Reading High was considered the prohibitive favorite to win the Berks Conference championship before and during the regular season.
That was until Muhlenberg rattled the Red Knights’ cage with a 63-61 victory last week.
Since then, they’ve rolled past Wilson, Wyomissing and the Muhls by an average of more than 30 points.
“We’re heading in the right direction,” coach Rick Perez said Thursday. “What’s scary is that we have a lot more. We have yet to play our best basketball.
“I know what we’re capable of. If we continue on this trend, I know we’ll get there in the near future.”
Reading High (21-3) will seek its first Berks title since 2019 when it takes on Berks Catholic (20-3) in the second game of a championship doubleheader Friday night at 8 at Santander Arena.
The top-seeded Red Knights and the second-seeded Saints are squaring off in the final for the seventh time in 10 years. This will be their third meeting this season after Reading won the first two games, 67-51 at Geigle Complex and 87-70 at Wolf Gymnasium.
Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly was asked last week if any team could beat the Red Knights in the county playoffs.
“We can,” Esterly said, “but we have to get there first.”
The Saints needed Josiah Jordan’s drive with 7.8 seconds left to beat Exeter 41-40 in the semifinals Wednesday. In the other semifinal, Reading cranked up its defense in the second half and wore down Muhlenberg 70-54.
“If you don’t get back on D against Reading High, you’re done,” Esterly said earlier this month. “I’ve never seen a team that can go up and down the floor as quickly as they can.”
Reading’s Ruben Rodriguez, a 6-2 junior, leads the county with 19.3 points a game, and 6-4 senior Daniel Alcantara is not far behind with a 17.1 average.
The Red Knights average a Berks-best 73.3 points per game, scoring frequently off turnovers. They’re also deep with an eight-man rotation. Xavier Davis has averaged 12.5 points in the playoffs after scoring a career-high 15 at Berks Catholic earlier this month.
Justin Walker, who filled in nicely when Alcantara and Joey Chapman served suspensions earlier this season, had six points and five rebounds off the bench in the semifinal win over Muhlenberg.
“Justin’s a huge presence for us,” Perez said. “He knocks down shots. He’s active on the glass. He’s incredibly fundamental. He enhances the foundation that we have.”
Berks Catholic relies on Jordan, a lightning-quick point guard averaging 15.7 points a game, and 3-point shooters Ryan Koch (13.8), Aidan Sands (12.3) and Jack Miller (7.6). The Saints are second in the county in 3s with 159.
“Coach Esterly does an amazing job,” Perez said. “He’s an old-schooler so he can stay with his original values. But he’s evolved his coaching style and has adopted the 3-ball a little more. I think that’s been a key to their success this year.”
The Saints are making their ninth appearance in the championship game in their school’s 11 years of existence and looking for their fourth title and first since 2018.
Reading High, meanwhile, is in the title game for the eighth time in Perez’s 11 seasons as head coach and seeking its 24th championship. Alcantara, Chapman and Davis were freshmen in 2019 when the Red Knights last won the title.
“It feels like forever,” Perez said. “Outside those three seniors, the other guys have not been county champions. There’s been talk about doing this or that, but you have to take care of your own backyard. You gotta earn respect in your own backyard. That has been a major goal of ours, bringing it back home.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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