For 24 minutes, Berks Catholic stayed right with one of the top teams in the mighty Philadelphia Catholic League. The Saints trailed Devon Prep 38-36 entering the fourth quarter of the PIAA-4A championship on Thursday night at the Giant Center. Then Berks Catholic got cold, ice cold. The District 3 …
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Berks Catholic picked a good time to play one of its best games of the season. The top-seeded Saints blew out fifth-seeded Susquehanna Township 61-42 to earn a trip to Hershey. “It’s absolutely unbelievable. I love the place,” said longtime coach Snip Esterly. Berks Catholic will face second-seeded Eastern York …
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Everyone in Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium knew who was taking the last shot for Berks Catholic. “We just wanted to spread it and let Kingston go to work because he’s so hard to cover. He can go either left or right,” said Saints’ coach Snip Esterly. McKoy went behind his back, …
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Over Snip Esterly’s 35 years as a head coach, defense has always been the driving force. Berks Catholic allowed just 47 points per game a season ago when the Saints won 23 games and their second straight District 3 championship. Entering Friday’s contest with ninth-seeded Middletown, Berks Catholic was giving …
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Berks Catholic squared off with Muhlenberg on Friday at Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium. If you thought the Saints were going to be flat after an intense 72-64 win over Exeter on Thursday, think again. Berks Catholic hammered the Muhls 64-39. Head coach Snip Esterly gave credit to his players for the …
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Lloyd Wolf Gymnasium only holds about one thousand people. It can get very loud in a hurry. The decibel levels reached a peak right before the third quarter buzzer when Josh McKoy threw down a powerful one-handed dunk. Top-seeded Berks Catholic outscored #4 seed Octorara 17-7 in that period. The …
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Getting down 12-0 to one of the top Class 6A teams in District 3 wasn’t exactly part of Snip Esterly’s game plan. “I calmly told them in the huddle that it’s just where we want them,” joked Esterly. The longtime head coach with 783 wins over 34 seasons is well …
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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 …
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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 …
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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.” …
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Berks Sports Report Paul Roberts