a 47-45 victory. Gov. Mifflin suffered setbacks to Central York and York Catholic over the weekend. Sophomore guard Bella Super is providing 18 ppg.

Wilson has played a brutal schedule that included Cardinal O’Hara, Emmaus, Parkland, Dallastown, and Cedar Crest. Things are looking up, however, as the Bulldogs have won four of their last five contests. Kailani Hardy has been as advertised. The sophomore is putting up 16 points a night.

Reading knocked off Berks Catholic 56-42 in mid-December, but then fell at home to Wilson by 18 points. The Red Knights have a big test coming up at Gov. Mifflin on January 7th. Senior guard Yamilex Rodriguez is averaging 14 points per game.

Berks Catholic dropped a couple of spots in my poll. It’s important to note that the Saints have had an extremely challenging schedule. They lost a hard-fought battle at rival Wyomissing 37-34 before Christmas. Berks Catholic took down Wilson by ten points three weeks ago. Those two contests showed that the Saints can play with anyone in the county. On Friday, senior point guard Madison Langdon reached 1,000 career points in a 40-32 win over Mount St. Joseph Academy at Wildwood.

Twin Valley is getting nearly 15 ppg. from junior Hailey Kilgore. The Raiders opened some eyes by defeating Exeter 52-37. Twin Valley’s only losses came against Cedar Crest and Trinity by a total of eleven points. The Raiders travel to Robesonia on January 7th for a key Division 2 matchup with Conrad Weiser.

Speaking of the Scouts, they’ve won eight out of ten under new head coach Chris Kline. Conrad Weiser beat Oley Valley, Exeter, and Schuylkill Valley during its current four-game winning streak. The victory over the Panthers was by 19 points. The Scouts did get tripped up by Wilson on December 13th by 20 points.

Exeter fell two spots in my rankings. The Eagles’ record won’t impress you, but they’ve won four of their last six games. Keep in mind that four of Exeter’s losses were by five points or less. The Eagles could easily be above the .500 mark with a few breaks.

Without further ado, here is my new poll for the Berks Girls Basketball League. Remember that no matter where your favorite team is ranked, the sun will come out tomorrow!

“The Great 8”

1.Wyomissing (7-1)

2.Gov. Mifflin (6-3)

3.Wilson (6-5)

4.Reading (8-4)

5.Berks Catholic (5-5)

6.Twin Valley (9-2)

7.Conrad Weiser (8-2)

8.Exeter (4-7)

Class 6A

Michael Glover-TE-Wilson

Madyx Gruber-Athlete-Wilson

Class 5A

Jayden Zandier-RB-Exeter

Logan Wegman-OL-Exeter

Cam Small-RB-Muhlenberg

Class 4A

Evan Myers-QB-Twin Valley

Carter Faubel-DL-Twin Valley

Justice Hardy-Athlete-Wyomissing

Class 3A

Logan Nawrocki-QB-Schuylkill Valley

Luke Spotts-TE-Schuylkill Valley

Logan Cammauf-LB-Schuylkill Valley