Red Knights’ McKnight, Pena put a bow on win over Warwick

Don’t look now, but there is a dark horse team emerging in the L-L League Section 1 race.

Glad I got to see Reading live and in person on Saturday night, when the Red Knights cranked it up on offense and held off Warwick 35-28 at Albright College in Reading.

That game was postponed 24 hours because several Reading players were sent home with flu-like symptoms during the week. Plus, there was a death in the school at Reading, so there was a lot going on in the school district.

Saturday night, Reading’s O exploded, with Jason Stewart rushing for 102 yards and three touchdowns and Denny Nazario rushing for 123 yards and a TD. Heck, the Red Knights turned the ball over three times, but in the end it didn’t hurt them.

That’s two wins in a row for Reading, which improved to 2-1 in the section and 3-3 overall. The Knights are just a game behind Wilson and Manheim Township, and with a .500 record, Reading can start to think about the postseason.

And the Knights will have a major say in the Section 1 race, since Reading will play at cross-town rival Wilson on Friday. The Bulldogs and Township are both 3-0 and tied atop Section 1. Wilson is at Township in Week 8, so the Dawgs need a win vs. Reading to stay in the top spot.

After Reading held off Warwick, I caught up with Knights’ QB Freddy Pena, who completed 9-of-11 passes for 130 yards and a TD against the Warriors, and with Reading coach Preston McKnight, who is feeling much better about things these days, now that his Knights are making some major noise.

You can listen to those audio Podcast interviews here …

 

It was probably my favorite quote so far this L-L League football season.

Reading was struggling early, with losses to York High and Pottsville. That’s when Knights’ coach Preston McKnight told a reporter that his team would make the District 3 Quad-A playoffs – even at 0-2.

In fact, McKnight guaranteed that his team would make Districts. Even said that if the Knights didn’t make the playoffs, he’d resign his post.

A win against Governor Mifflin followed. But then came another loss, a 50-6 demolition at the hands of Manheim Township.

But the last two weeks, Reading has come up all aces, with a 32-27 come-from-behind gem over previously unbeaten Penn Manor, followed up by Saturday’s 35-28 win over Warwick and the Warriors’ gnarly defense.

So here’s Reading – 2-1 in the Section 1 chase and 3-3 overall and feeling a heck of a lot better about things heading into Friday’s Week 7 clash against first-place – and cross-town rival – Wilson.

I chatted with Coach McKnight after the Warwick win about the last couple of weeks and why his team has been so successful, about the turnaround after the 0-2 start, and about taking on Wilson in a first-place game on Friday.

You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.

You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.

 

Now that Lampeter-Strasburg’s defense cooled off Elco quarterback Arron Achey, who is the hottest QB in the L-L League?

Freddy Pena.

Reading’s senior QB has been lights out the last two weeks. Check out these numbers:

In a Week 5 win over Penn Manor, Pena clicked on 16-of-18 passes for 209 yards and a two TD, including the game-winner to Yamil Echavarria with 25 seconds to play.

And in a Week 6 win over Warwick, Pena hit on 9-of-11 passes for 130 yards and a TD – a 10-yarder to Echavarria to open the scoring onslaught.

In his last two games, Penny has completed an incredible 86 percent of his passes – 25-of-29 – for 339 yards and three TD against just one pick. That’s an NCAA passing efficiency rating of 211.6, which is superb. Anything over 200 is excellent.

I caught up with Mr. Pena after the win over Warwick on Saturday night, and we talked about Reading’s hot streak, about picking off Penn Manor and Warwick in back-to-back weeks, and we looked ahead to the Week 7 battle vs. Wilson.

You can listen to the interview by clicking on the ‘play’ button above.

You can also download the Podcast and play it on your favorite mp3 device by clicking here.