PIAA – Berks Sports Report

PIAA Tournament-Baseball

Paul Roberts — Fri, 31 May 2024 13:38:00 +0000

The sites and times for first round games in the PIAA baseball tournament were released on Friday. Here are Monday’s matchups involving teams from Berks County.

Wilson travels to District 7 champion North Allegheny at 4pm.

Gov. Mifflin hosts District 12 runner-up Frankford at 4pm.

Fleetwood takes on District 7 champion North Catholic at Seneca Valley High School at 4:30pm.

PIAA 2nd Round Games

Paul Roberts — Sun, 10 Mar 2024 23:57:09 +0000

If you’re still playing hoops in March, it’s all about finding a way to survive and advance. Reading and Exeter were put to the test in the opening round of the PIAA boys basketball playoffs. The (20-10) Red Knights and (19-9) Eagles were able to hold off their opponents and move on in the bracket. Yadiel Cruz and Malik Osumanu scored 17 points apiece as Reading prevailed at Chester 65-63. Reece Garvin dropped a career-high 26 points in Exeter’s 67-60 victory at Upper Dublin.

On Sunday, the PIAA revealed the sites and times for the second round matchups. Four boys teams and one girls team are still alive in the state tournament. Here are the games coming up on Tuesday and Wednesday, including a doubleheader at Coatesville High School.

BOYS:

Class 6A-Reading vs. Erie McDowell at Altoona on Wednesday at 6pm

Class 5A-Exeter vs. Imhotep Charter at Coatesville on Tuesday at 6pm

Class 4A-Berks Catholic vs. Neumann-Goretti at Coatesville on Tuesday at 7:30pm

Class A-High Point Baptist vs. Freeland MMI at Minersville on Tuesday at 7:30pm

GIRLS:

Class 4A-Wyomissing vs. Neumann-Goretti at Pottstown on Wednesday at 6pm.

Jeff VanGorder-Exeter

Paul Roberts — Thu, 07 Mar 2024 17:17:00 +0000

After a tough loss at Mechanicsburg in the District 3-5A quarterfinals, Exeter wasted no time getting back on track. The Eagles blew out Muhlenberg 81-58 and then knocked off Warwick 67-59 in the fifth place game. “I never have to worry about these guys competing. I’m proud of them for that,” said first-year head coach Jeff VanGorder. The win at Warwick saved the (18-9) Eagles a four hour trip to Franklin Regional. Instead, Exeter visits Upper Dublin in the first round of the state playoffs. The up-tempo Cardinals are the runner-up from District 1. “From a skill standpoint, they’re similar to Wilson. They’ve got five guys that we gotta guard. They do a really good job with the sets that they run,” noted VanGorder. The Bulldogs beat the Eagles 74-51 in the BCIAA quarterfinals. Exeter doesn’t mind a fast-paced game. The Eagles are the highest-scoring team in Berks County at 69 ppg. They’ve hit 238 triples. Kevin Saenz has made 47 treys. The 6’4 senior is shooting over 40% from beyond the arc while averaging nearly 17 points and seven assists. Saenz has adjusted extremely well to his new role. “I am very impressed with the fact that he’s played point guard for four months and is one of the best players in Berks County,” emphasized VanGorder. Alex Kelsey, a 6’1 senior, has increased his scoring from five points per game to a dozen a night. “He’s the one guy on our team that I think can really get us a basket at the rim or get to the foul line. He’s super athletic, super quick. He loves competition,” stated VanGorder. Kelsey is committed to St. Joseph’s University for baseball. Reece Garvin, Aidan Dauble, and Brady Murray are all threats from long range. Garvin and Saenz started a season ago when Exeter reached the PIAA-5A championship game for the first time since 1974. The Eagles are making their 11th appearance in the state tournament. They begin a new journey on Friday at 7pm.

PIAA Girls Basketball Playoffs

Paul Roberts — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 20:27:00 +0000

Congratulations to the Wyomissing girls basketball team on winning its second straight District 3 championship. The Spartans defeated Delone Catholic 45-32 at the Giant Center in Hershey. Wyomissing is one of just three girls teams from Berks County, including High Point Baptist Academy, to qualify for the state playoffs. The PIAA brackets were finalized on Sunday. Here are the first round matchups.

