Berks Catholic closes with a flourish, tops Elco 49-28
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By David Bohr — LNP/Lancasteronline
MYERSTOWN — Berks Catholic capped off its Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 season Friday night with a 49-28 win over Elco at Myerstown.
The Saints (4-3, 4-6) put the game out of reach with a 21-0 third quarter. They scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Will Hess to Michael Bradley, a 47-yard pass from Hess to Devin Garcia and a 54-yard touchdown run by Josiah Jordan.
Jordan rushed for 179 yards and scored four touchdowns.
That surge put Berks Catholic up 49-14, enough to trigger a mercy-rule fourth quarter. Elco (1-6, 4-6) salvaged a couple of touchdowns late — a 9-yard touchdown run by Jake Williams and a 24-yard touchdown by Elliot Kreider.
The game was still competitive when Kreider broke off a 46-yard run to put Elco at the Saints’ 3-yard line, down 14-6 late in the first period. Berks Catholic stopped the Raiders inside the 1 on fourth down to get the ball back and protect the lead.
After that, Berks Catholic went on a 10-play, 99-yard drive, capped by a Jordan 9-yard touchdown run for a 21-6 lead with 9:44 left in the second period.
Jordan had 179 yards rushing and two touchdowns. He opened the scoring with a 30-yard touchdown run on the game’s first possession. Defensively, he had an interception in the fourth quarter.
Williams set the Elco record for rushing yards in one season. He had 30 carries for 201 yards, bringing his season total to 1,792, unofficially. The previous record was held by Braden Bohannon, who had 1,606 in 2019.
Through the first three quarters, Hess was 5-for-5 for 192 yards and three touchdowns, including a 70-yard connection with Jordan.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 14 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 49 |
| Elco | 6 | 8 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 30 run (Kurtas kick) |
| 1 | Elco | Thornton, 6 run (kick failed) |
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 70 pass from Hess (Kurtas kick) |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 9 run (Kurtas kick) |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Bradley, 65 run (Kurtas kick) |
| 2 | Elco | Thornton, 10 run (Williams run) |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Bradley, 13 pass from Hess (Kurtas kick) |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Garcia, 47 pass from Hess (Kurtas kick) |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 54 run (Kurtas kick) |
| 4 | Elco | Williams, 9 run (Gettle kick) |
| 4 | Elco | Kreider, 24 run (Gettle kick) |
Team statistics
| Berks Catholic | Elco | |
| First downs | 15 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 29-302 | 47-325 |
| Passing yards | 190 | 16 |
| Total yards | 492 | 341 |
| Passes | 5-6-0 | 1-5 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 0 | 3-29.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-55 | 3-15 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Berks Catholic: Jordan 15-179, Bradley 2-76, Blythe 7-39, Garcia 4-8, Hess 1-(-4).
Elco: Williams 30-201, Kreider 12-116, Thornton 4-8.
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Hess 5-6-0–190.
Elco: Thornton 1-4-1–16.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Garcia 2-85, Jordan 1-70, Geddio 1-24, Bradley 1-13.
Elco: Kreider 1-16.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Jordan.
