Berks Catholic Wins “Backyard Brawl”

You can see the lights of the Berks Catholic football stadium from the Wyomissing Area campus on Friday nights. These two schools separated by barely over a mile met Saturday in what is accurately called the “Backyard Brawl”. So much more was on the line besides the Keeley-Wolfum Trophy. Undefeated regular seasons, the Berks Section 2 outright title and the District 3 AA top playoff seed. In a game that lived up to all the hype, Berks Catholic scored a late fourth quarter TD to defeat Wyomissing Area 19-14

Junior Isaac Lutz led the way to victory for the Saints. Lutz scored the 3

three BC TD’s and had two sparkling receptions in the game-winning, fourth quarter drive.

The first quarter began as a defensive stalemate. Each team forced a turnover and neither could get any offensive momentum. Finally The Saints mounted a drive. With :16 left in the quarter Isaac Lutz capped a 16 play, 88 yard drive with a five-yard TD. It was 7-0 BC going into Quarter Two.

The defenses ruled for most of the second quarter. Finally Wyomissing took to the air and moved the ball against the BC Defense. Sam Weaver scored on a seven-yard run to tie things up at seven with 2:20 in the half. That’s how the first half ended tied at seven in a bruising Defensive struggle.

The third quarter proved to be no different than the rest of the game. Each team could gain no offensive momentum. Finally late in the quarter a 63 yard run by Joe Stiles broke the Saints out from deep in their own End. Isaac Lutz ran it in from the 27 on the next play to give BC a 13-7 lead with 1:15 left in the quarter.

Wyomissing never was able to move the ball on the ground. Spartans QB Scott Kuczala then connected on a 57-yard bomb to Sam Weaver late in the fourth quarter to vault the Spartans in front 14-13 with 3:55 left. BC got the ball back for one final drive. On a key fourth and five, game on the line play, Saint QB Pat Causa hit Isaac Lutz for 26 yards and a first down. Two plays later it was Lutz making a great end zone grab to make Berks Catholic a winner 19-14

Seldom do games live up to the hype. The 2014 version of the “Backyard Brawl” was everything and more. There is no question that these teams will once again be “brawling” in the District 3 playoffs.