Shillington – Berks Sports Report

Matt Coldren-Wilson

Paul Roberts — Wed, 18 Dec 2024 15:09:50 +0000

It’s not how you start, but how you finish that matters. Coaches in all sports have often used that old adage. Wilson head coach Matt Coldren had a different opinion after a tense 44-41 win at rival Gov. Mifflin. “I think getting off to the great start won us the game,” said Coldren. A 3-pointer by Madyx Gruber gave the Bulldogs a 9-0 advantage with 4:39 left in the opening quarter. The Mustangs went nearly four minutes without scoring. Gruber finished with a game-high 19 points and went 5-of-6 from the free throw line. “What stood out to me was he didn’t press. They were denying him a lot. He didn’t have as many touches as he normally does. He’s a gamer. He makes shots that most guys can’t make,” noted Coldren. Wilson was in front 17-6 after eight minutes and 24-13 at halftime. The Mustangs trailed 36-26 entering the fourth quarter which is when things heated up. Gov. Mifflin went on a 12-to-3 run and pulled within 39-38 on a triple by Matt Koehler with 1:50 left. Koehler had a team-high 17 points, including a dozen in the second half. “His game has really evolved. Last year I thought he was strictly a 3-point shooter, much easier to guard. He’s taking advantage of his size now. He’s kind of a tough matchup for us,” explained Coldren. Koehler, a 6’3 senior, missed a 3-pointer that would have given the Mustangs their first lead with 50 seconds remaining. Correll Akings sank two clutch foul shots with 31 seconds to play to extend the Bulldogs’ cushion to 41-38. After Stephen Mayo missed a layup, Gruber made two more free throws for the (5-1) Bulldogs. Gov. Mifflin senior point guard Andrew Galantuomo banked in a 40-foot shot to make it 43-41 with two seconds to go. Gruber then went 1-of-2 from the charity stripe. The Mustangs’ inbounds pass was deflected by Cam Zullinger at half-court and fittingly ended up in the arms of Gruber. Akings chipped in with nine points and Tommy McFadden added six. Wilson starts four seniors and brings three more off the bench. “We’ve been there. We’ve got a lot of guards who have been in this situation before,” emphasized Coldren. The Bulldogs are the defending BCIAA champions. After going (15-29) over the past two seasons, the Mustangs are back on track under first-year head coach Garrett Etzel. They beat Muhlenberg and Berks Catholic last week. “I’m a Garrett Etzel fan. I think he was a great player…and I have a lot of respect for him. I’m happy for him,” said Coldren. There are ten seniors on Gov. Mifflin’s roster. Ian Fleming, the lone junior in their starting lineup, contributed twelve points. The (4-2) Mustangs were 5-of-9 from the free throw line, while Wilson went 12-for-16. The Bulldogs connected four times from beyond the arc. Gov. Mifflin splashed just two 3-pointers and one was the long range bomb by Galantuomo before the buzzer. The attendance in Shillington was 1,150 for this Division 1 battle in the Berks Conference. “Our division is gonna be a dog fight every night,” stated Coldren.

Javien Pletz-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Thu, 26 Sep 2024 14:28:08 +0000

If Javien Pletz was grading his football team, the Mustangs would receive a B- at the midway point of the season. “There’s some room for improvement. The line has been doing their job. It’s just little mistakes like fumbles,” explained Pletz. Gov. Mifflin is (3-2) and coming off a 41-6 rout of Muhlenberg. Pletz had two touchdown passes and a pair of touchdown runs on Sunday afternoon. The 5’10, 155-pound senior doesn’t get to put the ball up in the air much. That’s just part of playing quarterback in Shillington. The Mustangs prefer to grind it out on the ground. Pletz has only attempted 47 passes this year. He’s completed 25 of them for 424 yards and three scores. Grady Garner has been a workhorse at fullback. The 5’10, 200-pound senior has racked up 712 yards and 13 TD on 119 carries. “He runs hard, runs fast. It’s hard to tackle him,” said Pletz. Garner is a sprinter on the track and field team. Pletz can also use his legs. He can be tough to find behind an offensive line that averages nearly 250 pounds and includes Presley Rinker. The senior guard is 6’1 and 305 pounds. Pletz has 128 rushing yards on 28 carries. Reese Hohl, Travis Jenkins, and Lebron Leaf are slotbacks that can be effective on the edge. Gov. Mifflin also has a solid tight end in 190-pound junior Derek Dinatale. Nick Morrissey is in his first season as head coach, but a familiar face is calling the plays. Mick Vecchio is back on the sidelines. He won 181 games over 26 years with the Mustangs. Vecchio was inducted into the PSFCA Hall of Fame in 2022. Gov. Mifflin’s losses have come against quality opponents in Exeter and Perkiomen Valley. The Eagles remain undefeated. The Mustangs have another tough matchup this Friday when Wilson visits Shillington. The (4-1) Bulldogs have taken ten of the last thirteen contests in this heated rivalry. Gov. Mifflin and Wilson are squaring off for the 67th time. The Bulldogs hold a (39-27) edge in the series. “We just gotta run the offense, make sure they don’t get the ball as much. We just chew that clock and don’t make any mistakes,” said Pletz.

