4 Berks teams in win-or-go-home openers – Reading Eagle

And just like that, in the blink of an eye, the District 3 football playoffs are upon us.

Four teams from Berks County – Schuylkill Valley, Exeter, Berks Catholic and Governor Mifflin – begin their fight for the district title in their classes on Friday night.

In Class 3A, No. 3 Schuylkill Valley (8-2) hosts No. 6 Littlestown (6-4).

A week ago, the Panthers won the Lancaster Lebanon Section 5 title by defeating Lancaster Catholic 40-29.

“I’m very excited, especially when we won the game, they were ecstatic,” Panthers coach Bruce Harbach said. “I won a section for the first time. For the first time in school history, she led the table in this section. In this way, the children made history at the school.”

In the fourth quarter, Logan Cammauf led 29-28 and gave his team the lead thanks to a six-yard ground score.

Cammauf then put the game on the ice with a 64-yard touchdown to clinch the title for the Panthers.

Last season, the Panthers shared the Section 5 title with Lancaster Catholic.

Intent on winning the sectional on their own in 2024, Schuylkill Valley got off to a bad start with a 1-2 record.

However, Harbach rallied his team after a slow start, and the Panthers rolled through seven straight games to finish third in districts.

“We played three (Class) 5A schools,” Harbach said. “I think that helped us further down the road, playing in a big pool. I knew it would be an uphill battle at first, but I thought once we started playing in sections, playing bigger schools, it would help us down the road.

During the winning streak, the Panthers outscored their opponents 264-122.

With emotions running high following a historic season, Harbach knows it’s his job to keep the team focused on the next goal ahead.

“It’s the coaching staff’s job to keep them focused and we do that,” Harbach said. “We had a good training session yesterday. I got soft pretzels for the kids for their first championship win. I ate it and watched the movie. So I think we’ll be fine. Our children are focused. They know they can go as deep as they want.

“We take each team week by week and for us this is week 11. The playoffs are one and done. You win, you stay and play, and you lose and go home. So I think we have the mentality that we want to keep playing.

The Panthers are led by senior quarterback Logan Nawrocki, who has completed 151 of 219 passes for 2,151 yards, 29 touchdowns and just four interceptions.

“He’s another coach on the field,” Harbach said of his quarterback. “He has improved a lot over the last three years. He studies the game. He knows where everyone is going and manages and directs the attack very well. I hope to keep playing, but he’s the only guy I’ll miss.

As one of this year’s top point guards in Berks County, Nawrocki will look to lead his team into a match against the Thunderbolts for the second straight year in the first round of districts.

The key to victory for the Panthers is simple: protect the ball and the rest will fall into place.

“Win the turnover battle,” Harbach said. “That’s always the key. Don’t waste the ball. We have some turnovers on defense and on offense we take the ball and just keep the sticks moving. Let’s do what we do best and pass the ball to our playmakers.

The winner will face second-seeded Trinity (8-2) next Friday.

On the opposite side of the Class 3A bracket, No. 5 Berks Catholic (6-4) travels to No. 4 Biglerville (7-3).

The Saints ended their four-game winning streak and clinched a district berth.

The offense is led by senior point guard Zach Suski. He completed 80 of 114 passes for 1,305 yards and 16 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Suskie is also joined by the explosive running attack of Nathaniel Rose and Bryce Gumby.

Both running backs surpassed the 800-yard mark for the season and combined for 21 rushing touchdowns.

Defensively, Damoni Daglis has been a terror for opponents this season.

The sophomore leads all Saints in tackles (60) and sacks (3).

The Saints last played in the district playoffs in 2021.

If first-year head coach Dave Stahler leads his team to victory, they will face No. 1 Bermudian Springs (9-1) in the quarterfinals on Friday, Nov. 8.

In Class 5A, Exeter (9-1) hosts No. 9 South Western (7-3) in Reiffton.

The Eagles’ lone loss came in Week 9 against Conestoga Valley in a hard-fought 28-27 game that ended with a failed two-point conversion by Exeter.

The Eagles performed impeccably through the first eight games of the season and were recognized as a team of note in the Class 5A state rankings published on Pennlive.com.

Senior Jayden Zandier has been one of Berks County’s best players all season.

He had 1,469 yards and 23 touchdowns on 117 carries in the Eagles’ devastating running game.

Riley Martinez threw for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns through the air on 49-of-71 passing. The junior missed time with an injury.

His number one target is Carter Redding, who has 26 receptions for 433 yards and five touchdowns on the season.

Exeter, seeded No. 9 last year, was eliminated in the first round by eighth-seeded Hershey 28-27.

If the Eagles win, they will play at No. 1 New Oxford next week.

In Class 6A, Governor Mifflin is the last team to play in a win-or-go-home game next Friday.

The No. 9 Mustangs (5-5) will travel to No. 8 Cumberland Valley (5-5) at Chapman Field. The winner will face No. 1 Manheim Township (9-1) on Nov. 8 at Kruis Field.

First-year head coach Nick Morrissey led the Mustangs to their first district playoff appearance since 2021.

In the last week of the regular season, Mifflin lost to Ephrata 35-21.

Looking to recover, the Mustangs will also be led by another of Berks’ top running backs, Grady Garner.

The senior running back has 1,296 yards and 19 touchdowns on 207 carries this season.

Another great game for Garner and his offensive line could translate into next week.

Elsewhere in the county, four teams have earned a bye week and will wait to see who their opponents will be.

On the opposite side of the 6A bracket, Wilson (9-1) will face the winner of No. 7 Cedar Crest (7-3) and No. 10 Hempfield (4-6) at home next Friday.

In Class 5A, No. 3 Conrad Weiser (10-0) is having a historic season after a 2-8 record a year ago.

They will play next Friday at home against the winner of No. 6 Bishop McDevitt (8-2) and No. 11 Lower Dauphin (6-4).

The two teams in Class 4A will have some time to rest and recover before a hopeful deep run.

No. 2 Wyomissing (8-2) and No. 5 Twin Valley (8-2) finished second and third, respectively, in Section 4.

The Spartans won the section title after a tough 20-7 loss to Lampeter-Strasburg. They will play the winner of No. 7 East Pennsboro (7-3) and No. 10 Susquehannock (4-6) at home on Saturday, Nov. 9.

As for the Raiders, losses to Wyomissing and Lampeter-Strasburg down the stretch led to a drop in district seeding, but they still managed to earn a bye.

They travel to No. 4 Susquehanna Township (8-2) next Friday.

Apart from the district games, two more teams want to end the season with a good result.

Muhlenberg (3-7) will face William Allen (3-6) in the 5A/6A Eastern Conference championship.

Hamburg (6-4) travels to Covington Township to face North Pocono (4-6) in the 4A Eastern Conference championship.

Friday schedule All games start at 7:00 p.m

Governor Mifflin in the Cumberland Valley

South West in Exeter

Berks Catholic in Bigerville

Littlestown in the Schuylkill Valley

Muhlenberg and William Allen

Hamburg in the North Pocono