Berks Catholic ground attack chucks Hamburg, 42-14, in battle of Berks 2 unbeatens
HAMBURG>> The Berks Catholic Saints strode into Hamburg Friday night and left bootprints all over the turf, rolling up 434 yards rushing — the vast majority in the first half — to beat the host Hawks 42-14 in a clash of Berks League Section 2 unbeatens.
Behind an opportunistic and razor-sharp offense, the Saints (7-0, 3-0 Berks 2) obliterated Hamburg’s chances with a 42-point first half, keyed by an offensive line that owned the trenches with the Lutz brothers running behind it.
Isaac Lutz ran for four first-quarter touchdowns and piled 164 yards rushing on 10 carries. Brother Cooper Lutz had 113 yards on seven totes, with two scores. Marcus Wilson — who would be a likely starter on several other teams — had 82 on nine. Isaac Lutz had a fifth, 59-yard jaunt to paydirt wiped out by a holding call.
All this damage (363 yards-worth) came in the opening 24 minutes. None of the trio touched the ball after the break, which commenced with a running clock.
Conversely, the Catholic defense also dominated, holding potent Hawks running back Ignacio Reynoso to 23 rushing yards on 13 carries, while bottling up dual-threat quarterback Nick Kuhn to 34 yards rushing and 67 passing.
It was as if Berks Catholic came into Hamburg (4-3, 3-1) to say, “this is still our section”. And to hear it afterwards, well, that’s not really off-course.
“We watched the film and we knew Hamburg was undefeated in our league, and it’s a game we hyped up,” Isaac Lutz said. “I think we really focused. The holes were wide open and I was hitting them. We hit the holes hard.
“I saw a lot of open room. Our line just loves to open up holes for us.”
Isaac Lutz scored on touchdown runs of nine, 24, 73 and nine yards during the first quarter — the final three coming in a 2:15 span; the last two 20 seconds apart. His fourth and final score of the evening was set up by a Hamburg turnover on the ensuing kickoff after his third gave the Saints a 21-0 lead.
It was brutal, efficient, no-nonsense football.
“We have a very good football team and was very proud of the way they played tonight,” Berks Catholic head coach Rick Keeley said. “Isaac’s the one who gets into the end zone, but there a lot of guys who are blocking for him him so he can get into the end zone.
“I was most proud of our defense tonight. Their fullback (Reynoso) … he’s a legit player. So we challenged our defense, ‘you gotta stop this kid. Let’s see if we can slow him down a bit.’ And my hat’s off to them. The defense rose to the occasion and shut down a very good back, and our offense kept doing what it’s been doing all year.”
Cooper Lutz picked up the second quarter where his brother left off, polishing off quick-hit drives of 56 and 37 yards, the second coming on the first snap following a Hamburg fumble.
The Hawks had early chances to stay in it. Following Jordan McAllister’s 19-yard TD run that made it 28-7 early in the second quarter, the Hawks recovered an onsides kick — but failed to capitalize in Saints territory and turned the ball over on downs. A perfectly-thrown post pattern ball, with the Saints in zero coverage, was dropped with no white jerseys in sight at the Berks Catholic 35. An interception of Saints’ quarterback Terrance Derr near midfield went nowhere.
But mostly, it was a night where Berks Catholic came to make a statement, and did.
Berks Catholic – 28 14 0 0 — 42
Hamburg – 0 7 7 0 — 14
First Quarter
BC – Isaac Lutz 9 run (Alex Gundersen kick), 10:16
BC – I Lutz 24 run (Gundersen kick), 4:02
BC – I lutz 73 run (Dante Fuchs kick), 2:07
BC – I Lutz 9 run (Gundersen kick), 1:47
Second quarter
H – Jordan McAllister 19 run (Aaron Nelson kick), 6:12
BC – Cooper Lutz 3 run (kick blocked), 3:33
BC – C Lutz 37 run (I Lutz run), 3:09
Third Quarter
H – Dariel Ruiz 5 pass from Nick Kuhn (Nelson kick), :16
First downs
BC 18, H 10
Rushes-yards
BC 39-434, H 35-102
Passing
BC 1-4-21-1, H 6-11-67-0
Total yards
BC 455, H 169
Fumbles-lost
BC 2-1, H 2-2
Penalties
BC 8-79, H 3-21
Punts-ave.
BC 2-32.0, H 4-37.3
