Hoop Notes: Saints preparing for biggest test, key games loom in Berks III, IV
Berks Catholic heads into a new calendar year with a perfect record, but the Saints are far from perfect. Snip Esterly, their demanding coach, says they still have a lot of things to tighten up, especially on the defensive end.
“Right now, we have 10 to 12 possessions a game where we’re still doing silly things,” he said. “We clean that up we’re going to be a pretty good team.”
The Saints will find out exactly how good they are Monday when they head to the Geigle to face defending PIAA Class 6A champ Reading High in a Berks I game. Each has won its first two league games.
The Red Knights are coming off their first loss and played their last two games without starters Daniel Alcantara and Joey Chapman. No telling if either will be back by Monday.
Even playing short-handed the Red Knights proved to be pretty good earlier this week when they beat Pocono Mountain West 62-50 and lost a thriller to unbeaten Devon Prep, 75-71.
“Reading High is ‘the team,’ ” Esterly said this week on the Mike Drago Sports Podcast. “They are good. Now, they may be missing some players, but they’re still a fantastic ball club. This will be our first test against a very good team.”
The Saints (6-0) have already beaten one defending PIAA champion. They opened the season with a 50-44 win at Loyalsock, which won the Class 3A title last season. Berks Catholic also has road wins over traditionally strong programs Lancaster Catholic and Pottsville and a 72-70 league win over Gov. Mifflin.
After the first losing season in program history the Saints returned with a veteran and much-improved team. They’ve got a balanced scoring attack, led by junior guard Josiah Jordan (16.0 points per game), junior wing Ryan Koch (14.2) and senior wing Aidan Sands (14.0).
Berks Catholic is currently ranked No. 1 in the District 3 Class 4A power rankings. It hasn’t seriously contended for a district title since winning it in 2018, when it beat Bishop McDevitt in the title game. That 28-win team team was led by Casey Jack, Trey Dabney and Luis Garcia.
Eastern York and Middletown appear to be BC’s top competition in that classification.
“I think we have a shot at districts if we keep improving like we’re doing,” Esterly said. “We are expecting good things from this group.”
First things first: They’ve got to survive the Berks I gauntlet.
“Every night in our division is going to be a brutal battle,” Esterly said. “You don’t have a night off; it just doesn’t happen. It is just a battle every night.”
Esterly is figuring on one Monday. Despite Reading High’s reputation and skill level he’s not conceding anything. He never will.
“We’re going in there looking to beat them,” Esterly said. “We’re going to play as hard as we can. (We know) we’ve got to play a super game.”
He’s back . . . and then gone again
Logan Klitsch was back on the court last week for Conrad Weiser after missing the first 10 days of the season recovering from a football injury. Then, after playing two games, he was out again with another foot injury.
Klitsch made a sudden impact, helping the Scouts to a pair of victories after they opened the season 0-3 without him.
“He scored two points against Brandywine Heights (a 62-44 victory) but he was the most valuable player on the court,” said first-year Weiser coach Rich Miller. “He is a dream for a coach. He just makes your practices so much better. We were missing a lot without him.”
The All-State quarterback suffered a deep bone bruise on his ankle in early October and played with it for half the season.
He injured his foot against Brandywine and will miss about a week.
Tigers’ tale
Fleetwood hasn’t made the Berks Conference playoffs in 18 years and hasn’t won a division title in over 40 seasons. The Tigers can take a big step toward ending those droughts with a win at Wyomissing Tuesday.
The Berks III race boils down to those teams, and the Tigers have the early momentum. They’re off to a strong start at 6-0 after beating Brandywine Heights 49-47 Wednesday on Jake Karnish’s buzzer-beater.
That came in the championship game of the Tiger Classic and gives Fleetwood its best start since 1986-87, when it opened 6-0. The Tigers finished 17-10 that season and earned a berth in the PIAA Tournament.
Karnish, a 6-1 junior guard, is averaging a team-best 17.7 points. Aiden Soumas, a sophomore guard, is averaging 10.3 points. Both were starters a year ago when the Tigers finished 11-8 and in third place in Berks III. They dropped both their games to Wyomissing.
The Spartans got off to a late start this season because of their run to the PIAA Class 3A football championship game on Dec. 11. They opened on Dec. 21 and immediately scored a big crossover win, beating Tulpehocken 47-33.
They’re 3-2 after dropping tight games at Elizabethtown and Blue Mountain.
Senior guard Julian O’Brien — the only non-football player in the starting lineup — has stepped up his game and is averaging 15.6 points, nearly doubling his average as a junior.
Mounting a challenge
Antietam faces a big week in its quest to win a division title for the first time since 2015. The Mounts, off to a 7-1 start, play at Oley Valley Monday and against Tulpehocken Thursday.
The Mounts’ lone loss came at Lancaster Mennonite, the defending District 3 Class 2A champ. They’ve won four straight since, including a 60-43 division win over Brandywine Heights when they played without leading scorer Hector Tiburcio.
They’re 2-0 in league play, with a crossover win over Schuylkill Valley.
The Berks IV race again figures to be tight, as it was a year ago when Oley Valley won at Antietam in double-overtime on the final night of the regular season to win the division by one game.
The Trojans, off to a 6-1 start, look like Antietam’s biggest challenger. Their lone loss came at Wyomissing, 47-33, last week.
They have two of the biggest scorers in the league in Bryce Mellen (19.7 points per game) and David Bednarczyk (16.6), who broke out for 38 points earlier against Hamburg.
Tulpehocken hasn’t won a division title since 2007 and hasn’t reached the Berks playoffs since 2014.
Double dip
Conrad Weiser had an unusual scheduling situation this week, playing Cocalico in back-to-back games over a three-day span. The Scouts won the first 40-35 on the road and dropped the second 53-45 at home.
Non-league opponents usually don’t meet more than once in a given season; it’s practically unheard of to meet twice in such a short time frame.
“I thought it was kind of fun,” said Weiser coach Rick Miller of the NBA-like back-to-back. “You know who their guys are, what they can do. I enjoyed it, except for the losing part. I thought it was a neat thing to do. I wouldn’t be averse to doing it again.”
Still perfect
Hempfield and Cedar Cliff are the lone unbeaten Class 6A teams in District 3.
The Black Knights improved to 8-0 by beating Wilson and Central York in their own holiday tournament this week. Hempfield’s had some close calls. It trailed Gov. Mifflin by 12 points before winning in overtime; it beat Wilson 51-50.
Cedar Cliff (7-0), coached by former Tulpehocken coach Ty Savercool, has won some close ones, too. It beat Carlisle 43-41 and Hershey 59-56.