Three Berks teams will continue their District 3 playoff runs this weekend, with one squad vying for a title.
Exeter and Twin Valley will play in semifinals, while top-seeded and three-time defending champion Wyomissing will host No. 3 seed West Perry in the District 3 Class 3A title game on Saturday at 1 p.m. at the A-Field.
“It’s your goal when you start the season,” Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum said. “With our recent past, it’s almost what the kids expect. One of our goals was to get another district championship.”
Wyomissing (11-0), the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 champion, has won every game this season by at least 21 points, including a 49-14 win over No. 4 seed Hamburg in the semifinals last week. The Spartans have scored 42.7 points per game this season, which ranks sixth in District 3.
While their offense has been superb, their defense has arguably been just as impressive. Wyomissing has allowed just 7.5 points per game — the fewest in District 3 — and has four shutouts.
“They’ve gotten better and better every week,” Wolfrum said. “This group has stepped up.”
The Spartans defense will face a tough test on Saturday as West Perry averages 43.5 points per game, which ranks fifth in the district and first in District 3 Class 3A.
“They are very fast,” Wolfrum said. “They have a quarterback and some running backs who can all go the distance every time they touch the ball.”
The Mustangs (11-1) beat No. 6 seed Schuylkill Valley 45-21 in the quarterfinals behind 425 yards of total offense. West Perry then defeated No. 2 seed Lancaster Catholic 63-20 in the semifinals.
The Mustangs had a school-record 462 rushing yards against Lancaster Catholic and finished with 514 yards of total offense. Junior quarterback Marcus Quaker has rushed for nearly 1,200 yards and thrown for more than 1,800 this season.
“We have to be gap sound,” Wolfrum said. “We can’t leave any seams in our defense, because if they find them, they’re going to be gone.”
Second-seeded and defending champ Exeter (11-0) will host No. 11 seed Northern York (7-4) in a Class 5A semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m. at Don Thomas Stadium.
Exeter, the L-L League Section 2 champ, is coming off a 42-12 win over No. 7 seed Dover in the quarterfinals.
Exeter has allowed 11.3 points per game this season, the fourth-fewest in District 3. On offense, the Eagles rank ninth in the district in scoring at 40.5 points per game.
On the other side, the Polar Bears defeated No. 6 seed South Western 21-0 in the first round of the playoffs, then beat No. 3 seed New Oxford 20-7 in the quarterfinals.
Junior Cole Bartram leads Northern York in rushing with 1,554 yards and touchdowns with 16. Overall, the Polar Bears have averaged 207.9 rushing yards per game.
In Harrisburg, top-seeded Bishop McDevitt (9-1) will host No. 4 seed Twin Valley (7-4) in a Class 4A semifinal on Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’re not going to run from the challenge,” Raiders coach Brett Myers said. “We’re going to embrace it. If you’re going to play, you want to play against the best, and this is going to be a great opportunity for us to do that.”
Twin Valley is coming off its first District 3 playoff win in program history, a 43-29 victory over No. 5 seed Milton Hershey in the quarterfinals. The offensive line played a major role in the Raiders’ success, as they ran for 456 yards and six touchdowns.
This week against the Crusaders, Twin Valley will look to rely on its big men up front again.
“When you play a team that’s this explosive and this athletic, you got to be able to control the line of scrimmage,” Myers said. “For us to have success, they’re going to have to do that.”
Bishop McDevitt, which has won 15 district titles, ranks second in District 3 in points per game and points allowed per game. The Crusaders are averaging 52.4 points per game, while they have allowed 9.9 points.
“We have to improve our tackling,” Myers said. “We’ve gotten better every week, but when you play a team that has this many talented players, you’ve got to still make another jump, even at this time in the season.”
Bishop McDevitt is coming off a 42-7 win over No. 8 seed East Pennsboro in the quarterfinals. After losing to Imhotep Charter in Week 1, the Crusaders have won nine straight, all by 35 points or more.
Sophomore Stone Saunders completed 14-of-20 passes for 357 yards and five touchdowns against East Pennsboro. Junior Rico Scott had five catches for 135 yards.
For the season, Saunders has completed 69.4% of his passes for 2,773 yards and 41 touchdowns. TaShawn Russell, a senior, has 42 catches for 967 yards and 13 TDs. Scott has 45 catches for 866 yards and 15 TDs. Senior Marquese Williams is the leading rusher with 885 yards and 20 TDs on 91 carries.
“They’re speed is different,” Myers said. “They got playmakers at every position.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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