Game of the Week: Berks Catholic vs. Trinity, presented by Kevin Miller of Berkshire Investment Group (updated)
District 3 Class 3A championship
No. 1 Berks Catholic (9-2) vs. No. 3 Trinity (9-3)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Elco High School, Myerstown.
Series: First meeting.
District playoff history: Berks Catholic making its first championship-game appearance since 2019, when it lost to Lampeter-Strasburg. Saints have won four championships, the most recent in 2017 over Bishop McDevitt. . . Trinty is making its fourth straight championship-game appearance and seeking its fourth championship, and first since beating Annville-Cleona in 2022. Lost 2023 title game to Camp Hill and last year’s championship to Bermudian Springs.
Common opponents: Berks Catholic beat Schuylkill Valley 51-19 and Annville-Cleona 14-7 in overtime; Trinity beat Schuylkill Valley 35-7 and Annville-Cleona 42-21.
Did you know? Berks Catholic and Trinity met in a scrimmage Aug. 16 in Camp Hill.
Fast fact: Berks Catholic is averaging 35.7 points, highest among the 12 3A teams in District 3. Trinity is No. 3 at 28.5.
Shamrocks update: Have won 9-of-10 after 0-2 start. . . Finished tied for second with West Perry and behind Susquehanna Township in Mid-Penn Colonial Division. . . Three losses came by a combined 20 points, with one in overtime. . . Advanced with 42-21 win at Annville-Cleona last week. . . Maddox Jarzynski had four first-half touchdowns last week: three receiving, one on a 69-yard Pick-6. . . Jarzynski leads team with 53 receptions and 13 TDs. . . He had four touchdowns in 35-7 quarterfinal win over Schuylkill Valley, with three receptions and a blocked punt he returned for a score. He finished with six catches for 118 yards. . . QB Mason Boyer has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 1,564 yards and 18 TDs, with 6 INTs. . . Brandon Harris, a sophomore, ran for touchdowns of 17 and 59 yards last week and leads team with 728 rushing yards. . . Harris also leads team with 66 tackles. . . TE Marcus Yeager is a University of Richmond recruit who has 44 receptions. . . As a DE he leads team with 14 tackles for loss and 7 sacks. . . 6-3, 260-pound lineman Samuel Mulbah is committed to play at the University of Massachusetts. . . 6-2 224-pound DE Quincy Smith has offers from Akron, UMass, and Stony Brook. . . 6-3, 210-pound DE Samuel Sweppenhiser has an offer from Bucknell. . . Have had an issue protecting the ball, with 19 turnovers. . . Ranked No. 9 in state by PennLive.com.
Did you know? Berks Catholic once strung together 10 consecutive district playoff wins, three straight championships (2015-17) and seven straight championship-game appearances (2013-19).
Saints update: Ended regular season with seven straight wins to capture first Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 championship. . . Beat Annville-Cleona 14-7 in OT in regular season finale to claim the title. . . Won eighth straight last week with commanding defensive performance in 37-6 win over Bermudian Springs. . . Allowed just 41 total yards and two first downs; only points came on kickoff return in final minutes. . . Finished regular season ranked No. 2 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League in rushing (342) and No. 5 in total offense (378). . . No 1,000-yard rushers but multi-pronged attack Features five different backs with more than 500 rushing yards, each averaging better than 7.5 yards per carry. . . Xavier Gerald leads the way with 874 yards; he’s averaging 10.3 yards per carry. . . He ran for 126 yards on 12 carries last week. . . Owen Schalk is averaging 12.3 yards per carry. . . Five different players have rushed for 100 yards or more in a game, led by Jeremiah Camara, with four. . . Six different players have scored 6 or more touchdowns; Schalk leads with 10. . . PK Alex Reali leads team in scoring; he has 6 FGs and is 48-for-49 on PATs. . . DE Faith Zudie leads team with 83 tackles, 19 tackles for loss, 4 forced fumbles, and 3 blocked kicks. . . DT Damoni Daglis has team-high 3 sacks. . . LB Mason Mace has 68 tackles. . . LB Ryan Spatz has 65 tackles. . . Ranked No. 6 in the league in total defense (214 yards per game), No. 9 in scoring defense (15.9) during regular season. . . Ranked No. 6 in state by PennLive.com.
Quotable: “We have a group of kids who love being at Berks Catholic, they care about each other, they’ve worked really hard all season and they believe in one another and don’t want to let one another down. They’re proud to be at Berks Catholic and I think that really helps.” – Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler
Quotable: “He’s a great athlete. We knew what we were trying to stop, but there’s a difference between having a game plan and knowing what you’re going to do and carrying it out.” – Annville-Cleona coach Matt Gingrich, on Trinity wide receiver Maddox Jarzynski
Winner plays: District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti in a PIAA quarterfinal Nov. 21/22 at a site to be determined. Goretti is idle this week after beating Bartram 20-7 in district championship game.
