City of Basketball Love

Matt Gaffney (@GaffReports)
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For decades, the traditional early season non-league matchup between the Reading High Red Knights and the Chester Clippers has served as a December test for both schools and a potential preview of a state playoff matchup later in the season.

Two elite 6A Pennsylvania high school programs with a rich tapestry of championship seasons like Reading and Chester don’t just hope to play in March – they plan to play in March. 

This season isn’t any different. The current incarnation of the Red Knights is a contender once again and for good reason. With a talented roster, they have every expectation to be playing for both another District 3 championship and state title.

Reading came into the game undefeated and after a 71-57 victory over the Clippers, the Red Knights remained perfect, improving their record to 7-0.  

“Chester has been playing some pretty good basketball. We’ve also been playing some very good basketball so we just wanted to make sure we put out the best product that we could on the floor,” Reading coach Rick Perez said. “We didn’t necessarily do that in terms of stats and energy but we did show ourselves today that we can win in various ways.”

Despite having standout players like Kevin Rucker Jr. and Larenzo Jerkins transfer out of the program, the Clippers maintain a “play anyone, anywhere, at any time” mentality. Their schedule, which is loaded with powerhouse programs like Reading, is evidence that Chester’s play anyone mindset remains a reality.

The ‘22-23 version of this annual battle was the typical hard-nosed, emotional game one would expect.

The Red Knights and Rider commit Ruben Rodriguez came out firing with the All-State guard hitting two 3-pointers, literally blowing a kiss to the Clippers’ bench welcoming them to the Geigle. 

Reading opened the game with a 13-4 run but Terrence Cobb and his Chester teammates were unfazed. Cobb is a flat-out gamer who kept attacking Reading with a number of deep treys. He and backcourt mate Kyree Womack kept Chester in the game early on as they combined for 19 of the Clippers’ 23 first-half points.

Midway through the second quarter, Reading had Chester on the ropes as they opened up an 11-point lead, but behind Cobb and Womack refused to roll over and the Clippers cut the lead to six by half.

In the second half, however, Rodriguez showed why he is one of the state’s top players as he scored 18 of his game-high 26 points. Every time Chester pulled within five points, the Red Knights had answers. Usually, it was Rodriguez, but teammates Yadiel Cruz (14 points) and Myles Grey (10 points) joined him in double figures to keep Reading balanced.

“Chester always has a good program. Every year they’re physical, they’re very athletic and very well-coached,” said Rodriguez. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy and they were going to fight. We didn’t play as well as we could have but we got the ‘dub’.”

Getting a career night in scoring from Cruz and reserve guard Nico Sosa (9 points) provided a nice spark for the Red Knights off the bench.

“It’s a confidence builder for later on down the line,” Perez said. “Those guys have worked hard and prepared for this moment, so they deserve it, we deserve it as a team, so I’m just thankful that they were able to do that.”

Chester’s Cobb, who finished with 24 points, hit six threes and did everything he could to keep the Clippers in it. The 6-1 senior guard’s toughness and long-range shooting were on display throughout the night.

“We try to play together and whoever has the hot hand that night, we are going to feed whoever that is,” he said.

But Reading’s depth, quickness and defensive pressure proved to be too much as it forced Chester to play from behind all game.

Despite coming up short, Cobb welcomed the challenge of facing one of the state’s top programs and being a part of the storied history between the two schools.

“It is a great test for us to play Reading,” Cobb said. “They are definitely a great team and have all respect for them. It’s a great rivalry and I’m happy to be a part of it.”

Clippers coach Keith Taylor Sr. was pleased with his team’s effort except in one area – turnovers.

“We played with heart and played hard. They did everything that we asked them to do, except take care of the basketball,” Taylor said. “That hurt us a lot, but we played hard. We came up here to get a win and that didn’t happen so we just have to move on.”

Though he was disappointed his team didn’t get the win, Taylor clearly enjoys the annual matchup between the two schools.

“I love it. Two of the winningest programs in Pennsylvania. They have well over 2,000 wins. We are coming up on it (two-thousand). I love the competition, I love coming here (Geigle Complex) and the atmosphere and they love it when they come to our place. We just want to keep the tradition going.”

Reading’s Perez, who recently became the school’s all-time winningest coach, values the Chester rivalry as well.

“There’s a mutual respect we have for each other, our communities, our people. We have beautiful communities and beautiful people. Our kids go through a lot to be able to perform at these high levels as student-athletes. Kudos to them for representing their communities and their families. We respect them one hundred percent.”

By Quarter
Chester:  10  |  13  |  15  |  19  ||  57
Reading: 15  |  14  |  17  |  25  ||  71

Chester: Cobb 24, Womack 13, Atkinson 7, Williams 4, Coleman 3, Toy 2, Chambers 2, Thompson 2

Reading: Rodriguez 26, Cruz 14, Grey 10, Sosa 9, Rodrigues 8, Burdine 4