Both the Berks Catholic and Northwestern Lehigh offenses were in high gear Friday night.

But in the end, it was the Saints that came up with a couple of key defensive stops that made the difference in their 56-35 non-league win.

Neither team committed a turnover in the game as they moved the ball up-and-down the field. All five first quarter possessions – three by Berks Catholic (1-0) and two by Northwestern (1-1 overall) – resulted in touchdowns.

While Berks Catholic opened with a sustained drive, Northwestern came back quickly with a one-play drive that saw Justin Rodda take off for 60 yards through the heart of the Berks Catholic defense to tie the score at 7-7. After a second scoring drive for Berks Catholic that saw their extra-point attempt blocked, Nick Henry found the end zone on a two-yard carry to give the Tigers a 14-13 lead, but the Saints turned it around to hold a 20-14 lead after the first quarter of play.

The Tigers trailed 26-21 late in the second quarter, but the Saints got a touchdown on the final play of the half to open the spread to two scores. The scoring play was a little screen to Christian Cacchione, who worked his way 38 yards down field breaking five or six tackles along the way. Just as the junior receiver crossed the goal line, the buzzer ending the quarter sounded. The extra point was good, and Berks Catholic was up 35-21 at halftime.

“We have to be better in those spots. You can’t give up a long run like that and miss that many tackles,” said Northwestern coach Josh Snyder. “Even if you stop him at the half yard line and time runs out, it’s a completely different game.”

The two teams played an evenly matched game in the second half, but the damage had already been done. Tiger Junior QB Justin Holmes hit Rodda for a 38-yard strike and later found Cade Christopher on a 55-yard hook-up as Christopher broke several tackles while heading toward the end zone. In his two varsity games, Christopher had made three catches, all of which have gone for touchdowns.

The Saints and Tigers weren’t familiar with each other and had little time to prepare for their matchup. Berks Catholic was a late addition to the schedule when Pen Argyl dropped out of the game after their high school was closed by two cases of COVID-19, disrupting both their academic and athletic schedules.

“We shared some video with them [Berks Catholic] but they hadn’t played this season so we saw stuff from last year and a lot can change,” explained Snyder. “They have some really strong dudes on that team, and they run the Wing-T, which nobody runs in the Colonial League anymore. We didn’t really have any time to put together any matchups against them.”

BIG STEPS ... After throwing five interceptions last week, Justin Rodda didn’t throw any this week. He also matched the three touchdown passes he had in week one. Prior to this season, Holmes had thrown just two varsity passes. He’s also working behind an offensive line that consists of five players who were not starting at the varsity level last season.

“I thought Justin really showed a big improvement over last week,” said Snyder. “He played a really clean game, and we didn’t turn the ball over, which is always huge. I think he’ll show improvement every week because he’s really working hard to learn the position and execute the things that we need him to do for our offense.”

NOW IT GETS SERIOUS ... The first two games on the schedule for Northwestern were non-league games even though their first week win was over a Colonial League opponent. Next week, the abbreviated six-game Colonial League schedule gets underway. Northwestern Lehigh travels to Bangor to play the Slaters. Bangor has yet to play a game this season and Snyder thinks that could give his team an advantage.