Admittedly, these things can be a bit of a mixed bag. Sometimes, the players selected to compete can be off playing their other sports that are in-season rather than having to be preoccupied by what is essentially at its core, an exhibition without any great stakes. Other times, especially in the state of Pennsylvania as it relates to high school football, there is an unspoken pecking order when it comes to determining which game to play in provided you find yourself with multiple opportunities extended in your direction. With that in mind given these factors (and others perhaps), it’s easy to see how these spring-time all-star games can run the gamut when it comes to either being total clunkers, or instead being an event that is truly worth every dime that makes up the price of admission found at the gate. Well, it comes to the 2025 edition of the Manheim Touchdown Club’s Tri-County All-Star game held on Friday night on the Manheim Central campus, rest assured that those involved can sleep easy knowing that their participation in this Memorial Day Weekend tradition more than fit the bill in being the latter and not the former this year.
“Tri-County” meaning that it pits those soon-to-be graduating seniors from Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon County footprints against one another with the Lancaster squad having more than enough players to stand by themselves while the Berks and Lebanon contingent come together to form their own ensemble. And while technically it does provide an opportunity to players from each one of those counties, it’s essentially the Lancaster-Lebanon League All-Star game considering that aside from a Palmyra entry here and there, 100% of the game’s entrants hail from schools that call the L-L League their home out on the gridiron.
And frankly, it hasn’t been much of anything in terms of being a competitive series ever since this format came into being following the Berks County school merger into the league two years ago now.
In fact, coming into this third year of the current format, Berks/Lebanon had yet to even crack the scoreboard in the prior two meetings against Lancaster, albeit with the 2023 contest having been halted at halftime and never completed following a medical emergency which took place in the stands.
This year though, with plenty of skill littered around their roster, this had the appearance of being a night in which not only would Berks/Lebanon be able to finally score on their Lancaster County counterparts at long last, but perhaps even keep up neck-and-neck at a frantic pace seen throughout the night.
In short, truer words could not have been spoken as Friday night’s football game quickly morphed into a back-and-forth ping pong match on turf with the prevailing feeling that the team possessing the ball last likely being the side that might emerge as the eventual victor by night’s end. And while this would be a departure from the narrative that constructed the last couple of years of the game’s playing in which Lancaster largely ran roughshod overly their two northly neighbors, the end result would nonetheless remain unchanged with the home county once again securing and sealing its borders come the end of the evening.
Speaking of the Berks/Lebanon cast, it wouldn’t take them long to get going into top gear.
Specifically speaking, it took all of one play for that notion to become reality as Twin Valley’s Evan Myers was able to hook up with Berks Catholic’s Bryce Gumby, a 40-yard bolt of lightning pitch and catch that propelled Berks/Lebanon across the midfield stripe just a handful of seconds into the game. From there, Myers found a reliable safety blanket outside in the form of Genuine Stutzman as Exeter’s star tight end picked up gains of 14 and 18 yards respectively once Myers found him from his quarterback spot to help usher the initial series steadily down the field. And while Myers might have gotten things ignited with his right arm to get this drive in motion, Lancaster’s side was seen offering stiff resistance in the plays that followed once the red-clad Berks/Lebanon bunch flirted with the endzone. Then, on a 4th & Goal at the Lancaster 1-yard line, Wilson’s Derek Reiniger, listed as a 220lb offensive guard on the official roster, saw himself be the beneficiary of getting a tote from the running back spot as Reiniger’s 1-yard touchdown run followed by the PAT booted through the pipes by way of Conrad Weiser’s Alex Malone made it a 7-0 Berks/Lebanon lead not even a full four minutes into the game with 8:27 left in the first stanza. Oh yeah, officially ending that aforementioned two-year scoring drought in the process.
Turns out the second drive would be twice as nice from Berks/Lebanon’s standpoint too.
Similar to the drive previous, so too would the opening play of this series be just as explosive as Myers was able to find another Exeter Eagle on the flanks, Carter Redding, as the Myers to Redding connection was good for 27 yards to help get Berks/Lebanon out of the shadows of their own goalposts. Next, Myers went right back to Stutzman for a 21-yard chunk play across the middle before a pop pass to Gumby screaming in motion down the line resulted in a 24-yard pickup which had then moved the ball into the Lancaster redzone with the ball now resting at the 19-yard line. And while this drive too hit the brakes despite its initial momentum out of the chute, there would be no crossing across the chalk for Berks/Lebanon this time around. However, they were able to come away with points nonetheless as a successful 20-yard field goal struck home by Malone helped to put the finishing touches on what was a thoroughly dominating first quarter display in which Berks/Lebanon had dominated their Lancaster foes as evidenced the 10-0 score after one quarter.
