Manheim – Berks Sports Report

Madyx Gruber-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Sat, 04 Jan 2025 13:34:07 +0000

Wilson’s first game of 2025 didn’t get off to a great start. Manheim Township jumped out to an 8-0 lead which prompted longtime head coach Matt Coldren to call a timeout. “He was livid,” said Madyx Gruber. The Bulldogs got Coldren’s message loud and clear. They responded with a 14-to-1 run and went on to win 55-48 in West Lawn. Gruber knocked down three 3-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 19 points. The 5’11 senior guard also grabbed seven rebounds. Ty Gray led the (7-4) Blue Streaks with 22 points. The 6’ senior guard came into Friday averaging nearly 18 points per game. Manheim Township trailed 14-11 after eight minutes and 30-22 at halftime. Wilson expanded its cushion to double digits, but the Blue Streaks didn’t go down easily. They began the fourth quarter with a 7-to-2 run and pulled within 46-43. Gray provided all seven of those points. He ended up with nine in the quarter. Gruber answered with his fourth trey of the night from the top of the key. Manheim Township had a chance to get within one point late, but Ellis Vorhis Witmer missed a pair of free throws. Correll Akings sank a pair of foul shots to make it 53-48 with 1:10 remaining. The junior guard chipped in with a dozen points. Gruber split two free throws with 31 seconds left to give the Bulldogs a 54-48 edge. He was pleased with how they executed in a tight spot. “At practice, we prepare for those moments. We were prepared well,” noted Gruber. Wilson only committed nine turnovers. The (9-2) Bulldogs held the Blue Streaks well below their season average of 62 ppg. Senior guards Jordan Pettigrew (12) and Rocky Mack (8) combined for 20 points. Manheim Township went 7-of-12 from the foul line, while Wilson was just 9-for-18. Luke Levan, a 6’6 senior, had ten points. “We need to feed him the ball. He has a mismatch. We need to give him the ball and let him do his thing,” emphasized Gruber. Tommy McFadden added eight points and seven rebounds. The 6’1 senior committed to Albany for soccer this week. Gruber was recently named to the PA Football Writers’ All-State team. He guided Wilson past Manheim Township 34-16 for the Section 1 championship in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Gruber threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score. He was looking forward to facing the Blue Streaks on the court. “I knew it was gonna be a good game just because it was Manheim. I was really excited. I know my teammates were excited. It was fun,” said Gruber.

Brian Kopetsky-Muhlenberg

Paul Roberts — Sat, 18 May 2024 15:23:00 +0000

Muhlenberg and Manheim Central are very familiar with each other. They’ve met in the District 3 playoffs three times in the past four years. They also squared off in the 2024 season opener with the Barons winning 4-3. Brian Kopetsky, who’s in his 25th year as the Muhls’ head coach, expected a tight game and that’s exactly what he got. Eli Keller sprinted home with the winning run on a wild pitch in the 9th for a 6-5 victory. “Keller is one of our best baserunners, he’s aggressive. There was no hesitation, there was no flinch. He was gone as soon as he saw the ball hit the dirt,” noted Kopetsky. Muhlenberg advanced to the District 3-5A quarterfinals at second-seeded Mechanicsburg on Monday at 4:30pm. Manheim Central finished (13-9). The seventh-seeded Muhls scored three runs on three hits and an error in the second frame. Sophomore Gavin Moody hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Lincoln High and Cam Burr followed with RBI singles. Burr, a two-time All-County selection, got the start on the mound. The Kutztown University commit allowed a three-run homer to left by Mount St. Mary’s commit Nolan Book in the 3rd. Muhlenberg responded with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Aaden Lopez crushed a RBI double to center. He stole third base and scored on a bunt by Josh Smeltzer with two outs. The tenth-seeded Barons got one run back on a two-out error by High at third base. A sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Carter Kyle tied it at 5-5 in the 6th. Smeltzer tossed three scoreless innings of relief. The senior southpaw gave up just one hit with two strikeouts. “His fastball has a lot of tail on it…You get a lot of fly balls out of Smeltzer,” said Kopetsky. Book walked Keller and Shane Rosenberry to begin the bottom of the 9th. Those were the only free passes issued by Manheim Central’s four pitchers. Kevin Rodriguez hit a bloop single to load the bases with nobody out. Keller then raced home to end the tense first round matchup. Rodriguez, who missed about two weeks with a broken hand, had four of the Muhls’ twelve hits. Smeltzer and High contributed two hits apiece. Barons’ starter Chase Travitz was charged with five runs, three earned, on six hits over three innings. Kyle Mylin fired 2.1 innings of shutout relief and Trevor Lowe got two key outs in the 6th. Book took over on the hill in the seventh frame. Muhlenberg got the leadoff hitter on base in the 7th and 8th innings, but couldn’t score. Book struck out three. Burr allowed five runs, four earned, on six hits over six innings. The Muhls’ seniors may have arrived at prom a little late on Friday, but they kept their season alive. “It does show a lot about their character that they’re willing to fight and battle all the way to the end,” stated Kopetsky.

