A GUESSING GAME
Berks Catholic playmakers again hope to confuse opponents with the Saints’ Wing-T offense
Rick Keeley takes pride in telling a story about a conversation he had with an opposing coach and one of his players following a game.
“‘Coach, we never knew who had the ball,’ “Keeley recalls the player telling him.
That’s when Keeley knows the Saints are running the Wing-T offense to near perfection, when defenders are chasing down people without the football.
This season, opposing defenses often will be guessing whether the ball will be going to senior running back Christian Cacchione, a 2020 Class 4A All-State team selection.
With Justin Small and Colby Newton graduated, Cacchione is the Saints’ leading returning rusher with 552 yards on 70 carries. He also tied for the team lead with 10 receptions for 298 yards and led Berks Catholic with 11 touchdowns during their 5-3 season.
“I think if I keep getting the rock great things will happen,” Cacchione said. “But we need to be diverse.”
Keeley expects to follow through on the diversity. Cacchione is one of four
playmakers the Saints could call on regularly to navigate through a tough Berks 1 schedule and a challenging slate of non-league opponents.
The 6-0, 175-pound Cacchione undoubtedly will be the player opposing coaches will try to gameplan against.
“He’s a playmaker so you want to give your playmaker the ball,” Keeley said. “He’s one of four in our offense. We distribute the ball really well in our passing game and in our running game.
“When he has the ball in his hands, he’s a threat to score a touchdown.”
When he’s carrying out his fakes, Cacchione also can open the field for other players such as junior wing back Josiah Jordan, sophomore running back Marvin Armistead and senior receiver Trace Brown.
Just back from a successful summer of basketball, Jordan is looking for
more opportunities to show he can be just as dynamic on the football field. He averaged 9 yards per carry on 15 rushes last year.
“Once football’s locked in, JJ’s locked in,” Keeley said. “He’s always a threat as well.”
Armistead had limited touches as a freshman. Brown tied Cacchione for the team lead with 10 receptions in last year’s runheavy offense in which only 30 passes were completed in eight games.
Brad Hoffman, the Saints quarterback last year, has moved on to Wilson. The Saints also lost running back-linebacker Aiden Gallen, who transferred to Gov. Mifflin, Keeley said.
Hoffman’s departure opened the door for senior Mitchell Gatz to take over as quarterback.
“He’s a senior and he knows the offense inside and out,” Keeley said. “He can help guys who are unsure of themselves. That’s what you want in a leader at the quarterback spot.”
Cacchione also said he has a lot of faith in Gatz as well as the rest of his teammates.
“He knows the playbook,” Cacchione said. “Just everywhere we’re looking pretty solid. There aren’t many weak points.”
Keeley said the quality of players goes well beyond the skill positions.
“I like what we have this year,” Keeley said. “We have good size up front. We have good speed. We have playmakers. I think we’re going to be a pretty good team.”
How that translates into wins and losses remains to be seen. The Saints, a 4A team, have a formidable schedule that includes Malvern Prep, perennial District 3 6A power Central Dauphin and Gov. Mifflin, a PIAA 5A semifinalist last year.
“I like this year’s schedule,” Keeley said. “I always think you’ve got to have a couple teams on your schedule that you have to play over your head to beat.”