Berks Catholic races past Daniel Boone in Berks 1 opener

(This story will be updated with details and quotes from players and coaches later tonight.)

Berks Catholic wasted little time against Daniel Boone Friday night, getting a touchdown return on the opening kickoff from Christian Cacchione and scoring three touchdowns in the first seven minutes in winning its Berks Football League Section 1 opener 40-7 at Birdsboro.

The Saints (1-0, 4-2) got a 55-yard touchdown pass from Mitchell Gatz to Josiah Jordan on its first play from scrimmage to go up 13-0.

The Saints, usually a run-first team, came out throwing, as Gatz completed his first three passes, including two on the third possession of the game, which ended on Luke Hughes’ 5-yard TD run. Berks Catholic went 49 yards in seven plays to take a 19-0 lead (they failed to convert a pair of PATs).

Berks Catholic’s defense was just as good, forcing a three-and-out on each of Daniel Boone’s first two possessions, and forcing the Blazers to punt on each of their five first-half possessions.

The Saints led 19-0 at the half.

Cacchione’s game-opening kickoff return covered 93 yards.

Gatz completed 8-of-9 passes with three touchdowns, all to Jordan.

A week ago the Saints played without five starters last week, including Gatz, due to COVID issues within the team.

The Blazers bounced back from tough start by winning three straight, their longest winning streak since opening the 2015 season with three straight wins. They have not won four in a row since 2011.

Their three wins are more than they won in either of the last two seasons, when they finished 2-8 and 2-6, respectively.

The Blazers were playing short-handed up front Friday due to to injuries and COVID protocols. They were missing three offensive linemen, including all-league tackle Colin Leahy, who was injured last week.

The fast start had propeled the Blazers to No. 12 in the  District 3 Class 5A power ratings; the top 14 teams qualify. They have not qualified for districts since 2014.

The Saints entered Week 6 ranked No. 4 in District 3 Class 4A power ratings, behind Big Spring, Lampeter-Strasburg and Northern York.

The Saints are scheduled to play next week against Reading High, which has been the idle the past weekends after the program was shut down due to COVID. Reading players were cleared to resume practice Friday.