Zach Suski throws 3 TDs as Saints roll in Section 5 opener
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
By Mike Hennelly — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Berks Catholic was firing on all cylinders Friday night at Forino Sports Complex, scoring eight touchdowns and holding Pequea Valley to 113 total yards in a 55-6 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 opener.
Zach Suski threw touchdown passes on the team’s first three possessions to give the Saints (2-2) an early 21-0 lead. The senior quarterback finished the game completing 69% of his passes for 187 yards.
“We were able to throw the ball a little bit early,” Saints’ head coach Dave Stahler said. “I thought we had some looks in the secondary that were advantageous, and I think our receivers are an advantage (for us). I think we have some pretty good kids there.
“Zach got guys the ball who were open, and guys finished off runs. I thought we did a nice job protecting the passer, so we were able to throw the ball a little bit more than we usually do.”
The Saints not only had success in the passing game but they also found success on the ground. Nathaniel Rose and Xavier Gerald each had two rushing touchdowns and combined for 206 yards on 12 carries. Hunter Boyer rushed for a 19-yard touchdown for the Saints’ fifth rushing touchdown late in the fourth quarter to put his team up 55-6.
“They flattened out in the defense a little bit,” Stahler said. “They played a little bit less coverage and a little bit less deep guys, and that leads to explosive plays when you get through.”
The Saints’ intercepted Pequea Valley’s quarterback Anthony Stoltzfus three times and held him to zero completions on five attempts. Owen Schalk intercepted Stoltzfus on Pequea Valley’s second possession, which led to a 12-yard touchdown pass from Suski to Schalk to make it 14-0.
Bryce Gumby and Ryan Spatz each intercepted Stoltzfus on back-to-back drives at the beginning of the second half. Both turnovers led to touchdown runs to give the Saints a 48-0 lead.
“I was happy with our defense,” Suski said. “We held them to six points, and our JV’s went in. The offense played well too, and obviously put up 55. We felt good out there today, and we’ll see if we can move it on for the rest of the season.”
With the mercy rule in effect for most of the second half, Stahler was able to give some of his backups a chance to play.
“We have all great kids in our program,” Stahler said. “All 45 are awesome kids, and it’s nice to reward the ones who work hard at practice every day. They get to play in JV games on Monday, but it’s not the same with all their friends in the stands. It’s awesome to reward those guys.”
The only blemishes for the Saints were when Scott Duffy muffed a punt that Pequea Valley (2-2) was able to recover, and Tyler Osorio’s missed 28-yard field goal attempt just before halftime. Neither led to any harm.
Drew Tibbins scored the lone touchdown for Pequea Valley on an 11-yard run with 10:17 to go in the third quarter. A high snap prevented Pequea Valley from converting the extra point.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Pequea Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 |
| Berks Catholic | 21 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 55 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Gumby, 44 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 8:59 |
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Schalk, 12 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 4:36 |
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Duffy, 57 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 1:09 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Rose, 29 run (Osorio kick) | 2:58 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Gerald, 1 run (Osorio kick) | 11:34 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Rose, 42 run (Tripathi kick failed) | 6:10 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Gerald, 21 run (Tripathi kick) | 3:38 |
| 4 | Pequea Valley | Tibbins, 11 run (kick failed) | 10:17 |
| 4 | Berks Catholic | Boyer, 19 run (Tripathi kick) | 3:57 |
Team statistics
| Pequea Valley | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 10 | 19 |
| Rushes-yards | 36-113 | 27-320 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 187 |
| Total yards | 113 | 507 |
| Passes | 0-5-3 | 9-13-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 5-29.2 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-25 | 5-50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Pequea Valley: Tibbins 18-115, Vollmer 6-13, J. Stoltzfus 2-13, Blank 1-3, Esh 1-2, Woods 6-(-3), A. Stoltzfus 1-(-10), Team 1-(-20).
Berks Catholic: Rose 9-110, Gerald 3-96, Guilavogui 5-33, Boyer 2-29, Schalk 3-27, Curley 2-11, Suski 1-8, Rios 2-6.
PASSING
Pequea Valley: A. Stoltzfus 0-5-3–0.
Berks Catholic: Suski 9-13-0–187.
RECEIVING
Berks Catholic: Gumby 2-61, Schalk 2-30, Welker 2-9, Duffy 1-57, Rose 1-15, Kozik 1-15.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Schalk, Gumby, Spatz.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Berks Catholic: Osorio 28.
