No. 800 was just another game for Berks’ winningest coach; here’s a list of the most memorable along the way

By Mike Drago Last updated Jan 8, 2024

Berks Cathollc's Snip Esterly. (PhilMarPhoto)

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Win No. 1 was so long ago, and was essentially so inconsequential, Snip Esterly says he can’t remember the details.

It came in 1989, a few months after he was elevated from assistant to head coach at Central Catholic, succeeding long-time wing man Dan Haughney. The Cards beat Twin Valley on the road, 67-50. Steve Zeiber led Central with 23 points; Keith Uhrig came off the bench to score 13.

It was the first of 20 wins that season, one that saw the 31-year-old Esterly’s first team end up playing for a District 3 championship — the first of many. The Cards lost the title game, to division rival Fleetwood 43-40 at the Geigle Complex.

Esterly’s teams haven’t lost too many district games since. After seeing Berks Catholic bring home the last two Class 4A titles, Esterly’s teams have now won 14 district championships. He has won more games in the postseason — 196 — than 98 percent of high school coaches will ever win.

Yes, 800 wins is an astounding number, but just one of many for Esterly, who has been a 20-game winner a staggering 26 times — that’s 11 more than Cy Young, who holds the Major League record.

He has been named Berks Coach of the Year eight times, won eight league titles and has seen his team play for the Berks championship 18 times — more than anyone else.

Here’s a breakdown of some of Esterly’s most significant victories:

No. 68: First District 3 championship, over Scotland, in 1991-92.
No. 172: First Berks Conference championship, over Reading High, in 1995-96. Joe Linderman, his first of several dominant post players, scored 28 points in the overtime victory.
No. 300: Against Pine Grove, in the opening weeks of the 2001-02 season. Esterly became just the seventh Berks coach to reach this milestone.
No. 400: A league win over Oley at midseason during the 2005-06 season; Alex Franklin, one of the most dominant players he ever coached, led the way with 29 points. Esterly became just the fifth Berks coach to reach this milestone.
No. 444: PIAA championship over Duboise Central Catholic, at Penn State’s Bryce Jordan Center. Colin Naugle, a future Delaware tight end, led the way with 19 points.
No. 458: This District 3 quarterfinal win over Holy Name gave Esterly one more win than his mentor, Reggie Weiss, whom he played for at Wilson and whom he coached for at Central Catholic.
No. 500: Over rival Wyomissing, making Esterly just the fifth in Berks to get halfway to 1,000.
No. 528: This midseason win over Schuylkill Valley gave Esterly one more victory than the coach who cut him at Wilson — John Silan.
No. 542: Over Old Forge in a 2010-2011 PIAA quarterfinal, his last win as coach at Central Catholic.
No. 543: The season-opener at Warwick, his first game at Berks Catholic and the first of 28 wins that season.
No. 569: First District 3 championship with Berks Catholic, in Saints’ first season.
No. 627: With Lloyd Wolf sitting next to him on the bench as an honorary guest, in a gym named for the former Holy Name coach, Esterly became the winningest coach in Berks history, midway through the 2013-14 season. That’s a decade ago.
No. 700: This will probably always be Esterly’s most memorable win because of the circumstances: In the Berks Conference championship game over Reading High, the three-time defending champ, at the Santander Arena in 2018.
No. 800: Thursday, at Daniel Boone, making him just the seventh in Pennsylvania history to reach the milestone.

No.	Opponent	Score	Snip’s high scorer	Season
1	Twin Valley	67-50	Steve Zeiber 23	1989-90
68	Scotland	48-43	Keith Uhrig 17	1991-92
100	Warrior Run	79-52	Shawn Swavely 18	1993-94
172	Reading High	54-51 OT	Joe Linderman 28	1995-96
200	Lancaster Catholic	56-42	Jared Mills 23	1997-98
300	Pine Grove	39-31	Dorian Sims 18	2001-02
400	Oley Valley	66-43	Alex Franklin 29	2005-06
444	Dubois Central	58-33	Colin Naugle 19	2006-07
458	Holy Name	45-43	Cameron Furman 27	2007-08
500	Wyomissing	74-53	Marcus Dawkins 21	2009-10
528	Schuylkill Valley	62-49	Marcus Dawkins 21	2010-11
542	Old Forge	32-21	Marcus Dawkins 8	2010-11
543	Warwick	55-36	Donovan Jack 18	2011-12
569	Trinity	56-49	Marquis Marshall 23	2011-12
600	Schuylkill Valley	70-25	Chris Warren 15	2013-14
627	Conrad Weiser	56-37	Tyrone Nesby 19	2013-14
700	Reading High	51-46	Tre Dabney 18	2017-18
800	Daniel Boone	69-49	Parker Nein 22, Josh McKoy 22	2023-24