BERWICK — Berwick’s Ty Wilkerson was the fastest player on Crispin Field on Friday night, but it was his patience and vision which set up his first of two long touchdown runs against Nanticoke. And when his offensive line opened up an alley for the junior, that’s when he let his 4.4-second speed kick in to outrun everybody to the end zone.
Wilkerson is still getting the feel for running out of Berwick’s backfield, but at times the explosive Wilkerson looks like he’s been there his entire life. A week after Bulldogs coach CJ Curry said he has to find more ways to get the ball in Wilkerson’s hands, Wilkerson ran for a pair of touchdowns and caught another as the Bulldogs beat Nanticoke, 41-0.
On a night where the two teams honored coach Scott Dennis, who passed away in August before his first game as Nanticoke’s head coach, the Bulldogs honored the former freshman coach with its first shutout in 755 days. And Berwick complemented that defensive performance with an offensive explosion of more than 400 yards of offense.
“Coach Dennis was my freshman coach (at Berwick) and he helped me fall in love with the game,” Berwick coach CJ Curry said. “I have so much respect for him and I love his family. We could feel his spirit on the field tonight.”
But as good as the Berwick defense was in allowing just one first down and only 40 yards of offense, it was Wilkerson who set off the figurative fireworks on the field, and the literal fireworks which celebrated all three of his touchdowns. Running out of the Wildcat formation, Wilkerson took his first carry of the night 37 yards for a touchdown.
Wilkerson was patient in stringing the run out wide before exploding through a running lane to the end zone, like a sports car dropping into gear and taking off. Less than 8 minutes later, he hit an almost carbon copy of his first touchdown, this time from 70 yards, to put Berwick up 14-0 in the first quarter.
“We know we have to run the ball,” Wilkerson said. “It’s just about good vision and my team blocking for me. I was able to see it, we hit it, and we got a touchdown.”
Wilkerson has found his footing running consistently out of the backfield over the last three games. Coincidentally or not, as Wilkerson has taken off out of the backfield, the Bulldogs have gone 2-1. He ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Hanover three weeks ago. Last week against a tough Wyoming Area team, Wilkerson gained 88 yards and a touchdown. And before the first quarter was over last night, Wilkerson had already eclipsed the 100-yard mark before finishing with 182 yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns.
Curry had Wilkerson running out of the Wildcat, but also mixing in some read option plays with Gavin Galutia (10 carries, 74 yards), who returned from injury.
“He’s getting more comfortable back there each week,” Curry said. “Any time you give him the ball, he’s got a shot to score. He’s got 4.4 speed and great vision. He turns on those jets fast, but he has to see it develop like he did on that first one.”
The ability to pick up big yards early in the game seemed to suck in Nanticoke’s defense to the line of scrimmage. Senior wide-receiver-turned-quarterback Billy Hanson was able to use that against the Trojan. A beautiful play-action pass left Skylar Nevel wide open in the end zone, and Hanson dropped it in his bread basket for a 28-yard touchdown pass.
On the ensuing play after Berwick recovered a muffed pooch kickoff, Hanson threw a high pass into the end zone which senior Julian Howie jumped over a defender to catch for a 26-yard touchdown. The two scored came just 9 seconds apart and pushed Berwick’s lead to 28-0.
The Bulldogs invoked the mercy rule when Hanson hit Wilkerson on a bubble screen and Wilkerson ran through a couple defenders for an 11-yard touchdown pass with only 20 seconds left in the half. Hanson, who moved to quarterback in Week 4 to help jumpstart the Berwick offense, completed 5 of 9 passes for 123 yards and a trio of scores. Both the yardage and touchdowns were season highs for Hanson.
“He consistently gets better every week,” Curry said. “Billy’s not a pocket passer, but he’s trying to develop and do everything he can every week to make those throws. He was able to throw a couple touchdowns and get some confidence. He’s a grinder and he loves to compete. It’s been great seeing him improve every week.”
Berwick 41, Nanticoke 0
Nanticoke 0 0 0 0 – 0
Berwick 14 21 0 6 – 41
First quarter
B—Ty Wilkerson 37 run (Caleb Yost kick), 10:21
B—Wilkerson 70 run (Yost kick), 2:25
Second quarter
B—Skylar Nevel 28 pass from Billy Hanson (Yost kick), 4:59
B—Julian Howie 26 pass from Hanson (Yost kick), 4:48
B—Wilkerson 11 pass from Hanson (Yost kick), 2:20
Fourth quarter
B—Ashton Smith 13 run (kick failed), 1:04
Nan Ber
First downs 1 12
Rushes-yds 32-27 32-290
Com-att-int 3-6-0 5-10-0
Pass yards 13 123
Total yards 40 413
Fumbles-lost 0-0 2-2
Penalties-yards 4-20 11-81
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing—Nanticoke, Treston Allen, 23-38; Tyler Skordensky, 3-12; Chris Julian, 2-3; Sean Benjamin, 1-(-3); Mike Stachowiak, 1-(-5); Team, 1-(-18). Berwick, Ty Wilkerson, 13-182, 2 TDs; Gavin Galutia, 10-74; Brock Simms, 4-18; Ashton Smith, 1-13, TD; Bill Hanson, 4-3.
Passing—Nanticoke, Stachowiak, 3-5-0, 13 yds.; Allen, 0-1-0. Berwick, Hanson, 5-9-0, 123 yds., 3 TDs; Team 0-1-0.
Receiving—Nanticoke, Jason O’Borski, 1-8; Skordensky, 1-3; Julian 1-2. Berwick, Julian Howie, 2-74, TD; Skylar Nevel, 1-28, TD; Wilkerson, 1-11, TD; Aiden George, 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS—None
RECORDS: Nanticoke (1-6); Berwick (2-5).
