Nafis Blythe has found a home — and a win — at Berks Catholic
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Nafis Blythe is listed on the Berks Catholic roster as a safety and has also played some linebacker this season. Friday night he played defensive end for the first time and by the look of it, he might’ve found a position that Saints coach Rick Keeley won’t want to change.
“He is a gifted athlete,” Keeley said. “This game we moved him up into the defensive end spot and I think he found a home there. He really, really (stood out) there tonight.”
Blythe had three sacks and recovered a fumble for a suddenly stingy Saints defense that held Donegal to 109 total yards on their way to a 21-9 Lancaster-Lebanon Section 4 victory at Forino Sports Complex.
“I found a permanent home,” Blythe said.
That statement can double in another area as Blythe, a junior, moved from Philadelphia and transferred to Berks Catholic after playing at West Catholic.
“I love Berks Catholic,” Blythe said. “I’m coming from Philly, I’m transferring up here and I’m having a great year. I’m really proud to be a Saint now.”
Berks Catholic (1-1, 1-4) is happy to have him, especially after he helped the Saints get in the ‘W’ column after they lost their first four games to begin a season for the first time in program history.
The Saints’ first four opponents were nothing to scoff at: Loyalsock, Executive Education, Pope John Paul II and Wyomissing. All aren’t bad losses and the Saints showed signs of life in the “Backyard Brawl” last week.
It was uncharacteristic the way in which the Saints lost, giving up over 400 yards a game. That changed Friday.
Donegal rushed for only 48 rushing yards and deployed a similar Wing-T offense that Berks Catholic uses. The Saints had 168 rushing yards. Clean up the turnovers and who’s to say they can’t right the ship.
“I’m definitely trying to turn the season around and pick up my team,” Blythe said. “Just keep working at practice every week and we’re not going to stop. We just kept focused on defense because defense wins championships.
“And you know, my offense, (Josiah) JayJay (Jordan) is going to keep running. He’s going to keep scoring and he’s going to get a lot of yards.”
Jordan worked his typical magic on the field to the tune of 106 rushing yards, but the Saints struggled holding onto the ball in the first half as Donegal caused them to commit four turnovers by way of three fumbles and an interception.
The Indians (0-2, 1-4) couldn’t capitalize and trailed 7-3 at the break after Jordan scored on a 1-yard run with 53.5 seconds left in the second quarter.
Jordan got rolling in the second half scoring a 4-yarder with 2:01 left in the third; then he took a punt 56 yards to the house with 11:46 left in the game.
It appears nobody in Section 4 (or District 3 and maybe even the state) will touch Wyomissing, but with games against challengers Lampeter-Strasburg, Conrad Weiser and Cocalico still on the schedule, the Saints can be competitive in section.
“Coming off last week against a big competitor in Wyomissing, that sparked a little bit for us,” Jordan said. “We came ready to play (against Wyo) and we just brought that same energy back to this game. We want to get rolling now. Full-steam ahead.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Donegal | 0 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Donegal | Rohrer, 28 FG | 11:22 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 1 run (Kurtas kick) | :53.5 |
| 3 | Donegal | Rohrer, 5 run (Rohrer kick failed) | 8:38 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 4 run (Garcia run) | 2:01 |
| 4 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 56 punt return | 11:46 |
Team statistics
| Donegal | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 9 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-48 | 39-168 |
| Passing yards | 61 | 48 |
| Total yards | 109 | 216 |
| Passes | 7-13-0 | 2-4-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 5-4 |
| Punts-average | 4-25 | 1-41 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-36 | 6-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Donegal: Rohrer 16-52, White 7-13, Mumper 8-11, Baughman 6-(-28).
Berks Catholic: Jordan 16-106, Garcia 9-37, Armistead 6-24, Bradley 1-15, Blythe 5-13, Hess 1-(-2), Team 1-(-25).
PASSING
Donegal: Baughman 7-13-0–61.
Berks Catholic: Hess 2-4-1–48.
RECEIVING
Donegal: Turbedsky 2-20, Rohrer 2-15, White 1-12, Robertson 1-9, Mumper 1-5.
Berks Catholic: Geddio 1-32, Jordan 1-16.
INTERCEPTIONS
Donegal: Turbedsky.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Donegal: Rohrer 32.