By KEVIN FREEMAN, Sports Staff

You know that Bob Locker and the rest of Warwick’s football team would like to win a section championship. But minutes after Friday night’s 16-15 victory over Reading, Locker reminded his team of another goal.

The District Three playoffs.

 The season is one game past the midway point and the postseason is front and center in the minds of coaches, certainly, and players.

But then, again, it probably was on Aug. 11 (first day of practice).

“What are we now?” Locker asked of his team, gathered on the field after taking a knee.

“4 and 2,” was the answer.

Then another question. ”So, what do we need, at least?” Locker said.

“Six,” the players answered, along with the coach.

“Next week is No. 5,” Locker continued. “It’s as simple as that.”

Locker feels that six wins will be enough to secure a spot in the Class AAAA field. That, however, won’t come into a better light until after a few more Friday nights.

The Warriors travel to McCaskey to play the winless Red Tornado Friday before the schedule gets a whole lot tougher. Warwick’s final three games: Penn Manor (currently 6-0), at Hempfield (4-2) and Wilson (6-0).

Entering Friday night’s game, Warwick was the  16th-rated team in AAAA. The top 16 earn a playoff berth.

“Let’s get ready to go to McCaskey and take care of business,” said Locker, concluding his post-game meeting on the field.
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There was a time early in Friday night’s game where it appeared unlikely that Warwick senior running back Eric Resch wouldn’t come close to his 143.2 yards per game.

Reading’s defense, having certainly watched film of Resch’s success during the first five games of the season, seemed geared to stop him.

Resch’s first three carries, through two Warwick possessions, netted just three years.

“We don’t try to stop this kid or that kid,” said first-year Reading coach Preston McKnight. “We’re just trying to get the program established and get the kids to play fundamentally and they did.”

After those first two possessions, Resch returned to form, slashing and slicing through the Red Knights’ defense. He finished with an unofficial 137 yards on 29 carries and scored his 12th TD of the season.

In the Warriors’ final drive, which led to the game-winning field goal by Ryan Yohn, Resch rushed for 47 yards.

“Eric has another gear,” Locker said. “On that last drive, he was not going to be denied.”
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Locker mentioned to his team after the game that he didn’t think it responded as well as it might have, coming off the narrow loss to Manheim Township a week earlier.

Reading picked off QB Randy Yost’s first pass, which led to a Red Knights TD. Then Reading speedster Fruquan Gaston danced and skipped 38 yards for a TD to give Reading a 12-0 lead.

“Reading did a real good job on us for the first three quarters,” Locker said. “We thought that our hands and feet would offset their size, but they were too hard to move. I have a feeling that’s one of the best games they have played this year. We allowed them to get in it early and they built some momentum and enthusiasm. We warned our kids about that. We let them in the game and you never know what’s going to happen.”

But, watching the game, you always got the feeling Warwick would put together a drive to score and that’s its defense would tighten up.

Both things happened. The Warriors scored in the possession following the the Reading score. Warwick then allowed just 13 yards on two consecutive Reading possessions.

Plus, after a snap sailed over Yohn’s head on a punt, Warwick minimized the damage, allowing only a field goal to the Red Knights who started the series on the Warwick 11.
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Having managed just two touchdowns in its previous three games, Reading shifted its offense to include more passing.

Quarterback Freddie Pena had attempted 31 passes in the Red Knights’ first five games. Against Warwick, he threw it 22 times, completing eight with one interception.

“We moved the ball up and down a little bit,” McKnight said. “A lot of times we got to the 10 (to the Warwick 11 and 21, actually) and came away with nothing (two missed field goals).”
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Friday’s final drive and game-winning field goal continued a trend for the Warriors. In several games this season, they have shown that the final score is never a foregone conclusion before the final horn.

“One of things our kids have shown during the year, that when their backs are against the wall, they’ll find a way to take care of it,” Locker said. “Cedar Crest came back and almost tied us but we drove the ball down the field. Last week against Manheim Township, we drove it twice. (Friday night), our backs were against the wall. Sometimes, I don’t know why it takes so long but when they feel a sense of urgency or a sense of impending defeat, they step up and do what needs to be done.”