Class 6A:

Wilson at Conestoga at 7pm on Friday, March 8th

Class 4A:

Carver High School of Engineering and Science at Wyomissing at 1pm on Saturday, March 9th

Class A:

High Point Baptist Academy at St. John Neumann at 7:30pm on Saturday, March 9th

PIAA Boys Basketball Playoffs

Paul Roberts — Sun, 03 Mar 2024 20:12:00 +0000

The BCIAA and District 3 boys basketball playoffs have been decided. One tournament remains. The PIAA brackets were finalized on Sunday. Six teams from Berks County, including High Point Baptist Academy, qualified for the state playoffs. Here are their first round matchups.

Class 6A:

Reading at Chester at 1pm on Saturday, March 9th

Class 5A:

Exeter at Upper Dublin at 7pm on Friday, March 8th

Muhlenberg at Selinsgrove at 7pm on Friday, March 8th

Class 4A:

Berks Catholic at Blue Mountain at 7pm on Friday, March 8th

Fleetwood at Scranton Prep at 7pm on Friday, March 8th

Class A:

High Point Baptist vs. Chester Charter Scholars Academy at 7pm at Upper Merion High School on Friday, March 8th

Wyomissing-Danville Preview

Paul Roberts — Fri, 24 Nov 2023 11:43:00 +0000

Wyomissing and Danville are squaring off for the second straight year in the PIAA-3A quarterfinals. Albright’s Shirk Stadium is the site this time around. Kickoff is set for 7pm. The Spartans held off the Ironmen 21-19 a season ago up in Montour County. Wyomissing led 21-0 before Danville mounted a comeback. The Ironmen missed a 32-yard field goal in the final seconds which allowed the Spartans to advance to the state semifinals.

Wyomissing is (11-1) and ranked #2 in the state in Class 3A by PennLive. The Spartans are averaging 37 points while allowing 12.5 per contest. The District 3 champions have won five straight since falling 34-14 at Cocalico on October 6th. That loss snapped Wyomissing’s 41-game regular season winning streak. Cocalico is hosting Ephrata tonight in the District 3-5A final.

The Spartans are getting things done on the ground as usual. Bob Wolfrum’s Wing-T attack is putting up 300 rushing yards per game. Penn State commit Caleb Brewer (6’5, 290) is a force at offensive tackle and nose guard. Chase Eisenhower has a team-high 926 yards on 124 carries. The 215-pound sophomore FB/LB took an interception 86 yards to the house last week against West Perry in the District 3-3A championship. Eight other running backs have between 21-and-52 carries. Wyomissing has been without 6’4, 210-pound senior RB/LB Drew Forrey since mid-October. He suffered a leg injury versus Conrad Weiser which required surgery. Princeton commit Ryker Jones is an All-State linebacker who also gets touches on offense. Justice Hardy has opened eyes at RB/DB during his freshman campaign.

Danville is (12-1) under head coach Carl Majer who took over for Mike Brennan. They’re ranked #4 in the state by PennLive. The Ironmen are averaging 43 points while allowing 12. They hammered Loyalsock 40-7 in the District 4 championship. Danville’s lone loss came at the hands of perennial powerhouse Southern Columbia on September 22nd. The Ironmen have rattled off eight consecutive victories since that 40-17 defeat.

Unlike Wyomissing, Danville prefers to strike through the air. Madden Patrick has thrown for 3,067 yards with 46 touchdowns and just six picks. The 6’1, 180-pound junior is completing 65% of his attempts. Aaron Johnson is his top target. The smooth 5’11, 170-pound senior has a staggering 27 TD receptions this year, one shy of the state record. Johnson has 55 catches and 1,390 receiving yards. Carter Raup, a 6’1 sophomore, adds 45 receptions and 698 yards to the aerial assault. Berwick transfer Bo Sheptock exploded last week for 300 rushing yards and 4 TD in the rout of Loyalsock. The 170-pound junior provides 1,304 yards and 18 scores to the mix.

Sheptock is also a factor on defense with a team-high five interceptions at safety. Cameron Kiersch, a 200-pound junior linebacker, leads the squad with 128 tackles. Sophomore Landon Kehoe (6’, 205) is second on the team with 92 tackles. Defensive linemen Chase Miller and Lincoln Diehl have combined for 23 tackles for loss. They’re both juniors. Senior Justin Kutcher (6’, 265) is a key player in the trenches for the Ironmen. Pass protection will be essential as Wyomissing is known for bringing the heat when facing spread offenses.

The winner moves on to the Final Four in Class 3A against either Northwestern Lehigh or Scranton Prep.

