Cocalico grinds down Berks Catholic, ends Saints’ district playoff hopes

(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)

Sam Steffey and Cocalico wore down Berks Catholic with its ground-pounding Veer offense Friday, the Eagles controlling the game en route to a 31-10 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 victory at Forino Sports Complex.

Steffey ran 42 times for 234 yards and scored three touchdowns for the Eagles (4-2, 5-4).

The loss all but eliminates the Saints (3-3, 3-6) from contention for a spot in the District 3 Class 3A playoffs.

The game was tied 10-10 late in third quarter before Steffey’s 9-yard TD run with 2:12 left put Cocalico on top 17-10.

Steffey’s 4-yard TD run made it 24-10 with 7:15 remaining.

The Saints tied it 10-10 just before the half when Josiah Jordan returned an interception 25 yards to the Cocalico 40, setting up a 23-yard field goal by Andrew Kurtz 15 seconds before intermission.

Cocalico kept the ball nearly eight minutes on its opening drive, using a 15-play drive to take the lead. Steffey carried eight times on the drive, the last a 2-yard TD.

Berks Catholic didn’t need nearly that much time to tie it. Jordan ran 24 yards, to the Cocalico 34, on the first play and went the final 23 four plays later to make it 7-7.

Cocalico used another ball-hogging drive — 12 plays, 6 1/2 minutes — to move to the 1, but had to settle for a field goal and 10-7 lead after a pair of penalties, both coming at the BC 1.

The Eagles controlled the first half, running 32 plays from scrimmage, compared to 15 by the Saints, but couldn’t take advantage of it.

The teams met last year at Berks Catholic, where Josiah Jordan broke off a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs as the Saints overcame an early deficit to score a 21-7 win last season in a District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal.

The fifth-seeded Eagles led 7-0 before defensive end Tyler Givens intercepted a pass late in the first half and Christian Cacchione ran 36 yards for the tying TD.

In the second half Jordan scored on runs of 47 and 32 runs and the Saints defense stifled the Eagles’ Veer offense, which produced a 14-play scoring drive on its opening possession. They limited Cocalico to 187 rushing yards, more than 100 below its average.

Berks Catholic entered the week ranked No. 7 in the District 3 Class 3A playoff race, where the top six qualify. If the Saints fall short of a district berth they’ll head to the Eastern Conference playoffs, where they’re positioned to host the 3A championship game.

Both teams have faced rugged schedules their season, making a return to districts difficult.

Berks Catholic’s .619 strength-of-schedule rating after eight weeks was higher than any Class 3A team in District 3 and all but one 4A team. The Saints have played Wyomissing (8-0), Pope John Paul II (8-0), Loyalsock (7-1) and Lampeter-Strasburg (7-1).

Cocalico’s tough schedule has included losses to three unbeaten teams: Solanco (21-7), Manheim Central (35-19) and Wyomissing (38-7). Other loss came to Lampeter-Strasburg (7-1) in Section 4 play.

	1	2	3	4	Final
Cocalico	7	3	7	14	31
Berks Catholic	7	3	0	0	10

Scoring summary

1	Cocalico	Steffey, 2 run (Roos kick)	2:25
1	Berks Catholic	Jordan  23 run (Kurtz kick)	0:32
2	Cocalico	Poplis, 25 FG	6:07
2	Berks Catholic	Kurtz, 23 FG	0:15
3	Cocalico	Steffey, 9 run (Roos kick)	2:12
4	Cocalico	Steffey, 4 run (Popolis kick)	7:15
4	Cocalico	Weaver, 1 run (Roos kick)	1:17

Team statistics

	Cocalico	Berks Catholic
First downs	21	7
Rushes-yards	60-314	29-98
Passing yards	6	33
Total yards	320	131
Passes	1-3-1	2-6-0
Fumbles-lost	2-0	2-1
Punts-average	0-0	4-34.2
Penalties-yards	7-55	7-65

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Cocalico: Steffey 42-234, Longenecker 6-36, Myer 8-32, Angstadt 1-7, Weaver 2-6.

Berks Catholic: Jordan 13-83, Garcia 4-18, Blythe 4-16, Bradley 1-(-1), Armistead 3-(-7), Hess 4-(-11).

PASSING

Cocalico: Myer 1-3-1–6.

Berks Catholic: Hess 2-6-0–33.

RECEIVING

Cocalico: Angstadt 1-6.

Berks Catholic: Geddio 1-24, Jordan 1-9.

INTERCEPTIONS

Berks Catholic: Jordan.