FOOTBALL » BERKS’ TOP GAMES, PERFORMANCES, PLAYS IN 2020
Five most memorable games
Pine-Richland 48, Gov. Mifflin 44: Officially, it was a PIAA Class 5A semifinal, but really this was the state championship game. It featured big plays, huge hits and two big-time teams slamming into each other for 48 minutes. The Mustangs led 21-0 and 41-19 and finally 44-41 with 3:06 but couldn’t hold on, giving up the go-ahead score with 2:18 remaining.
Wilson 31, Manheim Township 28: Down six starters, including their quarterback and top receiver, and coming off a stinging 41-point loss to Gov. Mifflin, the Bulldogs somehow found a way to piece together a win that catapulted them back to the top in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Jadyn Jones carried the load with 237 yards on 29 carries.
Wyomissing 38, Middletown 16: After a string of one-sided district playoff losses to the Blue Raiders, the Spartans beat them for the District 3 Class 3A championship for the second straight year. This time they dominated from start to finish, with Evan Niedrowski setting the tone by pounding away for 170 rushing yards and two TDs.
Daniel Boone 43, Twin Valley 42: The Blazers, after falling behind twice in the final quarter, scored with five seconds left on Carter Speyerer’s 17-yard TD pass to Alex Vassallo, then used a little razzle dazzle on a two-point conversion pass from wide receiver Krystian Hornberger to Speyerer to win the season opener.
Hamburg 55, Fleetwood 49(4OT): The highest-scoring game ever between two Berks opponents ended, ironically enough, with a defensive stop as the Hawks turned back the Tigers on four tries from the 10 in the fourth overtime. The longest game in Berks football history saw Hamburg’s Tristan Baer score four TDs and Fleetwood’s Tanner Maddocks throw for 257 yards and five touchdowns.
BEST OF THE REST
Kutztown 36-0 over Shenandoah Valley Twin Valley 42-38 over Hamburg Twin Valley 28-24 over Fleetwood Cedar Cliff 35-34 over Berks Catholic Gov. Mifflin 48-7 over Wilson Wilson 27-12 over Hempfield Berks Catholic 56-28 over Exeter Exeter 41-34 over Hempfield, OT Gov. Mifflin 68-14 over Mechanicsburg Fleetwood 43-42 over Upper Dauphin
Five most memorable performances
Kaleb Brown: The Wilson quarterback
made his final game a good one as he completed 17-of-23 passes for 155 yards and three TDs and ran for 243 yards and two TDs in a 40-21 win at Manheim Central. Dominic Caruso: The junior running back matched the Twin Valley rushing record with 358 yards on 30 carries in a 28-24 win over Fleetwood. He also scored three TDs in the season ender.
Zach Zechman: One week before setting a program accuracy record by completing 11-of-12 passes in Wyomissing’s state semifinal win over Danville, the senior quarterback/safety showed off all his skills as he intercepted a pass, recovered a fumble, threw a touchdown pass and ran for a score in a 47-0 quarterfinal victory over Lakeland.
Carter Speyerer: The Daniel Boone junior checked all the boxes in a 43-42 win over Twin Valley as he made eight tackles, passed for 191 yards and three TDs, ran for a TD and caught the game-winning twopoint conversion.
Logan Klitsch: The junior quarterback passed for 233 yards and three TDs and ran for 72 yards and two TDs to ignite a huge Conrad Weiser comeback after eventual champ Lampeter-Strasburg opened the district semifinal by scoring the game’s first five TDs.
Five most memorable plays
• The “Birdsboro Special,” a takeoff on the Doug Pederson’s “Philly Special” in the Super Bowl, was the highlight of the season for Daniel Boone, which won its season opener over Twin Valley 43-42 on a twopoint conversion pass with five seconds remaining.
• Short-handed Wilson needed some special plays to upset Manheim Township and Ethan Capitano came up with the biggest when he blocked a punt, scooped it up and went 34 yards for an early TD in a 31-28 win.
• Wyomissing linebacker Darren Brunner read the quarterback perfectly, jumped a route and snared a pass that he returned 55 yards for a TD in a 47-0 win over Lakeland in a PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal.
• Jordan Auman pumped some late life into Wyomissing’s comeback bid with a 77-yard kickoff return for a TD early in the fourth quarter of its state title game loss to Central Valley.
• Gov. Mifflin showed it was ready to do battle with top-ranked Pine-Richland from the opening snap when Cam’Ron Stewart tipped a pass that was intercepted by lineman Mason Klahr, setting the Mustangs up for their first score in a wild PIAA Class 5A semifinal.