Berks Catholic shoots down Middletown to claim District 3 Class 4A title

(This story will be updated with game details and postgame reaction later today.)

HERSHEY — Berks Catholic’s perimeter shooting had trouble finding the range during two Berks Conference playoff games at Santander Arena. Saints coach Snip Esterly blamed the large arena and depth perception issues that can affect shooters.

The Saints had no such problems on the biggest stage in District 3 Thursday afternoon as they knocked down five first-half 3-pointers and rolled up a big lead in beating Middletown 60-37 for the Class 4A championship.

The district title was the fourth for the Saints in their 11-year history, and their first since 2018. It was the 13th district championship for coach Snip Esterly, who also won nine with Central Catholic.

The top-seeded Saints (23-4) coupled their hot shooting with stellar defense. They held the third-seeded Blue Raiders (20-4) scoreless for more than seven minutes of the first and second quarters and put together a 17-0 scoring run that left them on top 19-4 after one period.

The Saints open the PIAA Tournament Tuesday at home against the still-to-be determined fifth place finisher out of District 12.

The Blue Raiders open state play Tuesday against the third-place finisher from District 2.

Ryan Koch scored in the final second of the first quarter off inbounds pass from Josiah Jordan and scored with no time left on the clock to end the first half when he was fouled on a long 3-pointer. Koch made all free throws for a 32-12 lead.

The Saints extended their lead to 28 points in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.

Josiah Jordan led a balanced scoring attack with 17 points. Koch had 15.

The Blue Raiders opened the season with 12 straight wins before losing to Mid-Penn Capital rivals Trinity and Bishop McDevitt within a five-day span in late January. Their only other loss came to Class 5A qualifier Susquehannock in the final week of the season.

“That was a reminder that we needed to get back to what we do best,” Bradford said of the losses to Middletown’s league rivals. “Since then, we’ve been playing pretty good ball.”

The Blue Raiders beat McDevitt and Trinity in the first two rounds of districts, each by 13 points. Broadie had 17 points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots in the semifinal win over Trinity. Tyson Leach, a sophomore and the first guard off the bench last season, had 15 points and four steals.

Bradford expected to see Berks Catholic at this point. He has closely monitored its progress all season and has been collecting scouting reports for months. He knows full well what his team is in store for.

“We have a really good team in front of us, with a legendary coach (in Snip Esterly), and a proud tradition that goes back a long ways,” he said. “Jay-Jay stands out, but he’s certainly not the only guy on their team that does.

“When a team puts up 174 3’s, that stands out. Not every high school team is capable of doing that. And it’s not like they don’t play against competition that isn’t top notch.”