Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
You don’t often praise a defense that allows 348 rushing yards in a game. Berks Catholic bent, but didn’t break on Thursday night at Annville-Cleona. As the late John Belushi said in the comedy classic National Lampoon’s Animal House, “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” The (2-4, 2-1) Saints made two goal-line stands in the final three minutes to pull off a thrilling 21-14 victory. “The defensive coaches put together a great scheme. The kids stood up and toughed it out at the end. We talk about conditioning coming out at some point and it did tonight. I’m really proud of the kids’ effort,” remarked Berks Catholic head coach Dave Stahler. Faith Zudie was in on both stops at the 1-yard line. The athletic 6’3, 210-pound defensive end also provided a 12-yard touchdown run. “He’s so impactful on defense and on offense. He’s on all our special teams. He’s a pleasure to coach, a pleasure to teach. He’s a great kid to be around,” noted Stahler.
The Saints won despite being outgained 423-to-230. The (3-3, 2-1) Dutchmen finished with a 24-to-9 advantage in first downs. They’ve used a triple-option attack to average 329 rushing yards per game and 6.7 yards per carry this season. Annville-Cleona reached the 1-yard line with just over two and a-half minutes left. On fourth down, Devon Englehart was wrapped up for no gain by Zudie, Joe Lanza, and Jack McKeone. Lanza, a linebacker, and McKeone, a 250-pound defensive tackle, are both sophomores.
Berks Catholic wasn’t able to pick up a first down which forced Alex Reali to punt from the end zone. The 6’1, 215-pound junior wasn’t fazed. Reali boomed a 63-yard punt to the 33-yard line with 1:29 remaining. The Dutchmen went into their bags of tricks. Quarterback John Ditzler threw the ball backwards to backup quarterback Lane Peters from the 39-yard line. Peters then hit freshman Tyler Gingrich for a 41-yard pass play to the Saints’ 20-yard line. Tyler is the son of Matt Gingrich who’s in his 12th season as the head coach at Annville-Cleona. Ditzler connected with Danny Shay along the left sideline for a 10-yard completion with 20 seconds on the clock. Gingrich caught the next pass to the 1-yard line with 13 seconds to go. Englehart tried to go up the middle on the final play, but he was stuffed by Zudie, Coy Koller, and Lincoln Miller. “I’m very proud of our defense,” replied Zudie.
Berks Catholic marched 64 yards on the opening possession and grabbed a 7-0 lead. The drive included a 21-yard run by Mason Mace and a 12-yard run from Koller. Ryan Spatz capped the series with a 13-yard touchdown run through the heart of the defense. The Dutchmen responded with an 80-yard possession that took four and a-half minutes. The Saints got a healthy dose of fullback Yama Navarro. A 16-yard run by Navarro set up his 3-yard touchdown with 3:39 left in the first quarter. The 5’8, 175-pound senior ended up with an eye-popping 34 carries for 230 yards. Navarro is already up to 1,029 rushing yards and 9 TD this fall. Englehart added 92 yards and a score on a dozen carries. The 5’5, 153-pound senior has 652 yards on the ground and 10 TD.
Berks Catholic went in front 14-7 by going 71 yards on its second series. Koller had a 37-yard run which led to a 12-yard touchdown by Zudie on the first play of the second quarter. Zudie scored on a sweep to the left on fourth-and-2. “He told me just to get the first down, but it was wide open so I got that touchdown…running the ball is more exciting [than playing defense],” mentioned Zudie with a grin. Koller turned twelve carries into 130 yards and a score. The 5’11, 180-pound junior also had a 78-yard TD run wiped out by a holding penalty.
The ensuing possession ended with “Jo Jo” Turman making an interception in the end zone on fourth-and-7 from the 19-yard line. Ditzler was 5-of-8 for 35 yards on the night. Annville-Cleona got the ball back at its 42-yard line with three minutes remaining in the first half. Englehart took an option pitch from Ditzler and raced 58 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown. The Section 5 foes went into the locker room even at 14-14.
Koller went 47 yards on a counter for the tiebreaking touchdown with 7:05 to go in the third quarter. The Saints’ defense forced three consecutive punts. Miller, a 215-pound freshman linebacker, was credited with 16 total tackles. Mace, a junior safety, wasn’t far behind with 14 combined tackles. Zudie was a force off the edge with a dozen tackles.
Only four teams will qualify for the District 3-3A playoffs this year. Berks Catholic entered Thursday at #8 in the power rankings. “If we didn’t win this, there was a chance of not making District’s,” acknowledged Zudie. Stahler knew that it was an important game as well. “I felt a lot of pressure. I try not to tell the kids that there was a lot of pressure. I try to let them just play, but I’m sure they felt it. Matt [Gingrich] does a great job, runs a great program. It’s fun to play teams like that,” said Stahler.