Once the second quarter got underway, it seemed as if Berks/Lebanon might actually be on the verge of potentially being able to run away and hide.
Hard to argue considering how Schuylkill Valley’s Cooper Hohenadel was able to come away with an interception for his side to thwart Lancaster’s ensuing offensive series and give the ball back to his contingent at the midfield stripe.
If you’re sensing a theme here that the Exeter duo of Genuine Stutzman and Carter Redding would prove themselves to be nothing if not reliable commodities when it came to the Berks/Lebanon squad, you wouldn’t be wrong in your assessment.
As if to be right on cue, especially considering how it came on a 3rd & 16 attempt, a 20-yard Redding reception moved the sticks to give Berks/Lebanon a fresh set of downs. Next, Stutzman was seen enjoying the spoils of a 12-yard reception to his credit, this moving the ball down to the Lancaster 24-yard line. Then, the third domino in this prolific Berks/Lebanon attack in the early going, Bryce Gumby, kept up his early evening of good work as a 16-yard scamper by the Berks Catholic Saint saw the ball rest at the Lancaster 8-yard line. Then, to cap it all off, Derek Reiniger saw himself find paydirt for the second time inside of the first 24 minutes as his 2-yard touchdown plunge upped the Berks/Lebanon cushion out to a 17-0 count following Alex Malone’s second PAT of the evening with 6:23 left to play in the opening half by that point.
While not exactly time to panic, time was certainly of the essence if the Lancaster side wished to offer up a noticeable punch prior to the game’s intermission. And hey, when you have the luxury of employing a backfield that was able to reach the final game of the season inside the 4A ranks this past December, might be a wise idea to utilize their shared services, yes?
Now, with the strings of players starting to interchange given the game’s rules instructing as close to equal participation as possible, the contingent from Lampeter-Strasburg trotted out onto the field.
Sure enough, it took Dom Brown all of one play to make his presence felt as the Pioneers’ star running back over the course of his career was able to burst through the line created by his o-line and race 57 yards out the gate to move Lancaster down to the Berks/Lebanon 14-yard line in extremely short order. Then, for the finishing touches, the quarterback now operating Lancaster’s controls, Caileb Howse, the other L-S key cog representing the state silver medalists, sauntered his way into the endzone to break the scoring seal for Lancaster with a 6-yard TD jaunt with Manheim Township’s Johnny Morales following suit with a PAT to make it a 17-7 contest with 2:02 left in the second quarter.
But the hosts weren’t done there prior to recess.
While ignited by their defense, thanks in no small part to Warwick’s Quinn Care nabbing himself a sensational over-the-shoulder interception while working from his defensive back spot, Lancaster’s suddenly white-hot offensive troops raced back onto the field.
One play. One play is all it took for the Lampeter-Strasburg potent duo to work their magic with one another once more.
In this latest example, it was Howse hooking up with Brown for literal damage officially as a 74-yard touchdown concoction between the pair got the blue-clad Lancaster group back within three following a second Morales’ PAT at 17-14 all of a mere 34 seconds following their prior score.
And while that would be the last of the scoring as far as the first half was concerned on Friday night at Elden Rettew Field, perhaps it’s final play of the opening act should’ve served as a precursor of things yet to come as a fumbled snap on a Berks/Lebanon 56-yard field goal attempt led to Cocalico’s Brayden Eppinette scooping the loose pill off turf and racing towards the goal line before getting tripped just one yard shy of paydirt, a harmless yet nonetheless extremely exciting final play prior to both teams retiring to their respective locker rooms for the game’s interlude with the Berks/Lebanon bunch carrying the pleasure of a 17-14 lead.
Maybe it was the fact that an announcement regarding a fireworks show immediately following the game was broadcasted over the PA system during the halftime festivities. Maybe it was the aforementioned play in which Brayden Eppinette quite literally nearly completed a 10-point swing in the game all by his lonesome just prior to the shoelace tackle that tripped him up on the first half’s final play. Whatever “it” was, there were certainly plenty of fireworks — and an overwhelming level of zaniness alike — that quickly enrobed the game’s second half on Friday night in Manheim.
As if to be right on cue, Lancaster wasted all of exactly 33 seconds to make their latest imprint onto the game’s affairs as Carson Weisser, Manheim Township’s signal-caller now starting things off at quarterback to begin the third quarter, found his fellow L-L Section One counterpart, McCaskey’s DeAndre Jones, as the Blue Streak to Red Tornado strike on an easy slant route resulted in Jones taking off and racing 80 yards to the house with his prize as the hosts held possession of the lead for the first time following the very first play from scrimmage in the second act at a 21-17 count.