Bryce Detwiler-Gov. Mifflin

Paul Roberts — Mon, 03 Jun 2024 21:33:00 +0000

Bryce Detwiler can beat you on the mound and at the plate. The 6’2, 215-pound junior homered and tossed a complete game in the opening round of the PIAA-5A playoffs. Detwiler was more pleased with his pitching performance in a 7-2 victory over Frankford at Shillington. He allowed four hits and a walk while striking out eight. Both runs against him were unearned. Detwiler hammered his eighth homer of the season to left field in the 6th inning. “I had to make an adjustment and stay back. It was a fastball middle-in and I put a good swing on it,” explained Detwiler. He drew a walk from Enmanuel Roman in the first frame and then stole second base. Ethan Grim knocked in Detwiler with an infield single to shortstop. Dante Casantini’s RBI triple down the right field line gave the (21-5) Mustangs a 2-0 edge in the 2nd inning. Casantini scored on a wild pitch. The Alvernia commit doubled down the left field line in the 4th. Bryce Wunderlich drove in Casantini with a single through the middle for a 4-0 advantage. Gov. Mifflin, the District 3 runner-up, added two more runs in the 5th inning. Travis Jenkins launched a towering RBI triple to right-center. Courtesy runner Reese Hohl raced home on a wild pitch to make it 6-0. Gabriel Perez then replaced Roman on the mound. Roman was charged with six runs on eight hits over four frames. The Mustangs’ lineup didn’t have a single strikeout. The Pioneers scored a pair of runs in the 6th on three hits and an error. Alexis Zhagui led off with a single. Detwiler then threw low to second base after a bunt back to the mound. Jose Rivera and Yuniel Ramirez followed with consecutive RBI singles. Detwiler retired the side in order in the 7th. Frankford, the #2 seed from District 12, finished (14-5). Casantini went 2-for-2 with two runs out of the No. 8 spot in the order. “He’s definitely turned it on these past couple of games. It’s amazing having someone like that at the bottom of your order to flip it over to the top,” said Detwiler. Gov. Mifflin piled up ten hits. The Mustangs will face District 11 champion Whitehall in the state quarterfinals on Thursday. Detwiler will follow in the footsteps of Tyler Minick and head to UConn after his high school career. Minick was voted the Berks County Player of the Year in 2022 and 2023. Detwiler earned that honor this season. He discussed his decision to commit to the Huskies. “I fell in love with where it’s at and how good their facilities are to develop me as a player. The coaches treated me like family,” noted Detwiler.

