By ARTHUR DOWELL
Press Enterprise Copy Editor
BERWICK — After its postgame huddle, Berwick posed quite a good question at the end of its celebratory chant: “Who dat say gonna beat them Dawgs?”
There’s a long road on what coach CJ Curry calls the Bulldogs’ “payback tour” before saying they are officially back, but it sure looks like it will take a lot to take down these Bulldogs.
It may get even more difficult, as barring any significant setbacks, Berwick likely secured homefield advantage throughout the District 2 Class 3A field after showing it was the more physical team and running past previously unbeaten Wyoming Area, 35-13, on Friday night.
It wasn’t smooth sailing all night for the Bulldogs, though.
After the defense came up with a fourth-down stop in the red zone, Berwick’s offense was driving, thanks in large part to a nice 31-yard catch by Alex Estrella, who won a tipping drill with Warriors’ Luke Kopetchny. Estrella never gave up on the play and snagged the ball as he was coming down.
Unfortunately, the Bulldogs fumbled the ball three plays later, and Wyoming Area made them pay dearly for it. On the ensuing play, Kopetchny came down with a contested ball from Jack Gravine, and Brady Cleaver missed the tackle, giving Kopetchny nothing but turf in front of him for 89 yards.
That rough stretch for Berwick extended into the end of the half as it fumbled three more times on four more snaps, but didn’t lose the ball or give up any more points.
Still, they never panicked despite the sluggish play to close the half because they’ve seen this dance before.
“This is what we trained for. We trailed at Lake-Lehman in Week 1, and Hazleton goes right down the field and scores [in Week 4]. There was no panic either time,” Berwick coach CJ Curry said. “We trained all offseason for this. We looked at box scores from last year and said if we wanted to be in the mix for a conference championship or the district playoffs, we had to go out and dominate the second half.”
The training paid off — both offensively and defensively.
The Warriors went three-and-out twice and turned the ball over via fumble to start the second half. By the time they converted their first third down of the contest later in the third, Berwick had already punched it in twice that quarter.
Ty’Meere Wilkerson got his first touchdown of the game from 3 yards out. After Brock Simms recovered Jack Gravine’s fumble, Berwick showed its versatility. Wilkerson had the wind knocked out of him, and without skipping a beat, the Bulldogs handed the ball off to Gavin Galutia, who burst right through the middle of the line for a 43-yard touchdown.
“It wasn’t a game that we could make enough plays or overcome the mistakes,” Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer said. “The biggest aspect of the game was physicality. Berwick was much more physical. At times we met that, but not consistently enough.”
The Warriors went 2-for-10 on third down and 1-for-4 on fourth, having very little success with their ground game. Nick Ciampi had the best night, rushing for 52 yards for a squad held to 3 yards on 32 carries.
The passing game had some success, completing four passes of 20 yards or more, including a 31-yard touchdown pass from Gravine to Josh Mruk in the early fourth quarter. Gravine finished with 197 yards on 6 of 15 passing.
“Those guys have a great attitude. They all want to be physical, be dominant, be nasty, and play fast,” Curry said.
“They’re relentless, and that’s the key. They get after it and they’re always in position.”
On the flip side, Berwick did what it’s done best all season — run it down the Warriors’ throats.
Wilkerson, of course, was the focal point, taking the rock 29 times for 208 yards. He capped the scoring in the fourth with a 49-yard TD, taking off down the right sideline.
“It feels good to get these wins. Last year, after the playoff loss, we knew we had to get bigger, faster, and stronger,” Wilkerson said. “That’s what we did. We kept grinding each day, and we’re here now. As our coach says, we can’t get complacent and stay humble. We take it one day at a time.”
The Warriors, of course, knew Wilkerson was going to be the main man, so Berwick added an early wrinkle. Quarterback Brady Cleaver showed he had to be accounted for as well, scoring touchdowns on the first two possessions.
His first came when he faked a shovel pass to Wilkerson, fooling all 11 Warriors, and taking off for a 51-yard touchdown on the fifth play of the game. He capped off the Bulldogs’ next possession with a 13-yard keeper.
Cleaver finished with 86 yards on nine carries, helping the Bulldogs post 345 yards on 45 carries (7.6 yards per carry).
“He’s getting more confident every week. That starts with the offensive line,” Curry said. “I’m so proud of those guys, but they’re a three-headed monster back there [including Galutia].”
With depth on display on both sides of the ball, Berwick’s chant raises a significant question these days.
Wyoming Area 0 6 0 7 — 13
Berwick 14 0 14 7 — 35
First quarter
B — Brady Cleaver 51 run (Caleb Yost kick), 9:24
B — Cleaver 13 run (Yost kick), 3:56
Second quarter
WA — Luke Kopetchny 89 pass from Jack Gravine (kick missed), 5:02
Third quarter
B — Ty’Meere Wilkerson 3 run (Yost kick), 7:31
B — Gavin Galutia (Yost kick), 4:03
Fourth quarter
WA — Josh Mruk 31 pass from Gravine (Gavin Feeney kick), 10:16
B — Wilkerson 49 run (Yost kick), 8:30
WA B
First downs 11 19
Rushing-yds. 32-98 45-345
Passing 6-15-0 2-4-0
Passing yds. 197 36
Total yds. 295 381
Fumbles-lost 2-1 4-1
Penalties-yds. 5-22 3-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Wyoming Area: Nick Ciampi 10-52; Jack Gravine 9-23; Trustin Johnson 8-18; Donovon Miller 2-8; Ben Gravine 1-0; Josh Mruk 1-(-1); Team 1-(-2). Berwick: Ty’Meere Wilkerson 29-208, 2 TDs; Brady Cleaver 9-86, 2 TDs; Gavin Galutia 4-45, TD; Everett Snyder 2-8; Team 1-(-2).
PASSING — Wyoming Area: J. Gravine 6-14-0, 295 yds., 2 TDs; Ciampi 0-1-0. Berwick: Cleaver 2-4-0, 36 yds.
RECEIVING — Wyoming Area: Luke Kopetchny 3-150, TD; Mruk 2-35, TD; Ciampi 1-12. Berwick: Alex Estrella 1-31; Caleb May 1-5.