Kutztown falls to Mount Union

Paul Roberts — Wed, 14 Jun 2023 12:07:00 +0000

Kutztown’s postseason ride came to an end on Tuesday at Big Spring High School. Perennial power Mount Union beat the Cougars 5-2 in the PIAA-2A semifinals. The (25-2) Trojans entered the game with a lofty team batting average of .371. Eight players in their lineup had at least one hit. Cameron Donaldson and Braylan Knable homered off of Bryce Schafer. Donaldson also doubled and knocked in two runs. Knable launched his seventh homer of the season. He’s hitting .424 with a dozen extra-base hits. Landon Chrisemer was 2-for-3. He scored a run and drove in another. Schafer, who was brilliant in the District 3-2A championship, allowed five runs, four earned, on eleven hits. He struck out seven over 5.1 innings. Mount Union got a pair of runs in the first frame, one in the 5th, and two in the 6th inning. Kutztown was limited to three hits. Both of the runs for the (19-7) Cougars came in the bottom of the 6th. Sophomore Colin Diehl went 1-for-1 with two walks and a RBI. Bryce Danish tossed five shutout innings with seven strikeouts. He walked three and threw 104 pitches. Danish (10-1, 0.92) has 101 punch outs in 60.2 innings this year. The Trojans’ ace has given up just 33 hits. Cainen Atherton replaced Danish and was charged with two runs, one earned, in one inning of work. Mount Union overcame four errors. Sophomore Colten Mathias fired 1.2 hitless innings in relief of Schafer. The Trojans will face District 6 champ Bald Eagle Area on Friday at 10:30am at Penn State. Mount Union is looking for its fifth state championship and first since 2019. Riverside is the only baseball program in Pennsylvania with as many state titles as the Trojans. Meanwhile, seniors Dalton Furst, Matt Remick, Nick Hugo, Dom Pizzelanti, and Schafer played their final game in a Cougars’ uniform. That special group led Kutztown to its sixth District 3 championship.

Schafer Throws Another Gem-Kutztown

Paul Roberts — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 09:40:00 +0000

Bryce Schafer tossed a complete game 5-hitter in Kutztown’s win over Halifax in the District 3-2A championship. The senior right-hander was back at work in the state quarterfinals on Thursday night at Pine Grove. Schafer threw six scoreless innings in a 9-0 victory over District 4 runner-up South Williamsport. The Kutztown University commit allowed just three hits and struck out five. 60 of his 88 pitches were strikes. Schafer also went 1-for-4 and drove in three runs. The (19-6) Cougars scored twice in the first inning which included a double by all-division catcher Nick Hugo. Kutztown blew it open with six runs in the 5th to go up 9-0. Dalton Furst provided three of the Cougars’ nine hits. The all-county selection scored a pair of runs. No. 9 hitter Ashton Dunn went 2-for-3. The sophomore outfielder had 2 RBI. Shortstop Matt Remick was 1-for-3 with a walk and three runs out of the leadoff spot. Noah Turner took the loss for the (15-6) Mountaineers. The junior entered the day with a 3.08 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 59 innings. He gave up six runs, five earned, on seven hits over 4.1 innings. Turner ends the season with a record of (8-2). Senior Alex Neidig came into the contest hitting .423. He was 1-for-2 with a walk. Neidig replaced Turner on the mound and was charged with three runs, one earned. He allowed a hit and two walks while getting just one out. The Mounties committed two errors. South Williamsport head coach Casey Waller has ties to Berks County. He was an 11th round draft pick by the Phillies in 1989. Waller played for AA Reading from 1990-93. He got as high as AAA in the Phillies’ minor league system. Waller led Loyalsock to a state championship and also coached at Hughesville. Meanwhile, Kutztown is headed to the Class 2A state semifinals. The Cougars will take on District 6 runner-up Mount Union on Monday.

