This week’s semifinal round for four Berks County teams will either end in an eruption of jubilation or utter heartbreak, with little emotion in between.

Exeter, Wilson, Twin Valley and Wyomissing are on the verge of advancing to the championship game in their respective classes on Friday and Saturday.

In District 3 Class 5A, No. 8 Exeter travels to face No. 4 Conestoga Valley in a Week 9 rematch.

Exeter is coming off a 24-21 upset over No. 1 New Oxford in the quarters. Kicker Jacob Franek knocked down a 32-yard field goal as time expired for the win.

Jayden Zandier rushed for 147 yards on 27 carries and Carter Redding had three receptions for 130 yards and two touchdowns.

The Eagles (11-1) will also have starting quarterback Riley Martinez back from injury.

The junior has missed the last five games, including the loss to Conestoga Valley.

The Eagles’ only loss, 28-27, came on a failed two-point conversion by Zandier in the final seconds against Conestoga Valley.

Zandier finished with 191 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Buckskins, their offense is led by quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade.

The junior threw for 1,936 and 23 touchdowns on 106-of-173 attempts.

In their first game, Esbenshade accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns, three through the air and one on the ground.

The Eagles last played in the District 3 title game in 2022, losing to Cocalico 34-14.

In class 6A, no. 2 Wilson hosts the no. 3 Central York.

The Bulldogs (10-1) continued their eight-game winning streak last week by beating Cedar Crest 28-3.

“I think they were anxious. In the bye week, we kind of stepped back, just did a lot of technique work and stuff like that,” Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms said of his team coming off the bye. “They were a little nervous and wanted to play. This group wants to play.”

All three phases of the game started for the Bulldogs.

Central York was held to 139 total yards, while Correll Akings paced the Panthers himself with 164 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.

Quarterback Madyx Gruber rushed for 132 yards and a score. He also completed 11 of 15 passes for 132 yards and an interception.

Looking forward to the Panthers, Dahms and his staff know if they can stop quarterback Brooklyn Nace, they will have another great opportunity to advance.

“Obviously they have a nice passing game with a bunch of really good receivers, some speed demons and some tall guys,” Dahms said. “Nace blends in well and finds people. So we mix up the toppings, try to mix them up a bit. Put some pressure on them if we can. The more pressure you have, the more likely he is to struggle to find the open man.”

The Bulldogs can reach the championship game for the first time since 2021, where they lost 14-10 to Harrisburg.

“Like I said, ‘When the playoffs start, everybody’s 0-0.’ It’s do or die because if you lose you go home, it’s not like the regular season where you can play again. So we’re promoting the issue,” Dahms said. “The team that wants to keep playing is the one that will win. They were good about it and they were pretty intense.”

No. 5 Twin Valley and No. 2 Wyomissing will each battle to stay alive in Class 4A on opposite sides of the bracket.

The Raiders (9-2) also look to avenge their Week 9 loss against then-No. 1 Lampeter-Strasbourg.

“We’re not too worried about that game, we’re worried about today,” Raiders coach Brett Myers said. “We have footage of us playing against them so that helps. But at the end of the day, we’re just focused on getting better blocking and tackling and trying to work on ourselves and not worry too much about who we’re playing.”

Twin Valley fell 62-14 in an unusual loss where they couldn’t do anything.

The Pioneers are led by quarterback Caileb Howse, who has recorded over 1,000 yards through the air and on the ground along with 31 touchdowns this season.

“He’s a very good player and ultimately the keys to victory are going to be blocking and tackling and not turning the ball over,” Myers said. “With a running attack like theirs, their two-headed monster, we have to be able to tackle, get off blocks, and the better we do that, the better we’re going to play and the better the results. “

After a first-round bye, the Raiders beat No. 4 Susquehanna Township 47-19 last week.

Evan Johnson and Drew Engle, who appeared in his first game of the season, combined for 262 yards and four touchdowns on the ground.

“Drew’s impact is probably much bigger than his stats,” Myers said. “I mean the way he competes and the work ethic he has and the energy he brings to this team is huge. The kid loves to play and I’m glad for him that he got the chance to get back on the field this year.”

Engle has over 2,000 career rushing yards and will play a valuable role Friday night.

“It’s exciting to be back playing,” Myers said. “Our guys won another week and took advantage of this week by having a great week of practice.”

The Spartans (9-2) are also coming off a blowout 31-0 win over East Pennsboro. They outgained the Panthers 353 yards to 110.

Wyomissing takes on No. 3 West York at Bob Wolfrum Field on Saturday.

The Bulldogs beat Eastern York 5-3 last week to reach the semifinals.

West York’s defense has allowed an average of nine points per game in wins this season.

“We have to run our base offense really well,” Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum said. “The things we pride ourselves on is that when people like to bring people in, we can block them and we don’t do anything special, we just block the rules that we have. These guys really bring the house down and we’re trying to sell the kids that hey you just follow your rule and I don’t care where they come from block them and we’ll be fine. And that’s what we have to do.”

Offensively, the Spartans will be without star point guard Justice Hardy for the second straight game due to an injury suffered by Lampeter-Strasburg in Week 10.

Hardy has been one of Wyomissing’s biggest players, and Wolfrum hopes it can return to the Class 4A championship if it comes away with a win this week.

Wyomissing has reached the district title game seven of the last nine years.

The Spartans have never lost a playoff game at home.

“Kids really like to play at home,” Wolfrum said. “They like Saturday games. It’s just a beautiful setting and we enjoy it. But just being in the playoffs is special, and our kids enjoy that, too. We’ve done really well over the years in the playoffs, so anytime we get there, it’s a special time of year.”

If the streak continues at Bob Wolfrum Field, the Spartans will need to limit big plays from the Bulldogs.

“We have to put pressure on them,” Wolfrum said. “They are a big playing team. They are not very big, they are young, but we have to make sure we don’t give them big plays. If we keep them out of it, I think we’ll be fine.”

This week’s schedule

Class 6A: No. 3 Central York (9-2) at no. 2 Wilson (10-1), Friday at 7 p.m

Class 5A: No. 8 Exeter (11-1) at No. 4 Conestoga Valley (11-0), Friday at 7 p.m

Class 4A: No. 5 Twin Valley (9-2) at No. 1 Lampeter-Strasburg (11-0), Friday at 7 p.m.; No. 3 West York (9-2) at No. Wyomissing (9-2), Saturday at 1 p.m

Originally published: November 14, 2024 at 3:44 PM EST