Dave Hahn-Manheim Central

Paul Roberts — Sat, 18 Nov 2023 11:02:00 +0000

Manheim Central came into the District 3-4A semifinals averaging 44 points. Twin Valley wasn’t far behind at 41 ppg. There were plenty of offensive fireworks in Elverson on Friday night. The third-seeded Barons (589) and second-seeded Raiders (449) combined for 1,038 yards! Manheim Central pulled away in the second half for a 65-28 victory. The first seven possessions of the game ended with touchdowns. Zac Hahn hit Aaron Enterline for a 39-yard score just over two minutes into the contest. Sophomore Drew Engle responded by taking a screen pass 47 yards on Twin Valley’s opening drive. Ean Winchester, a 260-pound George Mason wrestling commit, polished off the 80-yard march with a 1-yard run. Brycen Armold broke free for a 68-yard sprint down the left sideline. The All-State running back scored from three yards out for a 14-7 advantage. The 5’6, 175-pound senior was just getting started after missing the previous three games. “It gave us an added dimension. Brycen looked like he was refreshed. He’s healthy and it showed,” said head coach Dave Hahn. Armold finished with a school record 366 yards and 6 TD on 24 carries. He had 339 yards last year against York Suburban. On fourth-and-six, Evan Myers lofted a 31-yard touchdown pass to Engle who made a terrific diving grab. The score was 14-14 seven seconds into the second quarter. Hahn ended an 80-yard drive with a quarterback sneak to put the (11-1) Barons up 21-14. Myers answered with an 11-yard TD run to even things up with 3:50 remaining in the first half. Just thirty seconds later, Armold took an inside handoff and bounced it outside for a 40-yard score. Enterline came up big on defense with an interception at the goal line with 27 seconds to go before halftime. The 6’3 senior added three receptions for 54 yards. He has 25 TD catches and 1,469 yards this season. Enterline established a new school record for career receiving yards. The (10-2) Raiders went three-and-out to begin the second half. Enterline took a punt 41 yards to set up the offense. Hahn rolled to his left and found a wide open Bode Sipel for a 27-yard touchdown. Winchester came right back with a 2-yard rumble into the end zone to get Twin Valley within 35-28. Fourteen seconds later, however, Armold raced 80 yards down the left sideline for another touchdown. Manheim Central was in front 42-28 with 6:40 left in the third quarter. Armold would tack on a pair of 1-yard TD runs for a 57-28 lead. The Barons went 74 yards for their final score. The drive ended with a 9-yard run by Armold with 6:20 remaining. Twin Valley was limited to seven points in the second half. “Coach [Jared] Shearer made a couple adjustments, got us right. Most of it was just playing with intensity, playing with that determination, that effort, that attitude that we need,” explained Hahn. The Raiders committed eleven penalties for 102 yards in their second straight trip to the semifinals. Myers piled up 157 yards through the air and 133 more on 21 carries. Engle provided 163 rushing yards and four receptions for 93 yards. Hahn went 9-of-13 for 152 yards and 2 TD. He ran for a score, and now holds the single-season school record with 2,816 passing yards. The 6’, 190-pound senior is over 5,000 yards for his career. Hahn has 39 TD tosses and 3 INT this year. Manheim Central will meet top-seeded Bishop McDevitt for the District 3-4A championship. “Let’s face it, it’s gonna be a hell of a team that we’re playing…It’s gonna take a great effort, but I think we’re up for the challenge,” replied Hahn. The Crusaders defeated the Barons 40-0 in last year’s final. “We’re not happy to be there. We want to win,” said Hahn.

Exeter-Manheim Central Preview

Paul Roberts — Wed, 26 Oct 2022 19:16:00 +0000

We’ve reached the final week of the regular season and the Section 2 championship in the Lancaster-Lebanon League is still up for grabs. Exeter visits Manheim Central in a heavyweight bout on Friday night. The bell rings at 7pm. Both teams enter with records of (9-0, 5-0). The Eagles are ranked second in the state by PennLive in Class 5A. The Barons are #6 in 4A.

You could probably fill a library with all of the historical notes about Manheim Central. This is the football program’s 75th season. The Barons have won 592 games. On Friday, they’ll be looking for their 28th Section 2 championship. Manheim Central has earned a record 18 District 3 titles including an astounding 10-peat from 1992-2001 in Class 3A. The Barons have made 33 appearances in the District 3 tournament with a total of 59 victories. Those are both records among District 3 schools. In 2003, Manheim Central made it to the top of the mountain by capturing a state championship. The Barons have been a state runner-up three times, most recently in 2018 under the direction of Dave Hahn.

This is Hahn’s 8th season as the skipper at Manheim Central. He was an assistant for twenty years under the legendary Mike Williams who won 348 games over 34 seasons. Williams guided the Barons to 16 District 3 titles and a state championship. Hahn played his college football at East Stroudsburg. He was the center when a guy by the name of James Franklin was the quarterback. I think you recognize that name.

