Newtown helps Berks Catholic rush by Gettysburg

Abdul MacFoy’s game-breaking speed is well known by opposing football teams throughout District 3.

But when teams focus too much on the Berks Catholic speedster, another of his teammates can burn them.

Colby Newton raced 64 yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter Friday night to break a scoreless tie and help third-seeded Berks Catholic defeat No. 6 Gettysburg 14-7 in a District 3 Class 4A quarterfinal game at Forino Sports Complex.

“A lot of teams prepare for Abdul,” Newton said. “Everybody knows he’s fast, he’s quick. But we have a lot of good weapons up our sleeve.”

MacFoy also broke off a big run for a 35-yard touchdown in the third quarter and Berks Catholic (7-4) held on defeat the Warriors (8-3) and advance to the semifinals next week to visit No. 2 Milton Hershey, a 22-10 winner over Conrad Weiser.

Newton carried just seven times but finished with 119 yards. MacFoy had 113 yards on 15 carries as Berks Catholic rushed for 307 yards.

CJ Carwll also had a 35-yard run late in the game as Berks Catholic had five runs of 30 yards or more. Carwll carried 10 times for 61 yards.

“Colby made a big play,” Berks Catholic coach Rick Keeley said. “The last five minutes of the half it seemed like our offensive line started taking control of the line of scrimmage. Colby was running hard, the guys gave him a crease and he has the speed to take it the distance.”

Gettysburg quarterback Zach Ketterman scored on a 2-yard run on fourth down with 10:08 left to cut Berks Catholic’s lead in half.

After the Saints had a drive stopped deep in Gettysburg territory with three minutes left, the Warriors moved to a fourthand-6 at the Berks Catholic 39.

A 5-yard penalty on the Saints made it fourth-and-1 with 1:30 left.

The Warriors decided to try a screen pass, but Mark McFadden rushed in and pressured Ketterman into throwing the ball up for grabs while back peddling. The ball fell harmlessly to the ground as Berks Catholic survived.

“I went in almost untouched,” McFadden said. “I knew I had to get after the quarterback there.

Our defense stayed strong until the end.”

The Saints also came up with a big stop in the second quarter. Starting from its own 7, Gettysburg went 83 yards in 15 plays but had its drive stopped at the Saints 10-yard line 1 yard shy of a first down.

“That was some good defense we had there,” McFadden said. “We all trust and believe in each other. It’s great to have that.”

Gunner Pennington finished with 108 yards on 15 carries for Gettysburg, including runs of 28 and 29 yards on the Warriors’ 85-yard touchdown drive.