Two plays. That’s then how long it took Berks/Lebanon to offer an equal rebuttal.
Equal in the sense that it too resulted in a touchdown pass. Unequal in the sense that it was “only” 64 yards by comparison as a dime down the seam thrown by Conrad Weiser’s Donovan Gingrich resulted in the eventual game’s MVP from the Berks/Lebanon side, Carter Redding, being the beneficiary of a 64-yard touchdown reception on what was Berks/Lebanon’s second play of their ensuing series to award the lead back in their favor, 24-21, with 10:30 left to play in the third.
How about another touchdown to follow suit?
Granted, while this response was a bit delayed comparatively speaking to the previous two instances which had kicked off the second half of play, there were still heroics contained within it all the same.
For those, look no further than Manheim Township’s Lex Haberbosch climbing the ladder from his wideout spot while engaged in a tight one-on-one battle against a defensive back with Haberbosch coming down with a sensational grab to extend the Lancaster series on a key 3rd & 2 attempt for a 33-yard pickup. Then, on their next third down play, that too would be equally fruitful for Lancaster as a delayed draw resulted in L-S’ Dom Brown, the game’s eventual MVP representing the Lancaster contingent, darting into the endzone for the 7-yard TD run to make it a 28-24 lead in their favor following Johnny Morales’ fourth successful PAT of the evening with 6:21 left in the third.
Then, upon entering the final quarter, the time seemed ripe for Lancaster to try and land what might have felt to be the lasting knockout punch.
Rest assured, DeAndre Jones certainly had no qualms when it came to doing his part in the assignment with the McCaskey do-everything stud first hauling in a 13-yard reception to move the sticks on a 3rd & 3 play before then coming down with an acrobatic touchdown reception across the middle thrown from Weisser as the Township & McCaskey tandem proved lethal yet again as their 31-yard touchdown then made it a 35-24 Lancaster advantage with 9:16 left to play.
As fate would have it though, that wouldn’t even be enough points for Lancaster in order to win as it turned out.
Not even two minutes later, Berks/Lebanon found paydirt yet again as a 16-yard touchdown authored by Genuine Stutzman came part in parcel with Gingrich being able to hook up with Daniel Boone’s Max Heffner for the 2-pt conversion in the back of the endzone, trimming the existing deficit down to a modest 35-32 difference with 7:40 left to play.
But the scoring baton then just went right back to Lancaster.
Of course, it didn’t hurt matters once Brayden Eppinette was able to pick up the bounding ball on the ensuing kickoff and race down to the Berks/Lebanon 21-yard line in the process, effectively setting Lancaster up for a potential quick score once again. Quick being the operative word there seeing as how Caileb Howse was able to find Hempfield’s Brayden Charles on a fade route for the 21-yard touchdown on the first play of the drive, upping Lancaster’s cushion out to a 42-32 difference with 7:16 left to go.
Yet Berks/Lebanon just kept swinging.
Case in point, a pass from Gingrich to his fellow Conrad Weiser Scout, Evan Rittle, as the pair’s 27-yard connection propelled their side down to Lancaster’s 6-yard line with the opportunity to punch it in once again. Then, fresh off his successful two points from the prior drive, Heffner was able to add half a dozen more into his personal column on the night as his 6-yard touchdown reception from Gingrich then made it a three-point buffer, 42-39, with just 1:37 left to tick off the clock.
And while one may have thought that the door was effectively slammed shut following Octorara’s Chandler Stoltzfus coming up with the ensuing onsides kick attempt to award the next possession to Lancaster, Caileb Howse, the state’s 4A Player of the Year, had other ideas.
There, after receiving new life following a “game infraction” of what was believed to be a blitz which goes against the game’s protocols that had helped result in an incomplete pass on 3rd & 6 to also stop the clock, Lancaster would most certainly make the most of this newfound grant as Howse bided his time behind the line before seeing a hole open up and racing 44 yards to the house to add yet another touchdown to his already marvelous night — much less an exclamation point on his high school career at large — as Howse’s fourth TD of the night sealed the deal for good with Lancaster being able to protect it’s home borders for yet another year following what was an eventual 49-39 final tally come the final buzzer.
Again, while you never necessarily know what exactly to expect in these springtime all-star games, you can best believe that the cast and crew that made up the 2025 version of the Tri-County All-Star Game have most certainly set a high bar for their latter brethren to follow in as time goes on given the heightened level of excitement. A fitting football game that seemed even more apropos with a postgame fireworks display that ended a night well spent.
One Response
Thanks for the great article! My son also played for Berks Lebanon. Even though we lost it was a great game and amazing way to officially finish out the high school career. Now, on to Juniata!