PECKVILLE-In what turned out to be his final game as interim head coach, Bo Orlando saw his Berwick team play its most inspired football of the season. Not only were the Bulldogs competitive with Valley View, but they were knocking on the door late for what could have been a game-winning score. It took some late heroics by Tyler Scoblick to provide a narrow escape for the Cougars. Scoblick intercepted a pass with a little over minute remaining, as Valley View fought off an upset by a valiant Berwick team in a 12-7 win. No. 2 seed Valley View (9-2) will host No. 3 seed Wyoming Area (10-1) next week in a District 2 Class 4A semifinal.
“Guys woke up, we started playing defense,” Orlando said. “That was the best defense in the second half that we’ve played all year. I’m so damn proud of these guys. We challenged them. We have three wins. It’s been an up-and-down season. They came out in their last 24 minutes, some of those seniors, and I’m so proud of the way they played. All of those guys came out and played. That’s Berwick football. That’s what we want all the time.”
No. 7 seed Berwick (3-8) faced an early deficit after Valley View put together an impressive opening drive. Cam Higgins had major success on the ground at the start. Higgins rushed for 115 yards in the game, 75 of which came on his first four touches. He crossed the goal line from three yards out less than three minutes into the game to give the Cougars a 6-0 lead. Late in the second quarter, Higgins scored on a 7-yard run to finish a short, five-play drive that was aided by a personal foul facemask penalty. Valley View struggled to generate any sort of consistency in the second half, as the Berwick defense created negative plays against a pretty one-dimensional offense.
“I just told the kids, survive and advance,” Valley View coach Scot Waslichak said. “It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t our best performance, but we’ll be playing next week, and they’re not. So, we’re just happy with that.”
After halftime, Berwick got back in the game, thanks to a well-executed, time-consuming drive. With running back Tyler Winter lost to injury in the first half, quarterback Ethan Lear and Jimmy DeAndrea picked up the slack. Lear capped off a 10-play, 75-yard march that chewed up half of the third quarter clock with a 9-yard touchdown run. The second half featured only six total possessions, as both teams relied heavily on their respective running attacks. Lear finished with 78 yards on 14 carries, while DeAndrea totaled 56 yards on 12 attempts.
“That’s what Berwick football traditionally was, and it was kind of nice to get back to that,” Orlando said. “I was telling them before the game, you guys are better than you think you are. We’ve had some bad luck and some injuries, but we don’t take any sympathy. You guys have got to keep playing, We’re a good football team when we play.”
In the middle of the fourth quarter, Berwick started on its own 31. Using a run-heavy personnel package, DeAndrea started to gain chunks of yards off the right side that helped the Bulldogs move into the red zone. He carried the ball six times for 38 yards, but his seventh carry of the drive resulted in a four-yard loss. Facing a passing situation for the first time in a while proved to be fatal, as Scoblick stepped in front of a short throw over the middle and intercepted it. Scoblick fumbled as he was hit, but the Cougars fell on the loose ball, then grinded out one first down to preserve the win.
“Tyler has worked his way into the starting lineup due to injury, and he really has done a nice job,” Waslichak said. “He stepped up when we needed him to, and I can’t be more proud of him.”
Orlando did an admirable job stepping in over the last ten weeks under difficult circumstances, adding to his busy Athletic Director duties. Although the Bulldogs did not achieve the desired results, they did play hard in their final game, and nearly pulled off a first-round surprise. Valley View beat Berwick 34-19 back in Week 2, but this win proved to be much more difficult, thanks to an excellent defensive effort.
“I never had the urge to be a head coach,” Orlando said. “I’ve coached high school football for over 20 years. I tried to be positive. A head coach is a very hard position. It’s a lot of stress. It’s a lot more than people think it is. You have to be a parent, you have to be a psychologist, kind of all the above. I owe the program so much. I hope all those guys had a good time. It was a good group of kids. They played hard. We didn’t have any trouble. I love those guys and I’m very, very proud of them.”
Berwick 0 0 7 0-7
Valley View 6 6 0 0-12
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
VV-Cam Higgins 3 run (kick failed) 9:16
Second Quarter
VV-Higgins 7 run (pass failed) 1:51
Third Quarter
B-Ethan Lear 9 run (Luke Peters kick) 6:03
Team Statistics
…………..B……………….VV
1st downs…..11…………………13
rush-yds…..36-173………..33-211
comp-att-int..4-13-2……….1-6-1
pass yds…….55………………….12
total yds…..228………………223
fumb-lost…..2-1…………….1-0
pen-yds……5-40…………..2-20
Individual Statistics
Rushing-Berwick: Ethan Lear 14-78, TD; Jimmy DeAndrea 12-56; Braylon Hawkins 2-23; Tyler Winter 6-16; Billy Hanson 1-1; Team 1-(-1). Valley View: Cam Higgins 16-115, 2 TDs; Preston Reed 7-77; Nick Kucharski 4-22; Dom Memo 3-14; Gianni Marino 1-(-4); Casey Malsberger 2-(-13).
Passing-Berwick: Lear 4-13-2, 55 yds. Valley View: Malsberger 1-6-1, 12 yds.
Receiving-Berwick: Hanson 2-28; Hawkins 1-20; Josh Kishbaugh 1-7. Valley View: Memo 1-12.
