Saints hope West Reading championship sparks championship run next season
Winning a summer league championship won’t make up for last season’s woes at Berks Catholic but it certainly should give the Saints a major boost going into their 2021-22 season.
“This does a lot for our team chemistry,” said rising junior wing Ryan Koch after he helped Berks Packing defeat Riverview Bank 62-52 in the title game of the Ron Krick Memorial Summer League last week at West Reading Elementary Center. “We have a full team coming back, and we’re (expecting) to have a good year.”
The Saints suffered through the first losing season in the program’s sparkling 10-year history. They finished 6-11 and missed the postseason for the first time. They were young and without a senior in the starting lineup after two key players transferred out in the early weeks of the season.
“It was tough, too, coming into the newer division, with all the big schools,” said Koch of the Saints’ move to Division I of the Berks Conference, where they’re now aligned with Reading High, Wilson, Gov. Mifflin and Exeter. “It was a big step for us. Coming through (everything we did) that whole year, I feel like this year will be a good year for us.”
The Saints showed they’re ready for a little payback. They came from behind against a tough Wilson team, battled hard inside and knocked down enough 3’s and free throws to pull ahead by as many as 14 points in late in the second half.
They also got a huge effort on both ends from Josiah “JayJay” Jordan, clearly one of the league’s most improved players heading into next season.
He led the Saints in scoring a year ago but has racheted his game up a notch or two. He’s got a powerful first step to the basket and finishes with a flare. He scored 20 in the championship game against a Wilson team that always making playing defense a priority.
“When JayJay kicks and drives, it’s a good thing (for us),” said Koch. “When they start closing in on him, it leaves me, Aidan (Sands) and Jack (Miller) open for 3’s, which is nice.”
Koch finished with 15 points, including a pair of 3’s; he was named the league’s Outstanding Player. Sands knocked down three 3’s and scored 11 points. Tyler Givens supplied 10 points and a lot of hustle all over the court.
“We have a lot more confidence shooting (indoors),” said Sands, “because (when you’re playing) outside a lot of shots will rim out. In here, it’s like a regular game; we like it more.”
The game was moved inside due to afternoon and evening thunderstorms.
After a slow start, the Saints began to click on offense and slowly pulled away.
“One of their guards got in foul trouble, and JayJay was able to penetrate a little more, and it opened up our 3-point shooters a little,” said Berks Catholic coach Snip Esterly. “Aidan made some, Ryan hit a couple. With JayJay’s penetration, he just makes everybody better.”
The Bulldogs, who will be almost totally rebuilt after their tremendous two-year run with Stevie Mitchell and his crew, showed they’ll be a tough out, as well. Their bigs, Ofure Odiale and Foday Sillah, have each made big strides on the offensive end (Sillah had 13 in the final).
Plus, they’ve got Cam Jones, who is ready to emerge as one of the top guards in the league. He kept Riverside in it, finishing with a game-high 24 points, including three 3’s.
“Wilson was ready to play,” Esterly said. “You could see, they were pumped. This had a little playoff atmosphere to it, and (felt like) a league game, as well. It was fun. Wilson played their hearts out, and we did, too. The second half was the best we’ve played all summer.”
That’s saying a lot, considering that Berks Packing had the league’s best record during the regular season, including a pair of prior wins over Wilson.
The Saints went through growing pains last season but they’re ready to return to the playoffs. Sands, Givens and Aaron Reinhart are rising seniors; Koch, Jordan and Miller will be juniors.
“Last year we played three teams that won a state title, plus Wilson twice,” said Esterly, whose team lost twice to PIAA Class 6A champ Reading High, and once each to 4A champ Allentown Central Catholic (44-34) and 1A champ Nativity (52-50). “We lost six games to state champions. And we were in (most of) those games.”
West Reading All-Stars
Division 1
| Jay Aviles | Cedar Crest |
| Keegan Coldren | Wilson |
| Trevor Evans | Warwick |
| Cleveland Harding | Wilson |
| Matt Harley | Gov. Mifflin |
| Josiah Jordan | Berks Catholic |
| Ryan Fink | Warwick |
| Ryan Koch | Berks Catholic |
| Delsin McNeil | Gov. Mifflin |
| Aidan Sands | Berks Catholic |
| Teddy Snyder | Exeter |
Division 2
| David Bednarczyk | Tulpehocken |
| Mason Campbell | Ephrata |
| Beau Altman | Twin Valley |
| Matt DiGiacomo | Daniel Boone |
| Charlie Dobb | Conrad Weiser |
| Jaden Kelly | Oley Valley |
| Julian O’Brien | Wyomissing |
| Hector Tiburcio | Antietam |
| Ty Yerger | Oley Valley |
| Danny Yost | Twin Valley |
| Ben Zechman | Wyomissing |