BERWICK, Pa. – The home team got the members-only bounce when it mattered the most.
Berwick, the host team for its second annual 7-on-7 scrimmage and big man challenge, won the 7-on-7 scrimmage championship over #1-seeded Mount Carmel Area 21-14 when Steve Walton caught a pass tipped by a Red Tornado defender.
Walton caught the ball, turned around, and ran untouched to the end zone for the winning score.
Mount Carmel’s Marcus Wasilewski then hit a long pass, but his receiver was touched down at the 1-yard line as time expired.
“As long as they beat the heat, it’s fine,” Berwick head coach Gary Campbell said. “The heat was the toughest opponent.”
But Mount Carmel proved itself a formidable opponent, rolling to the championship game with a 5-0 record, disposing of Manheim Central twice as well as downing Delaware Valley and Berwick, and blowing out Central Bucks West.
All told, the Red Tornadoes scored 107 points on the day, and that was just one of the results that head coach Tom Brennan was happy about.
“I think we’re pretty well-conditioned,” the MCA boss said through his team’s first two games.
And after the dust had settled in the finals, Brennan noted more positive results.
“The kids gave a great effort, and everybody’s coming together so well because they’ve been working so hard,” he said. “We came together a lot today as a team. It’s nice to see that progress.”
What was surprising was the final record tally for Manheim Central, a team that some have claimed has what it takes to bring home the hardware as the best team in District 3.
The Barons were 0-3 entering their final preliminary game with Delaware Valley, which they won 28-7, and while the Barons did get to the semi-finals, head man Mike Williams said his team was gassed.
“We were done for (in the semis) against Mount Carmel,” the 276-game winner said. “We didn’t have anything left in the tank.”
But despite that, Williams was pleased with how his team did against solid opposing quarterbacks.
“This 7-on-7 had some good QBs,” he said. “Berwick’s QB is good, Danville’s QB is good, and Mount Carmel’s QB is very good.
“It’s not like you’re sitting here playing a bunch of po-dunks. You’re playing some good teams here.”
Humidity and temps in the upper 80s should be par for the course for middle July, but Central Bucks West head man Chris Felton said the heat wasn’t an issue for his team.
“We’ve been hydrating, which may be similar to that IV hydration for sports therapy, (like mad) since Thursday,” he said. “We’re prepared for this. It won’t be an issue.”
But Felton’s Bucks finished the 7-on-7 preliminary scrimmage with an 0-4 record, and scored a grand total of 41 points in their four games, including a 14-0 loss to Berwick.
CB West turned things around in the “playoffs” against #3-seeded Delaware Valley, winning 14-0. It was the only scrimmage the Bucks won on the day. They fell to Berwick 14-0 in the semi-finals.
But Felton saw positives in the day. “We’re making strides towards where we want to be,” he said.
And Danville, despite being eliminated in the opening-round of the single-elimination portion of the 7-on-7, looked sharp at times, and head coach Jeremy Winn said this edition of the Ironmen could be that one that finally gets to the playoffs.
“I was impressed, coverage-wise,” Winn said, in reference to the final scrimmage with Manheim Central, where Danville fell 29-28. “He (Gorman, Manheim Central’s QB) had to check to his fourth and fifth options at receiver.
“I think we’re getting close to where we want to be.”
But in the end, Berwick was the only team standing victorious this day.
And even if it didn’t matter, winning still feels good.
One Response
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