Nick Crocona-West Lawn

Paul Roberts — Tue, 11 Jul 2023 12:33:00 +0000

The Shillington Dodgers went into Monday knowing that they needed two wins to claim the Berks County Championship. West Lawn made sure that there wouldn’t be a nightcap. The Owls soared to a 3-0 lead after one inning and cruised to an 8-1 victory. Nick Crocona struck out the side in the top of the 1st. “It definitely gave me a lot of confidence moving forward because they have some talented hitters in the top of their lineup,” said Crocona. Mansfield commit Ryan Sekulski hammered a 2-run triple to left field in the bottom of the frame. Lucas Gensemer followed with a RBI single up the middle. Three of West Lawn’s five hits came in the 1st. “You feel like you have much more of a cushion. You feel a lot more relaxed,” noted Crocona. The right-hander tossed five scoreless innings with five strikeouts and no walks. He allowed five hits. The (17-5) Owls erupted for five runs in the 3rd. After Charlie Frantz tripled, Christo Hunsicker lofted a sacrifice fly to center. A passed ball and an error at third base allowed the next two runs to score. Shillington trailed 6-0 before Jordan Shutter’s 2-run bloop single to right field. Crocona, who’s headed to Ursinus, gave a lot of credit to Shutter. He replied, “That’s my guy. I feel like we connect so well. He knows what I want to go to. He’s a phenomenal catcher.” Crocona improved to (2-2) with a 2.60 ERA this summer. Gensemer threw the final two innings at Owls Field. He gave up an unearned run on one hit and a pair of walks. Bryce Detwiler went the distance on the mound for the Dodgers. They upset Boyertown to reach the championship game. Detwiler allowed five hits and three walks. The rising junior at Gov. Mifflin struck out six and hit a batter. He was an All-Berks selection during the high school season. Detwiler went 2-for-2 with a walk. Matt Koehler drove in Shillington’s lone run with a single to right field in the 6th. West Lawn advanced to the Region 2 tournament which begins on Saturday at Boyertown. “We’re having a great time. We have great friendships all around and we bond so well,” said Crocona.

Ryan Kelly-West Lawn

Paul Roberts — Wed, 06 Jul 2022 23:12:00 +0000

Ryan Kelly struggled with his command in the opening round of the Berks County Legion League playoffs, but he didn’t let that impact him at the plate. The left-handed hitter ripped a 3-run homer in the third inning of West Lawn’s 6-2 win over Shillington on Wednesday night. Kelly took advantage of the short porch at Owls Field. It’s 305 feet down the right field line. His blast just made it over the fence and provided a spark for the third-seeded Owls. Kelly, a rising sophomore at McDaniel College, only lasted 3.1 innings. The righty allowed two runs, one earned, on two hits and five walks. He struck out five. Kelly walked Tristan Huyett with the bases loaded in the top of the first. Matt Novotny walked the first three batters that he faced in the bottom half of the frame, but the rising senior at Gov. Mifflin was able to get out of the jam without giving up a run. Shillington put runners on the corners in the third inning with nobody out. Hunter Unger grounded into a double play which gave the sixth-seeded Dodgers a 2-0 advantage. The (16-10) Owls answered right back. Evan Gabaldon stroked a two-out RBI single before Kelly’s 3-run shot. West Lawn added two more runs in the sixth when Ryan Sekulski’s fly ball to right field was dropped. Kelly gave credit to Lucas Gensemer and Christo Hunsicker who combined to toss 3.2 innings of scoreless relief. They each allowed one hit. Hunsicker got speedy leadoff hitter Mason Woolwine to ground out to third with two outs and the bases juiced in the top of the sixth. Gensemer and Hunsicker were 1-for-3 at the plate. Gabaldon provided two of West Lawn’s five hits. Shillington managed four hits. Novotny finished 2-for-3 with a pair of singles. The right-hander pitched 5+ innings. He gave up five runs, four earned, on five hits and six walks. Novotny also hit a batter while striking out four. The Dodgers fall to (4-11). Kelly stressed that the competition in the Berks League is tough and they can’t overlook any teams. We talked about using wood bats. He said, “It’s a huge difference. Pitchers just have to throw more strikes. It changes the entire game.” Kelly has been working on a two-seam fastball this summer. He helped Wilson capture two District 3 championships during his high school career. I asked him about competing against college hitters this past season at McDaniel. He replied, “They’re a lot more patient. No one swings at bad pitches and every at bat counts.” Kelly participated in a league for college players last month at Myrtle Beach. He enjoys being back in West Lawn and playing baseball with his friends. He described the rivalry between the Owls and Shillington. West Lawn will visit Bear Stadium on Thursday at 7pm to battle #2 seed Boyertown. The tournament shifts to Owls Field on Friday. The winner advances to the Region 2 tournament which will be held in Quakertown.