Saints pull out another win with last-minute TD
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Berks Catholic and Octorara’s Wing-T offensive sets vary slightly; the Saints rarely run with the quarterback while the Braves incorporate the option and allow their QB to run often.
Both versions gave the defenses fits Friday between the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opponents at Forino Sports Complex. Berks Catholic’s ultimately won out, scoring on the final possession of the seesaw battle.
Bryce Gumby took an end-around 5 yards for the game-winning touchdown with 20.9 seconds left to lift the Saints to a 22-19 victory.
“Coach Keeley always says, ‘Let’s get a Wing-T drive going,’ ” Gumby said. “We just had to finish. I went into the huddle and heard it was coming to me. I knew I had to get the job done.”
Two weeks ago the Saints (3-2, 4-4) grinded out another last-minute victory with 13 seconds left against Conrad Weiser; these clutch wins are important with a district playoff berth at stake, even if Berks Catholic is a notch below the heavyweights within their section this season.
“We just stick together,” Gumby said. “We’re a big family. We battle through adversity. We’ve had plenty of games with it so now we know how to deal with it.”
Berks Catholic came into Friday’s game ranked No. 7 in the District 3 Class 3A rankings. It should move up with the win; the top six qualify.
“We knew we were playing for a playoff berth,” said Saints coach Rick Keeley said. “We knew we had to win at least one of the last three games and probably two. This was a must-win for us.”
That’s even more true with the Saints traveling to section-leading Cocalico next week; they’ll finish up the regular season against Elco.
The Braves (0-5, 2-6) outrushed the Saints 333-319 and had the large crowd in attendance for Homecoming nervous after the first half.
“They’re much better than their record indicates,” Keeley said of Octorara, which is playing hard under first-year coach Ed Smith. “What he’s doing with that option offense is impressive.”
Octorara quarterback Braeden Wood scored from the 1 on the Braves’ version of the much-ballyhooed ‘tush-push’ with 50 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Saints punted on the first play of the second quarter before forcing a three-and-out and the Braves pinned them at their own 1.
Michael Bradley’s 11-yard dash with 6:31 left in the second quarter finished the 99-yard scoring drive to give the Saints a 7-6 lead, but the momentum was short-lived.
“When we practice, we put the ball at our own 1,” Keeley said. “And we talk about having a 99-yard Wing-T drive. We had that tonight.”
Colton Focht scored from the 13 after a 14-play, 79-yard drive and the Braves regained the lead at 12-7 with 27.1 seconds left before halftime.
Owen Reber, who was named Homecoming King before the game, sacked Wood at BC’s 45 to force a turnover on downs and halt the Braves first drive of the second half.
Three straight first downs picked up by either Nathaniel Rose or Gumby set the Saints up in scoring position. Bradley darted in from the 9 to put the Saints up 15-12.
Ian Teufert answered with a 5-yard touchdown 1:01 into the fourth quarter and the Braves retook the advantage.
The Saints drove all the way down to the Octorara 1 on their next possession until a fumble recovered by Mason Colligan returned possession to the Braves with 7:45 left in the game.
“We fumbled down there but this group knew they had to get a stop,” Keeley said. “No finger-pointing. They just knew they had to work together to get another stop and put another Wing-T drive together. That’s what we did.”
Octorara punted from its own 25 with 3:41 left and the Saints drove 60 yards in 10 plays capped by Gumby’s game-winning score.
“The kids believe in it,” Keeley said. “They believe in themselves. And they pulled off a win tonight.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Octorara | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 19 |
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 22 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Octorara | Wood, 1 run (kick blocked) | 0:50 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Bradley, 11 run (Osorio kick) | 6:31 |
| 2 | Octorara | Focht, 13 run (Prokay pass failed) | 0:27 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Bradley, 9 run (Mace pass from Hess) | 4:01 |
| 4 | Octorara | Teufert, 5 run (Kurtz kick) | 10:59 |
| 4 | Berks Catholic | Gumby, 5 run (Osorio kick) | 0:21 |
Team statistics
| Octorara | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 20 | 20 |
| Rushes-yards | 65-333 | 37-319 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 37 |
| Total yards | 333 | 356 |
| Passes | 0-0-0 | 2-3-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-36 | 2-39.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-71 | 3-30 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Octorara: Focht 19-144, Wood 16-70, Murray 9-45, Kurtz 10-30, Teufert 8-29, Mastrippolito 2-12, Colligan 1-3.
Berks Catholic: Bradley 10-100, Rose 9-100, Gumby 12-93, Pennington 4-25, Hess 1-2, Garcia 1-(-1).
PASSING
Berks Catholic: Hess 2-3-0—37.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Mace 2-37.
