Berks Catholic football 'looking forward' to first season in Section 4 of expanded Lancaster-Lebanon League

Aug. 11—After two years of playing against much larger schools in Section 1 of the Berks Football League, Berks Catholic now finds itself amongst competition its own size.

The Saints are eager to face like-sized schools as members of Section 4 of the expanded Lancaster-Lebanon League, which features 37 total teams, including 14 from Berks.

"I'm looking forward to playing teams that are our size," Berks Catholic coach Rick Keeley said. "I think we're going to settle in now being with schools our own size with good programs."

The Saints had played "up" the last two seasons, both within the Berks Football League and in PIAA classification as a Class 4A program, despite being classified as a 3A team by enrollment. Despite their size, Berks Catholic found success, going 12-8 over the past two years and reaching the District 3 Class 4A semifinals last season.

The Saints have since returned to Class 3A (determined via enrollment) and find themselves in an eight-team division that features five Class 4A programs in Lampeter-Strasburg, Donegal, Octorara, Conrad Weiser and Elco, and one Class 5A team in Cocalico.

The eighth and final team in Section 4 of the new L-L is Berks Catholic's archrival — Wyomissing, a Class 3A program.

"I think our division, not to take anything away from the other divisions, but top to bottom, our division, there's some pretty good football teams," Keeley said. "There's going to be a lot of good football games in Section 4 this year."

One of those games will be the Backyard Brawl, as the placement of Berks Catholic and Wyomissing in the same division for the first time since 2019, when they were both in Section 2 of the Berks Football League, marks the return of the rivalry game. The two teams will open conference play against one another in Week 4 on Friday, Sept. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Forino Sports Complex.

"I think back to freshman year playing against Wyomissing in that Backyard Brawl and how ecstatic that was," senior running back and defensive back Josiah "JayJay" Jordan said. "I'm just glad it's back."

After losing 2021 starting quarterback Mitchell Gatz and leading rusher Christian Cacchione to graduation, Jordan is expected to be an even bigger part of the Saints' offense this season. As a junior, Jordan accumulated 1,105 yards from scrimmage — 800 of which came on the ground — and 20 touchdowns in the Saints' run-heavy offense.

"A lot is expected from us as Berks Catholic," Jordan said. "We're here to step up."

Berks Catholic enters this season with a young roster and with less depth than in past seasons, according to Keeley. While the coach said he expects more players will be playing both sides of the ball this season, the Saints have shown signs of improvement through offseason workouts.

"We're working back to that stability," senior offensive lineman Jacob Collazo said. "This offseason has been great. We've been putting younger kids in new positions and they've been flourishing."

Berks Catholic will open its season on Friday, Aug. 26, against Loyalsock, before traveling to Executive Education and Pope John Paul II the next two weeks. The Saints defeated Executive Education and Pope John Paul II last season.

"I see a lot of good football games there that I'm looking forward to coaching," Keeley said. "You got to coach (well), you got to play (well), if you're going to win."

In addition to hosting the Backyard Brawl against the Spartans, Berks Catholic also will welcome Section 4 opponents Donegal, Conrad Weiser and Cocalico to the Forino Sports Complex in 2022. The Saints will travel to Lampeter-Strasburg, Octorara and Elco.

"We haven't played these teams before," Collazo said. "We want to show them what we've learned and what we've accomplished against those (big) schools and dominate our new league."

Dominating will be no easy task, as seven of the eight Section 4 teams, including Berks Catholic, made the District 3 playoffs last season. Wyomissing won its third straight District 3 Class 3A title and finished as the PIAA Class 3A runner-up for the second straight year. Elco, the one section team that didn't make districts last year, was the Class 4A runner-up in 2020.

Despite the stiff competition, the Saints are ready for the challenge.

"We always want to play for a championship," Keeley said. "We're ready to play."

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A look at the Saints

Coach: Rick Keeley, 12th season, 108-29 (270-148-3 overall in 36 seasons).

Last year: 3-2 Berks Football League Section 1, 7-5. District 3 Class 4A semifinalist.

PIAA classification: 3A.

Schedule: Aug. 26, Loyalsock; Sept. 2, at Executive Education; Sept. 10, at Pope John Paul II; Sept. 16, Wyomissing; Sept. 23, Donegal; Sept. 30, Conrad Weiser; Oct. 7, at Lampeter-Strasburg; Oct. 14, at Octorara; Oct. 21, Cocalico; Oct. 28, at Elco.