Tag Archives: Catholic

Size vs. shooting. That was the matchup Thursday night at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium in the District 3-4A quarterfinals. The shooters from Berks Catholic were too much for #8 seed ELCO. The (21-4) Saints won 55-40 and clinched a berth in the state playoffs. Ryan Koch knows that the 3-point shot …

It certainly wasn’t pretty, but when you’re in the playoffs the only thing that matters is moving on. That’s what the Saints did Wednesday night at Santander Arena. Jay Jay Jordan muscled his way to the basket with eight seconds left. His layup gave second-seeded Berks Catholic a 41-40 victory …

Exeter guard Colin Payne came into Thursday’s Division 1 matchup at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium as the leading scorer in Berks County. The 6’3 senior was averaging 20 points a night. I asked Saints’ coach Snip Esterly what his plan was to try and slow down Payne. He simply replied, “JayJay.” …

Saints’ head coach Snip Esterly was worried that Tyler Givens wouldn’t be able to play against Exeter on Thursday. Givens strained his Achilles tendon during the game with Reading on Monday. Not only was the 6’3 senior forward in the lineup, Givens was Berks Catholic’s leading scorer in the first …

Bob Birmingham and Mike Clark have combined for 880 wins. Their squads captured the last seven Berks County championships. The Saints cruised past Gov. Mifflin 65-48 on December 21st, but they were missing all-county guard Caraline Herb in the rematch. The 5’7 junior was leading the Berks League with 34 …

Madison Langdon was the smallest player on the court at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium on Thursday night. She was also one of the best players. The 5’1 freshman scored 12 points and hit a big 3-pointer from the top of the key to give the Saints a two point lead with …

Berks Catholic was originally scheduled to play in a showcase event at Santander Arena on Friday. The Saints were replaced in the first game of that doubleheader by Muhlenberg. That decision didn’t sit well with the Berks Catholic players and it was a talking point in the locker room before …

The end of the first half and the beginning of the third quarter are two critical points in a game. JayJay Jordan came through for the Saints in both sequences. His layup in the final seconds of the second period gave Berks Catholic a 35-24 lead over Muhlenberg. The 5’10 …

Snip Esterly has been a head coach for 33 seasons including the last eleven at Berks Catholic. He’s had a long list of outstanding players. Esterly told me that JayJay Jordan might be the quickest guard that he’s ever coached. Jordan had a team-high 20 points in a 56-51 victory …

Life in Division 1 of the Berks Conference isn’t easy. After a 16-point loss to Reading at the Geigle Complex on Monday, the Saints had to travel to Reiffton to face a vastly improved Exeter squad. The Eagles were (3-14) last year, but came into this matchup at (7-3, 2-1). …