Four turnovers lead to Saints’ district playoff exit
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Bermudian Springs 42, Berks Catholic 25
By Josh Micsky — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
YORK SPRINGS — Turnovers cost Berks Catholic dearly in league losses to Lancaster Catholic and Schuylkill Valley this season.
Those mistakes again haunted the Saints in a 42-25 loss to top-seeded Bermudian Springs Friday in a District 3 Class 3A semifinal.
Berks Catholic outgained Bermudian Springs by more than 20 yards had seven more first downs but lost the turnover battle 4-0.
“We were as physical as we could be the whole time,” said Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler. “We had some guys get hurt too, which didn’t help us. I just wish we could have kept our composure so we could stay in it for a little longer.”
The fifth-seeded Saints (7-5) were hoping to reach the championship and get another shot at Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 rival Schuylkill Valley, the last team to beat them.
The Panthers, as it turned out, didn’t make it to the championship game, either, losing to Trinity in overtime in the other semifinal.
Bermudian Springs moves on to face Trinity for the Class 3A championship next week.
Solid offense and fighting through adversity was the Saints’ story in this quarterfinal.
Back in Week 7, Berks Catholic trailed Kutztown 28-7 at halftime on their home turf. It battled back for a 35-34 win, preventing a three-game losing streak and starting what became a five-game winning streak.
Saints coach Dave Stahler lauded the work of his team captains in that moment to pull the team back on track and get them into the playoffs.
“They were great teammates to each other and they were tough,” he said.
The Saints’ toughness was evident up right away Friday. After seeing a deflected pass get picked off four plays in and giving up a touchdown on the ensuing possession the Saints responded with an eight-play touchdown drive capped by a 1-yard sneak by Zach Suski.
Suski, who set Berks Catholic single-season records this season for passing yards, carried the Saints during their winning streak with his accurate passing.
He was held well below his season average Friday, completing just 11-of-21 passes. He also had two fluky interceptions, one on the deflected ball and the other on a “Hail Mary” on the final play of the first half.
The most consequential play of the game came midway through the second quarter when an apparent Suski touchdown pass was disallowed following a discussion by the officials. The incompletion forced the Saints to settle for a field goal and a 10-7 lead.
Berks Catholic controlled the tempo for most of the first half, using a heavy dose of Nathaniel Rose, who ran 17 times for 76 yards. Rose finished with 135 yards rushing. The grind-it-out strategy worked well when Berks Catholic was in the lead or tied but it became harder once Bermudian Springs went in front.
By the time Berks Catholic touched the ball on offense for the first time in the third quarter it trailed 21-10. Forced to go to the air more, Berks Catholic gave up a sack that resulted in Suski landing on his head and leaving the game for a handful of plays.
His replacement, Cole Harter, completed a clutch 50-yard pass to Jackson Kozik on a third down to set up an Owen Schalk touchdown run.
With a two-point conversion the Saints pulled within 21-18 but Bermudian Springs answered with back-to-back touchdowns.
Things went downhill quickly for the Saints in a fourth quarter marred by personal fouls for illegal hits and extracurricular activity after the whistle.
Suski was forced from the game for a second time early in the fourth quarter after taking a massive hit after throwing away a pass. A few plays later Suski returned and threw incomplete toward Rose, who was also rocked, this time drawing a flag and the ire of some of his Saints teammates. Suski was then hit late out of bounds and tensions boiled over, with BC’s Damoni Daglis being ejected.
Scott Duffy had the lone touchdown for Berks Catholic in the fourth quarter, pulling the Saints within 35-25, but Bermudian Springs recovered the ensuing onside kick and put the game away with its sixth touchdown.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 7 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 25 |
| Bermudian Springs | 7 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Bermudian Springs | Gautsch, 37 pass from L. Hubbard (Lua kick) | 7:20 |
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Suski 1 run (Osorio kick) | 4:25 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Osorio, 26 FG | 8:28 |
| 2 | Bermudian Springs | Sebright, 44 pass from L. Hubbard (Lua kick) | 4:35 |
| 3 | Bermudian Springs | L. Hubbard, 27 run (Lua kick) | 9:42 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Schalk, 1 run (Schalk, pass from Suski) | 3:44 |
| 3 | Bermudian Springs | Watkins, 48 pass from L. Hubbard (Lua kick) | 0:51 |
| 4 | Bermudian Springs | Heller, 17 pass from L. Hubbard (Lua kick) | 11:01 |
| 4 | Berks Catholic | Duffy, 13 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 5:00 |
| 4 | Bermudian Springs | Sebright, 12 run (Lua kick) | 2:09 |
Team statistics
| Berks Catholic | Bermudian | |
| First downs | 22 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 50-214 | 28-146 |
| Passing yards | 164 | 210 |
| Total yards | 378 | 356 |
| Passes | 12-22-2 | 10-12-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-27 | 2-30.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-60 | 4-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Berks Catholic: Rose 28-135, Schalk 6-31, Gumby 7-24, Kozik 1-9, Rios 1-9, Curley 3-7, Suski 4-(-1).
Bermudian Springs: L. Hubbard 4-42, Sebright 11-41, Heller 7-40, Gautsch 4-27, Team 2 (-4)
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Suski 11-21-2–114, Harter 1-1-0–50.
Bermudian Springs: L. Hubbard 10-12-0–210.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Kozik 4-90, Duffy 4-35, Gumby 2-25, Schalk 1-10, Sutton 1-4
Bermudian Springs: Gautsch 4-58, D. Hubbard 2-40, Heller 2-20, Watkins 1-48. Sebright 1-44.
INTERCEPTIONS
Bermudian Springs: Heller, Gautsch.
