Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts
The first round matchups are set for the PIAA basketball tournament. Five boys teams and two girls teams from the BCIAA qualified for the state playoffs this year. The Berks Catholic boys and the Wilson girls received home games in the opening round by virtue of being District 3 champions. …
Read More »Carmelo Harper-Berks Catholic
Carmelo Harper said that Berks Catholic head coach Snip Esterly has been pretty “chill” lately. That’s understandable considering the Saints beat Eastern York by 30 points last Friday in the District 3-4A quarterfinals. Berks Catholic entered Tuesday riding a 17-game winning streak. However, Esterly was far from chill at halftime …
Read More »All-Berks Boys Basketball Team
Snip Esterly and Kingston McKoy of Berks Catholic were selected as the 2025-26 Coach of the Year and Player of the Year in Berks County. Voting was done by the coaches in the BCIAA. Esterly has led the Saints to a record of (23-2) this winter. They’ve won 17 consecutive …
Read More »All-Berks Girls Basketball Team
Matt Raquet and Kailani Hardy of Wilson were selected as the 2025-26 Coach of the Year and Player of the Year in Berks County. Voting was done by the coaches in the BCIAA. Raquet is in his second year at the helm in West Lawn. He has guided the Bulldogs …
Read More »Taylor Grim-Schuylkill Valley
When Schuylkill Valley’s boys basketball team last reached the District 3 semifinals, the players on this year’s team weren’t even born. “Yeah!” by Usher was the #1 song on the charts and “The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King” won the Oscar for Best Picture. On Friday, …
Read More »Laila Jones-Wilson
Gov. Mifflin exploded for 37 points in the second half to beat Wilson 60-56 in the BCIAA semifinals last year. There was nothing that Laila Jones could do to help her teammates as their dreams of a long-awaited Berks County championship vanished. The 5’8 point guard was out of action …
Read More »Brady Altimar-Berks Catholic
Brady Altimar is averaging 3.7 points per game. He was just 6-of-15 from the free throw line this season entering Friday’s BCIAA Championship at Santander Arena. When his team needed him most, the 5’9 senior guard came through. Altimar splashed a 3-pointer from the left corner to tie the game …
Read More »Exeter upsets Gov. Mifflin in BCIAA Semifinals
Exeter’s girls basketball team has experienced a major turnaround. Last season, the Eagles finished (7-15) overall and went (3-8) in league play. Fast-forward twelve months and they’re headed to the BCIAA Championship Game for the first time since 1977. “Super proud, they play together. It’s a fun group to be …
Read More »Laura Crocona-Wilson
Despite all of its success, Wilson’s girls basketball program has had its struggles in the BCIAA playoffs over the past decade. The Bulldogs haven’t captured a county championship since 2014. “We look at the banner pretty much every day when we stretch at practice. We’ve had some heartbreaking losses here,” …
Read More »Saints roll over Eagles in BCIAA Semifinals
Snip Esterly entered Wednesday’s BCIAA semifinal against Exeter with 860 career wins. Whether at Central Catholic or Berks Catholic, his teams have always been known for hard-nosed man-to-man defense. The top-seeded Saints put on a defensive clinic at Santander Arena. They held the fifth-seeded Eagles to five points in the …
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