Berks Catholic can’t find offensive flow in loss to Executive Education
By Chris Deantonio — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
ALLENTOWN — Berks Catholic failed to find a consistent rhythm on offense against Executive Education Charter Friday, falling 20-13 to the Raptors in a non-league game in Allentown.
Every time Berks Catholic seemed to gain momentum or hit its stride on offense, either Executive Education Charter or penalties stopped the Saints.
“We were undisciplined tonight,” said head coach Rick Keeley. “We cost ourselves a lot of yards with penalties, and we’re better than that.
Both teams struggled to move the ball, as the first quarter ended without a score despite some big plays by both sides.
The Saints failed to score on a first quarter fumble recovery by Jackson Haas that gave them the ball deep in Raptors territory.
They eventually broke the tie in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal by Andrew Kurtas. Kurtas also hit a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
The Saints offense was jump-started by a second-quarter kickoff return by Josiah Jordan that gave the Saints possession at Executive Education’s 19. Jordan ran it in for a 9-yard touchdown two plays later.
Jordan finished with a team-high 92 rushing yards and 22 receiving yards. He also scored the Saints’ lone touchdown.
The Saints defense kept them in the game all night, forcing a a turnover-on-downs to start the second half and an interception by Kevin Olivier to start off the fourth quarter.
“Our kids played hard the whole game,” said Keeley.
The Saints defense limited the Raptors to just one touchdown in the second half, but the offense was stalled by penalties, and an interception of its own.
Quarterback Darmel Lopez led Executive Education on back-to-back scoring drives in the second quarter, both capped with big touchdown passes. Lopez avoided pressure most of the night, until two sacks in the fourth quarter set Berks Catholic up with the ball near midfield.
The Saints gave the ball back on a bad snap just three plays later, however.
Lopez connected with Emery Plummer for a 12-yard score and Damon Young for a 27-yard touchdown. Plummer had a game-high nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.
Lopez completed 19-of-30 pass attempts for 269 yards and three touchdowns, including the game winner on a 34-yard pass to Anthony Roman in the third quarter. He also threw one interception. Zamier Perkins led the Raptors on the ground, finishing with 16 carries for 82 yards.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 13 |
| Executive Education | 0 | 13 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Kurtas, 22 FG | 8:34 |
| 2 | Executive Education | Plummer, 12 pass from Lopez (Cruz kick) | 2:17 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 9 run (Kurtas kick) | 1:10 |
| 2 | Executive Education | Young, 27 pass from Lopez (kick failed) | 0:38 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Kurtas, 27 FG | 0:00 |
| 3 | Executive Education | Roman, 34 pass from Lopez (Cruz kick) | 3:40 |
Team statistics
| Berks Catholic | Executive Education | |
| First downs | 12 | 20 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-164 | 25-75 |
| Passing yards | 30 | 269 |
| Total yards | 194 | 344 |
| Passes | 5-7-1 | 19-30-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-31.5 | 2-35.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-107 | 11-97 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Berks Catholic: Jordan 15-92, Garcia 7-43, Blythe 4-35, Armistead 6-4, Hess 2-(-10)
Executive Education: Perkins 16-82, Rodriguez 1-3, Ellington, 1-(-1), Team 3-(-3), Lopez 4-(-6)
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Hess 5-7-1-30
Executive Education: Lopez 19-30-1-269
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Armistead 2-5, Jordan 2-22, Garcia 1-3
Executive Education: Plummer 9-111, Rodriguez 5-58, Roman 2-53, Ellington 1-4, Perkins 1-16, Young 1-27
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Olivier
Executive Education: Styles
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Berks Catholic: Kurtas 35