This wasn’t your typical summer league basketball game. Wilson (Marrella Financial) and Berks Catholic (Berks Packing) needed overtime to decide the West Reading League championship on Thursday. Nothing came easy in this matchup of two of the top high school programs in District 3. Berks Catholic emerged with a hard-fought …
Read More »Bryce Gumby-West Reading All-Stars
The West Reading All-Star team was assembled just a few days ago, but they looked like they had been playing together for years. They faced Franklin High School from Sacramento on Saturday morning at Berks Catholic. The game was part of the West Reading-Sacramento Cultural Exchange program which is celebrating …
Read More »Brandon Shurr-Berks Catholic
Experience is a great teacher. Berks Catholic only had two seniors on its baseball roster last year. Head coach Brandon Shurr started five freshman and a sophomore. While the 2021 season was a difficult one for the Saints, that experience is now paying dividends. Berks Catholic has gone from (5-15, …
Read More »RJ Emrich-Berks Catholic
The 2021 season wasn’t a fun one for the Berks Catholic baseball team. The Saints started five freshman and a sophomore, and finished the year with just five wins. They went (2-10) in league play. RJ Emrich told me that the lopsided losses from a season ago resulted in the …
Read More »Bob Birmingham-Berks Catholic
Caraline Herb made twelve 3-pointers last season against Reading. The 5’7 junior was an amazing 12-15 from beyond the arc in that game last February. You can understand why Berks Catholic head coach Bob Birmingham was glad to see the ball end up in Herb’s hands with five seconds left …
Read More »Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic
Snip Esterly called the Philadelphia Catholic League one of the best leagues on the East Coast. He was well aware that Archbishop Carroll was much better than its (12-10, 5-8) record. The Patriots went (7-1) against non-league competition. To say that Berks Catholic got a tough draw in the opening …
Read More »Bob Birmingham-Berks Catholic
The Berks Catholic girls basketball team outscored top-seeded Delone Catholic 24-19 over the last three quarters. The problem for the third-seeded Saints was the first eight minutes of the District 3-4A championship at the Giant Center. The (26-1) Squirettes held Berks Catholic to three points in the opening period. Giana …
Read More »Jay Jay Jordan-Berks Catholic
“An exemplary display or performance.” That’s one definition for the word clinic. That’s precisely what the District 3-4A championship game turned into on Thursday afternoon in Hershey. Top-seeded Berks Catholic dominated #3 seed Middletown from the opening tip. The (23-4) Saints were on top 19-4 after eight minutes. They led …
Read More »Snip Esterly-Berks Catholic
How well did Berks Catholic play against Middletown in the District 3-4A championship? Well, head coach Snip Esterly was at a loss for words after the 60-37 rout. If you know Esterly, you understand that’s a very rare occurrence. The (23-4) Saints raced out to a 19-4 lead after the …
Read More »Jay Jay Jordan-Berks Catholic
The Saints entered the District 3-4A semifinals against Littlestown with 172 3-pointers. No Berks Conference team has made more. Even great teams have off nights from beyond the arc, and that was the case on Monday at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. #1 seed Berks Catholic connected just twice from long range. …
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