This week’s semifinal round for four Berks County teams will either end in an eruption of jubilation or absolute 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 this Friday and Saturday.

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

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

“They were excited to have another opportunity to play Conestoga Valley,” said Exeter coach Matt Bauer. “That kind of was their goal. Very excited, very sky high. We had to knock them back down to reality because the jobs not done.”

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 get their starting quarterback, Riley Martinez, back from injury.

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

“He (Riley Martinez) should make an appearance,” Bauer said. “We don’t know until we see it. We’re going to give them our best effort. Jake Hafer did a great job up to this point and to get us to this point. You’re going to see a lot of him too. So we’ll see what happens and who gives us a better chance to win.”

Exeter quarterback Riley Martinez is on the sidelines with an ankle injury during the 28-27 Conestoga Valley victory over the Eagles on Friday at Don Thomas Stadium. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

The Eagles’ lone loss, 28-27, came after 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 has thrown for 1,936 and 23 touchdowns on 106-of-173 attempts.

In their first matchup, Esbenshade accounted for all four of his team’s touchdowns, three in 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 No. 3 Central York.

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

“I think they were anxious. The bye week we backed off a bit, just did a lot of technique work and things like that,” Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms said of his team coming off a bye. “They got a little antsy and they wanted to play. This group wants to play.”

All three phases of the game have been rolling for the Bulldogs.

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

Wilson’s Madyx Gruber runs 44 yards for a touchdown in a 28-3 District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal victory over Cedar Crest at John Gurski Stadium on Friday, Nov. 8, 2024. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

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

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

“Obviously they have a nice passing game with a bunch of really good receivers, couple of speed demons, and a couple of tall ones,” Dahms said. “Nace scrambles well and finds people. So, we’re mixing coverages up, try to confuse them a little bit. Get a little pressure on them, if we can. The more pressure you have, the more likely he’s going to struggle to find the open man.”

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

“As we said, ‘When playoffs begin, everyone is 0-0.’ This is do or die, because if you lose, you go home, it’s not like regular season where you get to play again. So, we push the issue,” Dahms said. “The team that wants to keep playing is the one that is going to win. They’ve been good about it and been pretty intense.”

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

The Raiders (9-2) also seek to avenge their Week 9 loss against No. 1 Lampeter-Strasburg.

“We don’t worry much 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 in the end we’re just focused on us getting better blocking and tackling, and trying to work on us and not worrying too much about who we play.”

Twin Valley fell 62-14 in an uncharacteristic loss where they could not get anything going.

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

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

After a bye in the first round, the Raiders defeated 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.

Twin Valley’s Drew Engle one-hands a 31-yard touchdown pass for the Raiders’ second touchdown during a District 3 Class 4A semifinal loss to Manheim Central Friday at Elverson. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

“Drew’s impact is probably a lot 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 likes to play and I’m just happy that for him, that he got a chance to get back on the field this year.”

Engle has over 2,000 yards on the ground in his career and will play a valuable role Friday night.

“It’s just exciting to get back to play,” Myers said. “Our guys earned another week and they took advantage of this week by having a great week of practice.”

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

Wyomissing’s Daniel Fleischood breaks tacklers on a 34-yard touchdown run in a District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal victory over East Pennsboro on Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, at Bob Wolfurm Field. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

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

The Bulldogs beat Eastern York 5-3 last week to advance to 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 real well,” Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum said. “The things we take pride in is that when people like to bring people, we can still block them and not do anything special, just block the rules that we have. These guys bring the house a lot, and we’re trying to sell the kids that, hey, you just follow your rule and I don’t care where they’re coming from, you block them, and we’ll be fine. And that’s what we have to do.”

Offensively, the Spartans will be without their star running back, Justice Hardy, for the second consecutive game due to an injury he suffered against Lampeter-Strasburg in Week 10.

Hardy has been one of Wyomissing’s biggest playmakers and Wolfrum is hopeful he can return for the Class 4A championship if they come out with a win this week.

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

The Spartans have never lost a playoff game at home.

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

If the streak is to continue on Bob Wolfrum Field, the Spartans will have to limit the big plays from the Bulldogs.

“We have to put pressure on them,” Wolfrum said. “They’re a big play team. They’re not very big, they’re young, but we got to make sure we don’t give them big plays. If we keep them away from that, I think we’ll be OK.”

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.