Preview: Berks Catholic vs. Daniel Boone
Berks Catholic (3-2) vs. Daniel Boone (3-2)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Brazinsky Stadium.
Berks Football League Section 1 records: Opener for both.
Series: Saints lead 1-0.
Last meeting: Brad Hoffman passed for three first-quarter touchdowns and Christian Cacchione and Justin Small each rushed for over 100 yards as Berks Catholic won 49-7 in 2020. Carter Speyerer passed for 197 yards for Boone.
The Saints: Ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive.com… No. 4 in District 3 Class 4A power ratings, behind Big Spring, Lampeter-Strasburg and Northern York… Couldn’t keep up with powerful independent Malvern Prep last week, falling 37-7… Played without five starters last week, including QB Mitchell Gatz, due to COVID issues… Gatz is expected to return this week… All starters are expected to be back on thefield… Offense was limited to 151 total yards against Malvern… Christian Cacchione leads team in rushing, with 629 yards, and with 10 TDs; he’s averaging 7.2 yards per carry and 21.2 yards on his five catches… Josiah Jordan has nine TDs… Defense has been an issue, especially through the air. Allowing a Berks-high 155 passing yards per game. Overall, ranked No. 13 in total defense… Allowing 31.8 points per game… Finished 5-3 last season and missed playoffs for first time in eight seasons.
The Blazers: Have bounced back from tough start with three straight wins, their longest winning streak since opening the 2015 season with three straight wins… Have not won four in a row since 2011… Three wins are more than they won in either of the last two seasons, when they finished 2-8 and 2-6, respectively… Sophomore QB Dean Rotter has thrown for 597 yards, with seven TDs and one INT, since taking over for injured Carter Speyerer in the season-opener… Top target Alex Vassallo leads Berks with 27 receptions… He needs 12 receptions to become just the third in program history with 100 career catches… JT Hogan is averaging 9.3 yards per carry and leads team with five TDs… Will be short-handed up front. Due to injuries and COVID protocols, three offensive linemen will not play, including T Colin Leahy, who was injured last week; DL Jimmy Woodcock was also injured… Defense has allowed just two TDs in each of the last four games, and is allowing an average of 15.5 points over that stretch… Ranked No. 12 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings; top 14 teams qualify… Have not qualified for districts since 2014.
Fast fact: Saints coach Rick Keeley is in his 36th season as a head coach, and has coached more games (414) than anyone in Berks history.
Did you know? Berks Catholic has an .800 winning percentage during its 11 seasons.
