Saints run into another stone wall, end season with semifinal loss to McDevitt
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
HARRISBURG — Berks Catholic has run into some championship-level teams this season.
It faced Inter-Ac power Malvern Prep, which finished 8-2, then Exeter and Gov. Mifflin, which will meet in the District 3 Class 5A title game. Each time the Saints fought until the end.
That was no different Friday when the fourth-seeded Saints ran into perennial power and top-seeded Bishop McDevitt, falling 35-7 in a District 3 Class 4A semifinal at Rocco Ortenzio Stadium.
“We lost to a good football team,” Berks Catholic head coach Rick Keeley said. “I told the kids we didn’t lose for a lack of effort. I thought we gave everything we had tonight. We played some very good competition this season and we got better all of the time because of it.”
Bishop McDevitt (10-1) moves on to play No. 2 Lampeter-Strasburg, a 31-0 winner over Kennard-Dale, in the title game Friday at Ortenzio Stadium.
It’s the end of high school football for two of Berks Catholic’s main cogs, seniors Luke Hughes and Christian Cacchione. Hughes rushed for 51 yards and Cacchione for 43; neither let up on the defensive side.
“We always leave it all out there,” Hughes said. “We left it all out there today. That’s a good team. We were prepared, so were they. It’s sad. This is probably my last time playing football. I mean it just sucks ’cause I don’t know if I’ll play again. It was a great ride, a fun time. I got to end it with my brothers.
“They have a lot of potential. They can be good again next year.”
The third main cog for the Saints (7-5) is junior Josiah Jordan, who rushed for 41 yards and a touchdown and had an interception.
“I’m not going to say I’m ready to start fresh,” Jordan said. “I’ve been playing with some of these guys since sixth grade. But I’m ready to start a new journey next season. Obviously we’re going to be losing some huge pieces, but I’m ready to take on the challenge and come back next year.”
The Crusaders proved to be too much. Freshman quarterback Stone Saunders, who has an offer from Michigan, threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns, two in the first quarter and one each in the second and third.
Mario Easterly had eight receptions for 119 yards and two touchdowns, Kamil Foster had eight receptions for 116 yards and a touchdown and Rico Scott had two receptions for 65 yards.
Bishop McDevitt’s rushing offense also out-gained Berks Catholic’s Wing-T 145-127. Running back Marquese Williams had 106 of those yards and a touchdown.
“Some nights the things that can go wrong, go wrong,” Keeley said. “This was one of those nights for us. We just couldn’t catch a break. Even after some of the bad breaks we got we still battled back. We still tried to make something positive. McDevitt just didn’t let us do that.”
The Saints were within 14-7 midway through the second quarter after Jordan’s 29-yard TD run. The Crusaders took a 21-7 lead into halftime.
Berks Catholic had two costly fumbles and a dropped pass that likely would’ve gone for an 80-yard score in the third quarter.
“We’ll evaluate and see what went wrong and try to make those corrections for next year,” Keeley said.
The Saints held the Crusaders nearly 20 points below their season average of 54.5; McDevitt’s winning margin had been 48.9 points.
Berks Catholic joins the Lancaster-Lebanon League next season. The Saints will be in Section 4 with Cocalico, Conrad Weiser, Donegal, Elco, Lampeter-Strasburg, Octorara, and Wyomissing.
“I’m looking forward to the merger,” Keeley said, as it will help fill the Saints’ schedule and reduce the amount of non-league games the team needs to find. “The section we are in won’t have any easy games. They’ll all be competitive but there’s also no school head-and-shoulders above everyone else. I think it’s one of the best (sections) in the Lancaster-Lebanon and there’s going to be some really good football.”
Until then, the sting from Friday’s loss will linger.
“This was a good experience for everybody,” Keeley said. “Sooner or later you’re going to lose the last one, unless you’re state champion, and the last one is always going to hurt.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Bishop McDevitt | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Bishop McDevitt | Foster, 56 pass from Saunders (Chiha kick) | 7:12 |
| 1 | Bishop McDevitt | Easterly, 26 pass from Saunders (Chiha kick) | 3:25 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 29 run (Givens kick) | 7:08 |
| 2 | Bishop McDevitt | Easterly, 13 pass from Saunders (Chiha kick) | 3:58 |
| 3 | Bishop McDevitt | Scott, 57 pass from Saunders (Chiha kick) | 7:52 |
| 4 | Bishop McDevitt | Williams, 14 run (Chiha kick) | 7:59 |
Team statistics
| Bishop McDevitt | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 14 | 5 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-145 | 36-127 |
| Passing yards | 300 | 0 |
| Total yards | 445 | 127 |
| Passes | 18-29-1 | 0-4-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 4-26.5 | 8-33.9 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-40 | 4-50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Bishop McDevitt: Williams 16-106, Bowers 10-36, Saunders 4-3.
Berks Catholic: Hughes 12-51, Cacchione 12-43, Jordan 9-41, Gatz 3-(-8).
PASSING
Bishop McDevitt: Saunders 18-29-1–300.
Berks Catholic: Gatz 0-4-0–0.
RECEIVING
Bishop McDevitt: Easterly 8-119, Foster 8-116, Scott 2-65.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Jordan.