Hahn’s son, Zac, is now running the offense at Manheim Central. The 5’11, 192-pound junior has thrown for 1,774 yards and 24 touchdowns with just two interceptions. 6’2 junior Aaron Enterline is a big play wide receiver. He’s averaging 29 yards per catch with ten scores. Bode Sipel, another junior, has a team-high 30 receptions and 6TD. The Barons can hurt you on the ground as well. Brycen Armold is second in the L-L League this year with 1,620 rushing yards. The 5’8, 172-pound junior has reached the end zone 26 times. Manheim Central is averaging 465 total yards and 56 points per game, both tops in the L-L League. Senior defensive end Jaden Weit leads the squad with 69 tackles and 8.5 sacks. Senior linebackers Nick Haas and Rocco Daugherty have combined for 129 tackles.

The Eagles can play some “D” as well. Only Wyomissing is allowing fewer points than Exeter in the L-L League. Opponents have been limited to 10.7 ppg. by the Eagles. Delaware commit Anthony Caccese has a team-high 17 tackles for loss and six sacks. Lucas Palange, a 235-pound senior LB, leads Exeter with 54 tackles. Kyle Lash has contributed 10TFL and 3.5 sacks. Caccese, Palange, and Lash also start on the offensive line. They’re joined by twins Matt and Ryan McConnell. For the first time in four weeks, that OL will be at full strength which is good news for Richie Karstien. The 215-pound senior is four yards shy of 1,000 this season. He has hit pay dirt 16 times. PSU commit Joey Schlaffer is a matchup nightmare. The 6’6, 215-pound senior has 29 catches for 646 yards and 9TD. He can line up all over the field including quarterback. The Eagles are putting up 42.6 points a night. Mason Rotelli has passed for 1,195 yards and 16TD with only three picks. The 6’1, 170-pound senior has also ran for seven scores. In addition to Schlaffer, Rotelli has another big target in 6’5 junior TE Zach Zandier.

Recent history is in the corner of the Eagles. They beat the Barons 43-26 a season ago in the District 3-5A quarterfinals. The game wasn’t even that close. Exeter led 36-0 at halftime. The seventh-seeded Eagles went on to win their first District 3 championship. Matt Bauer is in his 14th season as the head coach in Reiffton. The Muhlenberg graduate reached 100 career victories just a few weeks ago.

We’ll find out which team will remain undefeated and add a Section 2 crown to its trophy case. I’ll see you in Manheim on Friday!

Wilson-Manheim Township Preview

Paul Roberts — Tue, 26 Oct 2021 21:48:00 +0000

The Bulldogs have already clinched at least a share of their record 28th Section 1 championship in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. They can win the title outright with a victory over Manheim Township on Friday night in West Lawn. Both teams are (6-3). Wilson is (4-0) in league play while the Blue Streaks are (3-1). The Bulldogs are healthy again, and that has helped them put together four consecutive wins. All three of Manheim Township’s losses have been by three points. Dallastown, Harrisburg, and Hempfield were able to get past the Blue Streaks.

Wilson has been led by Jadyn and Cam Jones. Jadyn, the older brother, has rushed for 771 yards and 11TD in seven games. The 215-pound senior is averaging 6.9 yards per carry. Cam, a junior WR/CB, is electric on special teams. He has taken four punt returns and two kickoff returns to the house. Cam is averaging an incredible 33 yards on punt returns! Senior quarterback Brad Hoffman can hurt you with his legs. The Berks Catholic transfer is averaging 6.3 yards per carry. He’s completing 47% of his passes with 10TD and 7INT. The Bulldogs have 18 turnovers this season. They’re still averaging nearly 34 points. 215-pound senior linebacker Gavin Lenart has a team-high 36 tackles in eight games. Senior defensive tackle Dominic Memmo is quick on the interior. He leads Wilson with 8.5 TFL to go along with 3.5 sacks.

Manheim Township has been getting things done through the air with a sophomore. Hayden Johnson has thrown for 1,840 yards with 24TD and 6INT. The young quarterback is connecting on 70% of his passes. His top target is a familiar name in the L-L League. 4-star recruit and PSU commit Anthony Ivey has more than 100 career receptions. The All-State WR has 47 catches this year for 603 yards and 7TD. As a sophomore, the speedster set a L-L League record against the Bulldogs with 292 receiving yards! Ivey had eight catches and 2TD. Michael Heckman and 6’3 sophomore Landon Kennel have combined for 52 receptions and 10TD. Heckman is committed to Shippensburg for baseball. 170-pound senior Isaiah Jones leads the Blue Streaks with just 301 rushing yards. They’re averaging 209 passing yards and 35 points per game.

Both of these head coaches have had a lot of success. Doug Dahms is (167-34) over 16 years with the Bulldogs. He owns the highest winning percentage in Berks County history. Dahms started as an assistant at Wilson in 1976. Mark Evans is in his 24th season overall as a head coach. He finished with 147 victories at ELCO before taking over at Manheim Township. Evans, who played college football at Miami, is (79-34) with the Blue Streaks.

A short-handed Bulldogs’ squad held off the Blue Streaks 31-28 last year. If Wilson wins on Friday, the Bulldogs will guarantee themselves a spot in the District 3-6A playoffs. I’ll have live updates and postgame reaction from West Lawn.