Week 10 Glance: Berks Catholic title bid just part of a jam-packed final week
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A decade ago Berks Catholic enjoyed one of the most dominant runs in Berks football history. The Saints became the first Berks County team to play for a district championship in seven straight seasons; they won four of them, including three straight. From 2013-18 they went an amazing 73-10, tied for the most wins during any six-year stretch by a Berks team.
The Saints have been down recently — they experienced their first losing seasons in 2022 and 2023 – but they’re back now.
They have one of the most potent offenses in the Lancaster-Lebanon League, have strung together six straight wins, and are one win away from their first section championship since joining the league in 2022.
The Saints (6-0, 7-2) meet Annville-Cleona (6-0, 8-1) Friday at Forino Sports Complex to decide the Section 5 title. They were a game away from sharing that championship last season but suffered a pair of last-minute defeats, to eventual section champ Schuylkill Valley and to runner-up Lancaster Catholic.
This time around they’ve had no such close calls, beating their Section 5 rivals by nearly five touchdowns a game.
“Berks Catholic is outrageously talented,” said Annville-Cleona coach Matt Gingrich. “(You watch film and) it’s long touchdown run after long touchdown run. Berks Catholic is back to (being) the old Berks Catholic.”
That might be a bit of hyperbole but the Saints are definitely on the cusp of some big things. They haven’t won a league title since 2018, when they made an unbeaten run through Section 2 of the Berks Football League. They haven’t won a District 3 championship since 2017.
A win Friday will make them the No. 1 seed for the District 3 Class 3A Tournament and the favorite to bring home the crown.
“It’s something we’ve been working for all year,” Saints coach Dave Stahler said of the Section 5 title. “It’s certainly something our kids appreciate after last year, not being able to do it.
“Our goal every year is to win a league championship, and I felt with the players coming back we’d have an opportunity to do that.”
Annville-Cleona at Berks Catholic is just one of a handful of huge games on the final night of the regular season. Here’s a look at some others:
- It’s par for the course that Manheim Township (5-0, 8-1) and Wilson (5-0, 8-1) meet for the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title. One or the other – or both — have claimed it 20 times in the past 21 years. Make it 21-of-22 when they get together Friday at Gurski Stadium. The Bulldogs have won four of the last five meetings. A win this time will give them their record 30th Section 1 title and 31st overall in L-L play.
- Muhlenberg was expected to take a big step up this season, but playing for a Section 2 title? That wasn’t exactly in the cards. Now, after their best nine-game start since 2007, the Muhls (5-1, 8-1) will meet Conestoga Valley (6-0, 9-0) with a chance to share the title. There are district playoff implications riding on this one, as well. The Muhls haven’t fared well in this series; in fact they’ve never beaten the Bucks. They’re 0-5 all-time, including a pair of playoff losses. Since moving into Section 2 they’ve been outscored by the Bucks 136-22 the last three years.
- Exeter saw its chances for an outright Section 2 title slip away last week when it yielded a pair of late touchdowns in a stinging 21-17 loss to Conestoga Valley. The best the Eagles (5-1, 7-2) can hope for is a share of the title, should they beat Elizabethtown while Muhlenberg pulls off an upset over Conestoga Valley. There are district playoff implications here for the Eagles, too. Exeter, by the way, beat Elizabethtown 71-0 a year ago.
- Twin Valley (6-0, 9-0) needs only a win over Daniel Boone (1-5, 1-8) to complete its first unbeaten season and wrap up the Section 4 title. The Raiders are No. 2 in the District 3 Class 4A power rankings and likely can’t move any higher. That’ll be good enough to give the Raiders a week off and a home quarterfinal in districts. In case you were wondering the Blazers actually have the series lead in this one 19-8, though the games haven’t been close since Brett Myers flipped the switch at Twin Valley. The Raiders have won four straight in the series and outscored the Blazers 139-33 over the past three seasons.
- Hard to believe Wyomissing (5-1, 8-1) vs. Lampeter-Strasburg (5-1, 8-1) essentially comes down to a district seeding game, but Twin Valley made that the case by dominating each in the past two weeks, sucking all the drama out of the Section 4 race. Also hard to believe these teams will see each other again in two weeks, in the district tournament. This game will determine who gets home field for the next meeting. That said, it should still be a heckuva football game: The Spartans and Pioneers don’t know any other way to play. Last time they met it was for a district championship and the game went to overtime. It was decided on a blocked kick.
