Twin Valley football team ready to remain on the rise in 2023

Aug. 16—Coming off its first District 3 playoff win in program history, the Twin Valley football team has put in the work this offseason to have another standout year in 2023. And furthermore, it seems as though the Raiders are ready for people to take notice.

"We've been working really hard, come out and see us," said Twin Valley defensive end Ben Savidge, a senior. "I think if we just pound the ball down people's throats we'll dominate anyone."

Twin Valley has been on the rise in recent years. The Raiders earned their first District 3 playoff appearance in 2021 before earning the historic 43-29 Class 4A quarterfinal win over Milton Hershey last fall. Perhaps coinciding with an up-and-coming mentality, the goal for second-year head coach Brett Myers is for his team to grow each and every week while representing the school positively.

"Our goal is to make the community proud with the way we play," Myers said. "(Being) successful will just be improving every week. If we block and tackle better every week, we'll get better every week.

"The community that we represent is a hard-working community that's dedicated to our athletes and our students, and we want to represent them well."

A balanced offense that accumulated the fifth-most rushing yards (2,726) and fifth-most passing yards (1,196) among Berks teams returns several key pieces from a team that finished 3-3 in Section 3 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League and 7-5 overall.

Junior Evan Johnson is back as the team's leading rusher and a focal point of the offense. After recording 992 rushing yards, 158 receiving yards and 17 touchdowns in 2022, Johnson said he believes Twin Valley's offense will remain dynamic.

"I think we're gonna go with whatever we game plan for the week; it all depends on who we play," Johnson said when asked about the team's offensive strategy. "The defense will never know what's coming."

At quarterback, junior Evan Myers, the head coach's son, will start for the third straight year after completing 70-of-140 passes for 1,106 yards and six touchdowns with three interceptions as a sophomore. He also proved to be a dual-threat by recording five rushing touchdowns and 493 rushing yards in 2022.

Echoing his father's sentiments, Evan Myers said he and his teammates are keen on maintaining consistent improvement throughout the season.

"We're getting better each and every week," Evan Myers said. "Don't worry about what happened in the week before or what's two weeks down the road, we'll worry about the week we're on. We all lead as a team together, keeping each other's heads up and making sure we're getting better every day.

"We're taking it week-by-week. We could go out and play a state champion in Week 1 and go play the worst team in the state in Week 2 and I think we're going to take it the same way."

In addition, sophomore running back and free safety Drew Engle will serve as another option for the ground game after running for 219 yards and scoring four touchdowns as a freshman.

"Both those guys (Evan Myers and Johnson) can run well; they both have good vision," Brett Myers said. "They've been playing sports together since they're 6 years old, so that's a nice touch because they know each other very well.

"There's a lot of guys back. Drew Engle is back; he was an all-league special teams player last year and started on defense. There's a lot of weapons with a pretty big line so there should be some interesting things."

Similar to the offense, the Raiders return a plethora of starters on defense, including team captain and junior linebacker/defensive tackle Ean Winchester.

At 6-2, 250 pounds, Winchester, a three-sport athlete who wrestles and plays lacrosse, provides strength and speed on offense and defense.

In 2022, Winchester had over 70 tackles and nine sacks. As a tight end, he caught 14 passes for 209 yards.

"We have eight returning starters on defense; most of the secondary is back and our entire D-line is back," Brett Myers said, "but the more important thing is we got some guys that are gonna push them, the starters from last year. We got some good competition going and that goes for both sides of the ball."

The aforementioned competition and hunger for advancement may prove to be a pivotal factor in Twin Valley's hunt for an even deeper district playoff run.

According to senior center and defensive tackle Noah Roehm, Brett Myers' coaching philosophy is a process that brings out the best in everyone and drives success.

"One of Coach Myers' biggest things is just stacking from day-to-day and trying to get better than the last (day) and focus on one week at a time," Roehm said. "One of the things we implemented this year was a Millersville (training) camp. It was three days over a weekend and I thought even though it was really brutal, it was good for the team and, overall, made guys better.

"He gets us to play at an elite level. He always says that he's not the one on the team, he's just supposed to guide us and he'll try to help us the best he can."

Indeed, a young team with plenty of potential believes it can compete with anyone and be a contender in Section 3.

"I'd like to think our kids can compete with everybody on our schedule," Brett Myers said. "I definitely think Ephrata, Solanco and E-town (Elizabethtown) are top teams, and we're hoping to be able to compete.

"We're just going to work hard and hope you come out and see us."

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A look at the Raiders

Coach: Brett Myers, second season (103-65 in 15 seasons, eight at Middletown and six at Pottstown).

Last year: 3-3 Section 3, 7-5. District 3 Class 4A semifinalist.

PIAA classification: 4A.

Schedule: Aug. 25, Schuylkill Valley; Sept. 1, at Lower Dauphin; Sept. 8, at Conrad Weiser; Sept. 15, Fleetwood; Sept. 22, at Elizabethtown; Sept. 29, at Solanco; Oct. 6, Garden Spot; Oct. 13, at Ephrata; Oct. 20, Daniel Boone; Oct. 27, Hatboro-Horsham.