Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
Berks Catholic head coach Dave Stahler knows the importance of special teams. The Saints turned two Kutztown punts into touchdowns in a 57-0 rout on Thursday night. The Cougars failed to get off another punt deep in their own territory and lost a fumble on a kickoff. “It’s a-third of the game, it really matters. It’s something we work hard on at practice. We got a couple breaks on special teams tonight and those make a huge difference in the game,” said Stahler.
Kutztown punter Logan Seip bobbled the snap on the opening possession. He was tackled immediately at the 10-yard line. Ryan Spatz went up the middle for a touchdown on Berks Catholic’s first offensive play. The 180-pound senior ended up with four carries for 21 yards. Spatz was also in on seven tackles at linebacker. The Cougars’ second drive lasted ten minutes and covered 59 yards, but didn’t translate into points. Myles Moriarty threw an incomplete pass on fourth-and-9 from the Saints’ 21-yard line. Moriarty, a 6’4 sophomore, was filling in for injured quarterback Athan Amato.
Coy Koller, Berks Catholic’s leading rusher, ripped off a 24-yard run on their second series. Freshman quarterback Kellen Bowman then lofted a long pass down the left sideline to Jayvien Martinez. Cornerback Hunter Amato had good coverage on the play. He tipped the pass off of Martinez’s helmet. The ball went up in the air and into the hands of Martinez for a 44-yard touchdown. “It’s a funny-shaped ball and sometimes you get a lucky bounce,” replied Stahler. The Saints were in front 14-0 with 10:13 left in the second quarter.
On the ensuing possession, All-State defensive end Faith Zudie blocked Ryan Walters’ punt and stumbled two yards into the end zone for a touchdown. The 6’3, 210-pound senior made it 21-0 with 7:46 remaining in the first half. Three minutes later, Walters found himself punting from his own goal line. The snap to him was high and to his right. Walters picked up the ball and was under heavy pressure again from Zudie. The punt went off the side of Walters’ foot and was scooped up by Jake Schmehl who went two yards for a touchdown. Berks Catholic had increased its margin to 27-0 with 4:41 to go before halftime.
Kutztown couldn’t corral the kickoff and the (3-4, 3-1) Saints recovered at the 28-yard line. That was one of four turnovers by the (2-5, 1-3) Cougars. It resulted in a 38-yard field goal from Alex Reali with 3:02 left in the half. On the following drive, Moriarty and Walters had trouble with the exchange. Berks Catholic pounced on the fumble and turned it into another score. Zudie took a sweep to the right and raced 27 yards for a touchdown. The Saints’ lead had ballooned to 37-0 with two minutes remaining in the second quarter. Martinez isn’t surprised at the success that Zudie is having this fall. “It starts from the weight room, it starts from the summer. He’s always working. He’s always being a leader. He’s always showing us how to get stuff done,” noted Martinez. The first half came to a close with Martinez making an interception.
Berks Catholic turned to its backups in the second half. Armani Arguinzoni broke free for a 63-yard TD run to begin the third quarter. The speedy 170-pound freshman added a 33-yard TD run with 23 seconds left in the third period. Arguinzoni put the Saints on top 51-0. Sophomore Amari Bridges-Weaver capped the scoring with a 31-yard TD run with 2:37 on the clock. Martinez, a 5’10 junior, was glad that the younger players got an opportunity to shine. “It’s really cool. Those kids are always on the scout [team]. They’re working at practice. They’re getting hit and they’re sacrificing their bodies for us to get better. I’m happy seeing them get in,” remarked Martinez.
Walters had piled up 1,220 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns in Kutztown’s first six games. The 6’, 180-pound junior is in pursuit of Calvin Laing’s school record of 1,589 yards which was set in 2005. Walters managed 69 yards on 19 carries at Berks Catholic. Moriarty ran the ball eleven times for just 16 yards out of the Power-T formation. He was 1-of-4 for 20 yards through the air. The Cougars ran 25 more plays than the Saints, but were outgained 309-to-161. Zudie and safety Mason Mace had eight tackles apiece. “All we had to worry about was the run and our [defensive] line and our linebackers took care of that,” said Martinez.
The Saints were the District 3-3A runner-up last year. Only four teams qualify for the Class 3A tournament this season. Berks Catholic moved up from #7 to #5 in the District 3 power rankings after defeating Kutztown. The Saints are behind Schuylkill Valley, Wyomissing, Hamburg, and Pequea Valley. Berks Catholic travels to Columbia next Friday.