Boys: Reading tops Chester in back-and-forth contest

Larenzo Jerkins (above) had a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

By Josh Verlin

Every time Chester and Reading play, Rick Perez knows it’s going to be a fight to the finish. 

Reading coach Rick Perez guided the Red Knights to state titles in 2017 and 2021. (Photo: Josh Verlin/CoBL)

The Red Knights’ coach has been there for enough battles with the Clippers — like the one two years ago that saw his Reading side escape with a four-point win thanks to a late Moro Osumanu block, or the five-point Chester win a year before that.

So even though Reading’s the defending PIAA 6A state champs and even though Chester’s dealing with a mix of youth and inexperience, Perez wasn’t fooled into thinking his Red Knights would have it easy Wednesday night at the Clip Joint.

“You’re coming to Chester, what do you think you’re going to do up here?” he laughed. “You’re going to come up here, you’ve got to earn your stripes.”

For both sides, playing one another is a bit like looking in the mirror.

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