Berks Catholic stops Donegal in red zone to preserve win
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Joel Schreiner — LNP/Lancasteronline
MOUNT JOY — Berks Catholic stopped Donegal’s fourth-down option pass play late in the game and held on for a 19-16 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 win Friday night.
The injury bug and mistakes were too much to overcome for Donegal. Playing without a healthy kicker, trailing by three late in the game, the Indians faced a fourth-and-goal from deep inside the red zone but had to go for it instead of trying a game-tying field goal.
The Indians (0-2, 2-3) had first-and-goal at the Berks Catholic 8 but a fumbled snap, had a broken play that went for a loss that pushed them back to the 12 and an incomplete pass on third down.
On fourth down quarterback Brock Hammaker pitched to running back Nick Beaulieu, who threw a pass back to Hammaker, but the QB only gained 6 yards and Donegal turned it over on downs with 3:55 to play.
Following a motion penalty that pushed them back to their own 3, Saints running back Bryce Gumby dashed through the line and scampered 47 yards to midfield to essentially clinch the win.
Junior quarterback Zach Suski made his first start for the Saints (1-1, 2-3), who typically don’t throw much. Suski completed 5-of-7 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown.
Starting quarterback Will Hess was knocked out of last week’s loss at Wyomissing.
“We played hard and I’m proud of the way we played,” Donegal coach Anthony Sottasante said. “We had an opportunity to win the game, but we’re making too many mental mistakes. Six fumbles (only one lost), bad snaps, missed assignments. It was a winnable game.”
Berks Catholic next visits Conrad Weiser while Donegal faces Wyomissing.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
| Donegal | 0 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 16 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Gumby, 2 run (kick blocked) | 4:12 |
| 2 | Donegal | Mumper, 6 run (Sload run) | 9:22 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Mace, 33 pass from Suski (run failed) | 5:19 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Suski, 1 run (Osorio kick) | 2:30 |
| 3 | Donegal | Baughman, 3 run (Mumper pass from Hammaker) | 2:53 |
Team statistics
| Berks Catholic | Donegal | |
| First downs | 14 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 45-203 | 31-144 |
| Passing yards | 95 | 90 |
| Total yards | 298 | 234 |
| Passes | 5-7-0 | 8-15-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 6-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-28 | 1-30 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-61 | 1-5 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Berks Catholic: Gumby 7-72, Bradley 14-69, Garcia 10-55, Rose 5-14, Pennington 3-3, Curley 3-0, Suski 3-(-10).
Donegal: Sload 15-69, Mumper 6-63, Beaulieu 4-23, Hammaker 6-(-9).
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Suski 5-7-0–95.
Donegal: Hammaker 7-14-1–84, Beaulieu 1-1-0–6.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Mace 2-74, Pennington 1-8, Duffy 1-8, Bradley 1-5.Donegal: Mumper 3-54, Beaulieu 2-8, Alkinburgh 1-13, Mendez 1-9, Hammaker 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Gumby
