Wow – I had a ton of candidates for ‘3 Stars’ this week, so I really had to do my homework.

And after making several lists and checking them more than twice, here’s what I came up with … Reinhart’s ‘3 Stars’ for Week 9 …

For my first star, I’m going with a couple of record-breakers: Manheim Township’s Dan Wertz and Pequea Valley’s Sean Persch — What a triumphant return to the backfield for Wertz, who played sparingly in the Wilson game in Week 8, but returned with a vengeance in Week 9 against McCaskey, piling up 260 rushing yards on 29 carries in the Blue Streaks’ 44-21 victory. Wertz also had three touchdown runs, on gallops of 4, 11 and 49 yards for Township, which remained in the hunt for a District 3 Quad-A playoff spot with one game to go. Wertz also became Township’s career rushing leader in the game, passing Jim Kruis to move to the top of the Streaks’ rushing list. So it was a huge night all around for Wertz. … Persch also put his name in the record books Friday night, catching 15 passes for 213 yards in Pequea Valley’s 52-20 loss to Columbia. Persch passed former Conestoga Valley standout Ty Bynum to become the L-L League’s career receiving yardage leader. He needed 158 receiving yards coming into the game, and Persch eclipsed Bynum’s mark when he hauled in a 53-yard TD catch in the fourth quarter. Persch missed two games earlier this season after hand surgery to repair torn ligaments. He’s been superb since his return. And now he sits atop the heap in career receiving yards in L-L history.

Fruquan Gaston, Reading – Fans call the Red Knights’ senior speedster ‘Flash’, and he certainly flashed his potent speed against Cedar Crest. Gaston rushed for 246 yards on just 13 carries – that’s 18.9 yards per pop – and scored three touchdowns in Reading’s 41-14 victory over the Falcons. Gaston had TD runs of 80, 78 and 17 yards, as the Knights piled up 411 rushing yards.

And I’m going teammates for my final pick – from Columbia: QB Matt Kreiser, RB Dakotah Lightfoot and WR Yahya McIntyre. That trio had a huge night in the Crimson Tide’s 52-20 win over Pequea Valley. … Kreiser completed 8-of-11 passes for 256 yards — that’s 32 yards per completion – and three touchdowns. …. Lightfoot carried 17 times for 190 yards – 11.2 yards per tote – and scored on TD runs of 6 and 85 yards, respectively. … McIntyre had six catches for 170 yards – 28.3 yards per grab – and had TD receptions of 50 and 51 yards from Kreiser, who also tossed a 77-yard TD pass to Clark Meshey.