Eric Bennethum – Berks Sports Report https://berkssportsreport.com Paul Roberts Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:34:23 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=7.0.4 Eric Bennethum-Berks Catholic https://berkssportsreport.com/eric-bennethum-berks-catholic/ Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:31:51 +0000 https://berkssportsreport.com/?p=5649 Eric Bennethum has been a mainstay along the line of scrimmage for Berks Catholic. The 6’2, 265-pound senior is preparing for his fourth season as a starter for the Saints. Bennethum was named the Offensive Lineman of the Year in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League last fall. He was a second team selection at defensive end. Dave Stahler, who’s entering his third year as head coach, welcomes back eight starters on defense from a (9-3, 7-0) squad. “Our defense is gonna be good. I’m not concerned at all about our defense,” stated Bennethum.

Berks Catholic returns its top three tacklers, including defensive end Faith Zudie. The 6’2, 210-pound senior earned All-State recognition in 2025. Zudie led the Saints with 90 combined tackles and 19 tackles for loss. “Iron sharpens iron at the end of the day. Me and Faith line up for practically every drill we do. We go after each other. It’s awesome having a person of his caliber,” emphasized Bennethum. Mason Mace, a junior safety, and Josiah Turman, a senior cornerback, will be in the secondary. Mace made 81 tackles a season ago. Ryan Spatz and Coy Koller provide experience at linebacker. Spatz ended up with 74 tackles during his junior campaign.

Four of Berks Catholic’s top five rushers are gone from their Wing-T attack. Xavier Gerald, Owen Schalk, and Aidan Curley graduated. Gerald ran for a team-high 876 yards and eight touchdowns, while averaging 9.6 yards per carry. Jeremiah Camara, who finished with 758 rushing yards and 7 TD, transferred to Penn Charter. Koller is coming off a solid sophomore season. He had 531 yards and 8 TD on 81 carries. Koller will be joined in the backfield this year by Spatz, Zudie, Mace, and junior Logan Gonzalez. Colton Drumheller, Jack McKeone, and Bennethum return along the offensive line. Bennethum is also part of the lacrosse team and he plans to wrestle again this winter.

Cole Harter was the Saints’ starting quarterback last fall, but he was injured in Week 3 against Bethlehem Catholic. Johnny Sauppee took over under center. Berks Catholic only attempted 80 passes in a dozen games. The Saints managed just 365 passing yards. They have a young quarterback in the mix this year. Kellen Bowman is a freshman who also plays basketball and baseball. “I’m gonna be honest, he looks great. Physically, he’s ready. He just needs to be confident; that’s the main thing,” remarked Bennethum.

The Saints went unbeaten in league play last season. They were one game ahead of Annville-Cleona in the Section 5 standings. “We shouldn’t have a problem winning that section again. There are some good teams, but I think we just have to play hard and compete…our ultimate goal is District’s,” said Bennethum. Berks Catholic was the top seed in the District 3-3A playoffs last fall. The Saints fell to third-seeded Trinity 17-0 in the championship game. Berks Catholic is (21-7) all-time in the District 3 tournament with four titles.

The Saints open the new season with a tough test on the road. They travel to Notre Dame-Green Pond on Friday, August 28th. The (12-1) Crusaders lost to Northwestern Lehigh 35-14 in the District 11-3A Championship last year.

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