Sixth straight win sends Saints into Section 5 championship showdown
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matthew Babiarz — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
| Final | |
| Berks Cath. | 38 |
| Hamburg | 7 |
Berks Catholic utilized a smothering run defense, along with a big-play rushing attack, to a build a 31-point halftime lead on the way to a 38-7 victory over Hamburg Friday night in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 game on Hawk Hill.
The Saints (6-0, 7-2) reached the end zone four times in their first 11 plays from scrimmage and led 28-0 in the first minute of the second quarter.
Berks Catholic concludes its regular season next week at home against Annville-Cleona (6-0, 8-1), the winner earning the Section 5 title.
Jeremiah Camara scored less than three minutes into the game on a 21-yard run.
The Saints then capitalized on a pair of big plays from sophomores. Outside Linebacker Colton Drumheller intercepted an Isaac McFadden pass and Coy Koller added a 48-yard touchdown run two plays later to make it 14-0 with less than a minute left in the opening frame.
The beginning of the second quarter saw Berks Catholic add two more touchdowns within a span of 25 seconds. Senior tailback Aidan Curley scored on a 28-yard run to extend the Berks Catholic lead to 21-0.
Only two plays later, Damoni Davis recovered a Hamburg fumble and Aidan Curley converted with a 20-yard run two plays later.
Alex Reali closed the first half scoring with a 23-yard field goal as the Saints took a 31-0 lead to the locker room.
Hamburg struggled to produce any positive plays from their run game. The Saints front four was consistently in the Hamburg backfield, holding the Hawks to an anemic negative-28 yards rushing on 32 attempts.
Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler highlighted the disruptiveness of his defensive line.
“I thought all those guys up front did a good job,” he said. “I thought Faith (Zudie) was great. I thought Damoni (Daglis) was great. I thought Eric (Bennethum) was filling blocks and Ryan Spatz did a good job up front.”
Hamburg (1-5, 2-7) got on the scoreboard late in the third quarter on an 18-yard pass from McFadden to junior wideout Owen Bentz. The Hawks’ quick release passing game was their only counter to Berks
Catholic’s defensive pressure. McFadden finished 15-of-24 for 165 yards passing. Senior wideout Ethan Horvath caught five of those passes for 83 yards.
Berks Catholic added a 1-yard quarterback sneak by Johnny Sauppee late in the third quarter to close out the scoring and secure the 38-7 win.
| SECTION 5 | League | Overall |
| Ann.-Cleona | 6-0 | 8-1 |
| Berks Cath. | 6-0 | 7-2 |
| Sch. Valley | 4-2 | 5-4 |
| Columbia | 3-3 | 4-5 |
| Lanc. Cath. | 3-3 | 5-4 |
| Pequea Valley | 1-5 | 3-6 |
| Hamburg | 1-5 | 2-7 |
| Kutztown | 0-6 | 1-8 |
Key play
Saints outside linebacker Colton Drumheller intercepted a pass and returned it 25 yards into Hamburg territory, setting up a touchdown and 14-0 lead.
Star of the game
Berks Catholic junior defensive tackle Damoni Daglas was constantly in the Hawks offensive backfield, with multiple tackles for loss and a fumble recovery that led to a second quarter score.
Key statistic
Hamburg was held to minus-32 rushing yards, with 18 of its 32 rushing attempts resulting in negative yardage.
Quotable
“We’ve earned the right to play for a championship. So have they, and we’re looking forward to it.” – Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler, discussing next week’s winner-take-all game with Annville-Cleona
Quotable
“We need to stay focused in practice and just focus on executing. Triple option is always hard to defend, because if you make mistakes, somebody’s gone. We’ll have the scheme together, but we need to execute it.” – Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler
Up next
Berks Catholic hosts Annville-Cleona for the Section 5 title. Hamburg will travel to Columbia to close out its regular season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 14 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 38 |
| Hamburg | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Scoring summary
| 1st | Berks Catholic | Camara, 21 run (Reali kick) | 9:18 |
| 1st | Berks Catholic | Koller, 33 run (Reali kick) | :48 |
| 2nd | Berks Catholic | Curley, 28 run (Reali kick) | 11:40 |
| 2nd | Berks Catholic | Koller, 20 run (Reali kick) | 11:15 |
| 2nd | Berks Catholic | Reali, 23 FG | :00 |
| 3rd | Hamburg | Bentz,18 pass from McFadden (Moser kick) | 3:59 |
| 3rd | Berks Catholic | Sauppee, 1 run (Reali kick) | 1:49 |
Team statistics
| BERKS CATH. | HAMBURG | |
| First downs | 20 | 8 |
| Rushes-yards | 46-377 | 32-(-28) |
| Passing yards | 29 | 165 |
| Total yards | 406 | 137 |
| Passes | 2-6-0 | 15-24-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 3-2 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 4-37 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-81 | 5-53 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Berks Catholic: Camara 17-113, Koller 7-100, Curley 8-96, Spatz 8-55, Zudie 1-13, Guilovogui 2-4, Sauppee 3-(-4).
Hamburg: Schmeck 7-5, McFadden 10-(-8), Johnson 14-(-16), Smith 1-(-9).
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Sauppee 1-3-0-6, Harter 1-3-0-23.
Hamburg: McFadden 15-24-1-165.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Defazio 1-23, Gonzalez 1-6.
Hamburg: Soto 7-62, Horvath 6-83, Bentz 1-18, Smith 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Drumheller.
