Zach Suski, Saints have perfect night against short-handed Hawks
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Perfect games are usually reserved for baseball.
Don’t tell that to Berks Catholic quarterback Zach Suski, who completed every pass he threw Friday night to lead the Saints to a crucial 48-14 win over Hamburg in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 play at Forino Sports Complex.
Although he threw only four passes, Suski saw each of them go for at least 32 yards and three for touchdowns.
“I didn’t really get (to throw) the ball much, but it’s alright,” said the senior passer. “We distributed it around to a lot of people. I’m just happy we scored.”
The win keeps Berks Catholic (4-2, 5-4) in position to make the District 3 Class 3A playoffs. The Saints entered the night at No. 6 in the six-team bracket; a win next week at Annville-Cleona should secure a spot.
“We talked about it last week that we thought that we had to win out to get in,” first-year Berks Catholic coach Dave Stahler said. “Each week, we’ve got to play like it’s a playoff game.”
On top of all the playoff implications, Friday night’s win was particularly sweet for two big reasons – it was both Senior Night and Homecoming.
“It felt great,” said Suski, one of the Saints’ 10 seniors. “We’re on a hot streak now. I would be happy to get into the playoffs; I feel that we could make a great run.”
The Saints are hot indeed – Friday night was the team’s third consecutive win, putting them above .500 for the first time since 2021.
Berks Catholic’s offense had a dream start to the night, scoring touchdowns on its first five possessions. Three were passes by Suski, one to Scott Duffy (32 yards) and two to Gavin Welker (38 and 28 yards). Bryce Gumby and Owen Schalk also found the end zone on runs of the 21 yards and 5 yards, respectively.
Starting fast was a big point of emphasis for the Saints, who have gotten off to rough starts in recent weeks.
“For whatever reason, we were getting out of the gate slowly,” Stahler said. “We’ve got to start fighting when the bell sounds, not waiting to see if we can compete.”
The Hawks (3-3, 5-4) were playing without three starters, most notably record-setting quarterback Tyler Shuey, who was injured in last week’s Frost Bowl loss to Schuylkill Valley.
“It’s a tough week because we’re missing a bunch of guys,” Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert said. “And then we had a couple of injuries this game, and we’re playing with some new dudes, so it gets you really quick.”
The Saints defense did everything it could to shut down the shorthanded Hawks and backup quarterback Isaak Stewart, forcing three turnovers in the first half. Two were fumble recoveries by Johnny Sauppee and Faith Zudie, one an interception by Schalk.
“I thought our defensive line played great,” Stahler said. “The whole defense played well, but that defensive line was great.”
The Saints scored on their first drive of the second half. Aidan Curley punched it in from a yard out.
Hamburg scored twice, once on an 18-yard connection between Stewart and Ty Werley in the second quarter, and again on a 6-yard run by Misael Oviedo in the fourth quarter.
The Hawks, who entered play at No. 13 in the 10-team 4A district bracket, likely had their district playoff hopes dashed. However, they will be in position for a spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs by beating winless Columbia next week.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hamburg | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Berks Catholic | 14 | 28 | 6 | 0 | 48 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Gumby, 21 run (Osorio kick) | 5:38 |
| 1 | Berks Catholic | Duffy, 32 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 2:56 |
| 2 | Hamburg | Werley, 18 pass from Stewart (Blatt kick) | 9:42 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Welker, 28 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 7:44 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Welker, 38 pass from Suski (Osorio kick) | 7:17 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Gerald, 61 run (Osorio kick) | 4:32 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Schalk, 5 run (Osorio kick) | 1:40 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Curley, 1 run (kick failed) | 3:41 |
| 4 | Hamburg | Oviedo, 6 run (Blatt kick) | 6:31 |
Team statistics
| Hamburg | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 8 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 20-48 | 42-305 |
| Passing yards | 71 | 137 |
| Total yards | 119 | 442 |
| Passes | 7-14-1 | 4-6-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-38 | 1-42 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-20 | 14-147 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hamburg: Moore 7-34, Ernst 9-25, Oviedo 1-6, Stewart 3-(-17).
Berks Catholic: Gerald 7-115, Rose 9-88, Gumby 6-46, Guilavogui 5-30, Schalk 5-23, Curley 6-14, Team 2-(-2), Suski 2-(-9).
PASSING
Hamburg: Stewart 6-12-1–52, Moore 1-2-0–19.
Berks Catholic: Suski 4-4-0-137, Harter 0-2-0–0.
RECEIVING
Hamburg: Werley 2-24, Horvath 2-16, Brady 1-19, Moore 1-6, Ernst 1-6.
Berks Catholic: Welker 2-66, Kozik 1-39, Duffy 1-32.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Schalk.
