Ryan Koch-Berks Catholic

Paul Roberts — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 11:00:00 +0000

Berks Catholic visited Wilson on January 11th for a Division 1 battle. The Saints came up short that night, but Ryan Koch showed everyone in West Lawn that he was legit. The 6’4 shooting guard finished with a career-high 27 points including 17 in the second half. He splashed six 3-pointers in the 51-48 loss to the Bulldogs. Koch hit three triples in the fourth quarter to keep the Saints in the game. Berks Catholic went on to win 23 games and a District 3 championship. The Saints hammered Middletown 60-37 at the Giant Center in the Class 4A Final. It’s their fourth District 3 title in eleven years. With Koch, JayJay Jordan, and Jack Miller all returning, they will be contenders again this season. Jordan is an all-county point guard who averaged a team-high 15.6 points per game. He was named the Section 4 Defensive Back of the Year this week in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. Jordan was also voted a first team running back and kick returner. Miller is a sniper from long distance. The senior guard drilled 44 treys last season. Koch is a versatile scorer who provided 14 ppg. a season ago. He led the Berks Conference with 63 3-pointers. Koch is headed to Division II Pitt-Johnstown. “I just fell in love with the coaches right away. They’re really good guys. They came to a lot of my games last year,” he said. Koch scored 20 or more points five times as a junior. He enters this year with 605 career points. Berks Catholic got a boost when 6’3 junior Josh McKoy and his brother Kingston transferred from Antietam. Josh averaged 15 points a night for the Mounts. Kingston is a freshman who will get minutes with the varsity team. “Josh brings a lot of size and Kingston brings his quick abilities. They’re both very unselfish…They’re filling good roles,” noted Koch. Jaxon Geddio played well this summer for Berks Catholic in the West Reading League. The Saints are moving from Division 1 to Division 2 of the Berks Conference this year. Three of their five losses last season came against Reading. The Red Knights defeated Berks Catholic 51-35 in the Berks County championship. About 3,700 fans were in attendance at Santander Arena to see that heavyweight matchup. I asked Koch about the competition in Berks County. He replied, “It’s always a battle each and every night. You gotta come out with your best game. If you don’t, you can get taken advantage of real quick.” Division 2 now includes Berks Catholic, Exeter, Conrad Weiser, Twin Valley, and Daniel Boone. Koch told me that his favorite NBA player is Jayson Tatum and his favorite rapper is Drake. The Saints open the season at Exeter’s tip-off tournament. They face Allentown Central Catholic next Friday. Berks Catholic head coach Snip Esterly has a remarkable career record of (769-212) with eight Berks County championships, thirteen District 3 titles, and a state gold medal from 2007 with Reading Central Catholic. He spent 22 years with the Cardinals. This will be Esterly’s 12th season with the Saints (227-79).

Ryan Koch-Berks Catholic

Paul Roberts — Thu, 24 Feb 2022 22:06:00 +0000

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 is a big reason for their success. The 6’3 junior connected four times from beyond the arc on his way to a game-high 19 points. The trio of Koch, Jack Miller, and Aidan Sands has knocked down 133 treys this season. Koch (56-3’s) and Sands were both all-division selections in a very competitive Division 1 of the Berks Conference which includes Reading, Wilson, Exeter, and Gov. Mifflin. Miller had the hot hand early. The 5’10 junior hit three of his four triples in the first half. He finished with twelve points. Sands added nine. Berks Catholic led 12-11 after the opening quarter. The Saints went on an 11-4 run over the first two and a-half minutes of the second period. Miller sank a pair of 3-pointers and Aron Reinhart came off the bench to provide five points. Only two more points were scored the rest of the quarter. Berks Catholic took a 25-15 advantage to the locker room. The Berks County runner-up outscored ELCO 13-4 in the second period. Koch had eight points in the third quarter including two shots from long range. His 3-pointer late in the period gave the Saints a 40-24 edge. He made another one from the left corner with 3:45 remaining for a 48-34 lead. Berks Catholic ended up with nine triples compared to three for the (14-11) Raiders. The Section 4 champions from the Lancaster-Lebanon League feature 6’7 senior Corey Attivo and 6’3, 210-pound senior Luke Williams. I talked with Koch about going up against the size of ELCO. Attivo had a team-high 14 points. He scored their first five points of the game. His dad, Scott, helped Steel-High win two state championships. Corey is getting a lot of Division III interest. Williams is headed to Bloomsburg to play linebacker. He piled up more than 400 tackles in his high school career. Williams averages a dozen points, but was held to four by the top-seeded Saints. Sophomore guard Dallas George chipped in with nine points for the Raiders. They got eight from 6’2 senior Rheece Shuey. ELCO went 5-7 from the free throw line, while Berks Catholic was 10-14. Each team only committed six turnovers. Koch was happy to be playing at home. We discussed longtime coach Snip Esterly. Koch admitted that he was intimidated by Esterly early in his career, but he realizes that Snip wants the best for him. Esterly is (767-211) over 33 years as a head coach. He has won 225 games in eleven seasons at Berks Catholic. Esterly’s postseason record is a remarkable (191-70). He’s looking for his 13th District 3 title. The Saints will host #4 Littlestown in the semifinals on Monday at 7pm. Koch loves to golf. I asked him about his favorite golfers, and would he rather play in the NBA or on the PGA Tour. His answers may surprise you. You will also learn who his favorite teacher is at Berks Catholic. Plus, Koch explained why he doesn’t play football.

Koch – Berks Sports Report

Ryan Koch-Berks Catholic

Ryan Koch-Berks Catholic