Rick Perez-Reading

Paul Roberts — Sun, 13 Mar 2022 22:23:00 +0000

The second round matchup between Reading and Archbishop Wood in the PIAA-6A playoffs was a tale of two halves. The (26-4) Red Knights fell behind 18-7 after the first quarter and 36-15 at the break. Reading shot 6-27 from the field in the first half at Easton Middle School. The (19-7) Vikings went up 40-15 early in the third quarter, but the Red Knights were not going to go out without a fight. They scored 16 straight points to get within nine points late in the third period. Justin Walker, a 6’1 senior, came off the bench to hit two triples and a pair of free throws. Head coach Rick Perez told me that Walker overcame health issues early in his high school career. Ruben Rodriguez, the Berks County Player of the Year, had three baskets in the third period. Jalil Bethea ended the Vikings’ drought with a dunk. He completed the three-point play to put Wood in front 43-31 with eight minutes remaining. Senior forward Tyson Allen made two consecutive layups to extend the Vikings’ advantage to 49-34 with six minutes to play. Allen fouled out a minute later with eleven points. Reading cranked up the defensive pressure and turned defense into offense during a 13-0 spurt. Wood’s lead was trimmed to 49-47 on a layup by Rodriguez with 3:20 to go. Justin Moore sank two free throws to make it 55-48 with two minutes left. The Drexel commit and 1,000 point scorer finished with a team-high 18 points. Moore, a 6’2 guard and first team All-Catholic League selection, was 7-8 from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter. Aris Rodriguez nailed a 3-pointer with one minute remaining. After Bahsil Laster missed a dunk, Joey Chapman converted a layup to get the Red Knights within 57-55 with 37 seconds on the clock. The crowd, consisting mostly of Reading fans, was in a frenzy. 6’7 junior Carson Howard and Laster went 4-4 from the foul line to quiet the crowd. Ruben Rodriguez drilled a trey in the closing seconds to pull the Red Knights within four points. However, the Vikings held on for a dramatic 64-58 victory. The #3 seed from District 12 went 26-32 from the FT line, while the District 3 champs were 8-17. Chapman was 2-7 with all of those attempts coming in the second quarter. Wood prevailed despite committing 22 turnovers including eight in the third quarter. Reading outscored the Vikings 43-28 in the second half. Perez said his team was apprehensive in the first two quarters, but this group has always been resilient. He thinks Wood has a good shot to win the state title. The Red Knights defeated the Vikings 58-57 in last year’s state final, and 64-58 on January 22nd at the Geigle Complex. Daniel Alcantara played in both of those games. The 6’5 senior suffered a season-ending left hand injury in the District 3 quarterfinals against Wilson. Alcantara scored 1,056 career points. He was named third team all-state last year. Perez mentioned that Alcantara remained a leader even while he wasn’t on the court. Ruben Rodriguez poured in a game-high 21 points. The 6’1 junior had eleven in the final quarter. Rodriguez will enter his senior campaign with 1,291 points. Walker added a dozen points. Reading buried six shots from long distance, while Wood only made two 3-pointers. Laster and Bethea chipped in with ten points apiece. They were both third team All-Catholic League choices. Bethea is a 6’4 sophomore who has more than 70 treys this season. He dropped 23 points on Plymouth-Whitemarsh in the opening round of the tournament. Head coach John Mosco had to replace all five starters, including four Division I players, from last year’s runner-up squad. The Vikings improved to (15-2) all-time in the PIAA playoffs. They captured the 5A title in 2017. The Red Knights won their 24th Berks Conference and 23rd District 3 championships this year. Perez would like to see a Netflix movie done about his team. He stressed that these players have been through a lot on and off the floor. Perez will be looking for his 250th career victory when next season begins.

Ross Tucker-Wyomissing Football/PIAA

Paul Roberts — Tue, 04 Jan 2022 20:12:00 +0000

Ross Tucker played in the NFL for seven years, but he still loves high school football. The 1997 Wyomissing graduate follows the Spartans as closely as anyone. Tucker broadcasts college and NFL games on radio and TV. The former Princeton offensive lineman also hosts several sports podcasts. We talked about the 2021 Spartans and their incredible run to the Class 3A state championship game. Wyomissing finished (15-1) after falling to Central Valley 7-0 in a defensive battle at Hersheypark Stadium. Tucker spoke very highly of Jven Williams. The 6’4, 310-pound junior has numerous Division I offers including PSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Tennessee, Ole Miss, and Pittsburgh. Tucker praised head coach Bob Wolfrum and his staff. Wolfrum is (337-86-1) over 35 seasons. He’s guided the Spartans to ten District 3 titles and the 2012 state championship. I asked Tucker if Wolfrum ever yelled at him. Plus, we discussed the possibility of Wyomissing moving up to Class 4A for the next two-year cycle. As I first reported last month, the PIAA notified nine schools on December 21 that their classification may change for football. Wyomissing and Central Valley both learned that they could be headed to Class 4A. The schools have until this Friday to appeal to the Executive Staff. If the appeal is denied, the schools have until January 21 to request another appeal to the PIAA Board of Directors. Tucker explained why he believes the Spartans should stay in Class 3A.