Wyoming Area quarterback Jack Gravine keeps the ball in the first quarter against Berwick.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Wyoming Area’s Drew Keating braces himself returning a kickoff as Berwick’s Skyler Nevel (26) closes in.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
Berwick running back Ty’Meere Wilkerson runs through a hole in the line in the first quarter.
Fred Adams | For Sunday Dispatch
BERWICK — Wyoming Area was the last team to hold Berwick’s Ty’Meere Wilkerson to fewer than 100 rushing yards in a regular-season game.
The Wyoming Valley Conference rushing leader reached the century mark on his last carry of the first half and kept on going.
Wilkerson rushed for 206 yards and put the game out of reach with a 49-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter as the Dawgs defeated Wyoming Area 35-13 Friday night in a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 game.
The game matched two of the last three unbeatens in District 2 and the teams battling for the lead both in WVC Division 2 and the race for the top seed in the District 2 Class 3A playoffs.
Berwick (3-0 in division, 6-0 overall) is the last unbeaten in the WVC and joins North Pocono as the only unbeatens in District 2.
Wyoming Area, the two-time defending champion, had a 12-game division winning streak broken. The Warriors fell to 1-1 and 5-1.
Berwick rushed for 349 yards and 7.6 per carry against a Wyoming Area defense that was surrendering 64.2 yards on the ground and 2.4 per rush. Wilkerson went over the 200-yard mark for the fifth consecutive game.
“It’s just being physical,” Berwick coach CJ Curry said. “That’s a very physical team. We felt like we had the horses to run with them.”
Wyoming Area coach Randy Spencer concurred.
“That was the main aspect of the game for sure,” Spencer said.
Berwick used Wilkerson’s running to set up scores by quarterback Brady Cleaver on its first two possessions. Wilkerson carried four consecutive times followed by a 51-yard touchdown dash up the middle by Cleaver.
It was more of Wilkerson on Berwick’s second possession, which ended with a 13-yard touchdown run by Cleaver for a 14-0 lead after one quarter.
Wyoming Area moved within 14-6 with 5:02 until halftime. Quarterback Jack Gravine launched a pass down the left sideline that receiver Luke Kopetchny speared over his head around midfield. He sprinted the rest of the way to the end zone for an 89-yard touchdown.
The touchdown accounted for more than half of the Warriors’ first-half yardage. They got inside the Berwick 10-yard line on their second drive of the game, but turned over the ball on downs. The same thing occurred about midway through the fourth quarter.
Berwick used the same Cleaver-Wilkerson formula to score in the third quarter, with Wilkerson running six consecutive times before scoring on a 2-yard run.
The Dawgs had a scary moment the next time they had the ball as Wilkerson left the field after being twisted down in the backfield. Gavin Galutia replaced him and raced 43 yard for a touchdown on the next play.
Wyoming Area pulled within 28-13 with 10:16 remaining on a 31-yard pass from Jack Gravine to Josh Mruk.
BY THE NUMBERS
Berwick kept the Wyoming Area defense busy by controlling the ball. The Bulldogs had a 29:15-18:45 advantage in time of possession and an 18-10 lead in first downs. … Donavon Miller led the Warriors defense with a fumble recovery, along with five tackles and four assists, one of each coming in plays where Berwick was stopped for losses. Trustin Johnson and Ronald James each made four tackles and assisted on six. … Wyoming Area’s Jack Gravine was 6-for-14 passing for 197 yards and two touchdowns. Luke Kopetchny had three catches for 150 yards. … Nick Ciampi was Wyoming Area’s most effective rusher with 62 yards on 13 carries.
UP NEXT
Hanover Area is at Wyoming Area Friday night in a meeting of teams that are 1-1 in the Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2. The Hawkeyes are 3-3 while the Warriors are 5-1 overall. Hanover Area has won three of four since having comebacks fall just short in the first two weeks. The Hawkeyes recovered from a 56-19 loss to Berwick to down Tunkhannock 42-0 Friday night. Dewayne Downey ran for three touchdowns and has 523 yards and eight scores on the season. Logan Richardson went 11-for-18 for 171 yards and three touchdowns, pushing him to 1,002 yards and 10 touchdowns while completing more than 55 percent of his passes. Deacon Eisenbach, the division’s top receiver with 25 catches, caught six passes for 88 yards and both touchdowns.
