Pope John Paul II not half bad in dominant win over Berks Catholic
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matt Gaffney — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Quarterback Luke Terlesky threw two touchdown passes to Braden Reed and added a rushing touchdown and Boyd Skarbek ran for 93 yards and two scores as Pope John Paul II defeated Berks Catholic 35-0 in a non-league game Friday at Forino Sports Complex.
The game was called with 4:11 left in the second quarter due to weather; it will not be resumed.
Less than a half was all the Golden Panthers (3-0) needed to dismantle the Saints (1-2).
Pope John Paul opened the game with an eight-play, 72-yard drive as Skarbek rushed six times for 61 yards. Terlesky called his own number on a quarterback sneak from a yard out to cap off the drive.
The Saints muffed the ensuing kickoff at their 25-yard line, which PJP recovered, and one play later, Terlesky hit Reed with a 25-yard touchdown strike for a quick 14-0 lead.
Skarbek scored the first of his two rushing touchdowns on a 6-yard run out of the Wildcat formation and followed that up on the next offensive series with an 8-yard burst.
Berks Catholic could not generate much offense against the stout Golden Panthers defense anchored by Wisconsin commit Kevin Heywood as they accumulated only 25 total yards.
PJP, which is ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 4A, has outscored its first three opponents 102-7.
Terlesky, who threw for 153 yards, hit Reed for his second score on a screen pass that the speedy junior wideout took 56 yards to the house with 5:34 left in the second quarter. Reed finished with five catches for 120 yards and the two touchdown receptions.
Berks Catholic begins league play next week on the road at rival Wyomissing in the “Backyard Brawl.”
(Game suspended with 4:11 left in 2nd quarter.)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Pope John Paul II | 21 | 14 | 35 | ||
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Pope John Paul | Terlesky, 1 run (Bosio kick) | 8:49 |
| 1 | Pope John Paul | Reed, 25 pass from Terlesky (Bosio kick) | 8:39 |
| 1 | Pope John Paul | B.Skarbek, 6 run (Bosio kick) | 1:17 |
| 2 | Pope John Paul | B.Skarbek, 8 run (Bosio kick) | 6:41 |
| 2 | Pope John Paul | Reed, 56 pass form Terlesky (Bosio kick) | 5:45 |
Team statistics
| Pope John Paul II | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 10 | 2 |
| Rushes-yards | 14-95 | 12-23 |
| Passing yards | 153 | 4 |
| Total yards | 248 | 27 |
| Passes | 7-10-0 | 1-4-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-33 | 3-31.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-58 | 5-50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Pope John Paul II: B. Skarbek 11-93, D. Skarbek 1-2, Terlesky 1-1, Reed 1-(-1).
Berks Catholic: Garcia 3-23, Rose 1-5, Bradley 4-1, Pennington 1-(-2), Hess 3-(-4).
PASSING
Pope John Paul II: Terlesky 7-10-0–153.
Berks Catholic: Hess 1-4-0–4.
RECEIVING
Pope John Paul II: Reed 5-120, B. Skarbek 1-23, Mitala 1-10. Berks Catholic: Bradley 1-4.
