“The 3-5 defense is not one of my favorite defenses to face, it’s unpredictable. You never know who’s coming and from where.” Gary Campbell, before the start of the game between his BerwickBulldogs and the Selinsgrove Seals.
Unpredictable is what he got. Selinsgrove kept pressure on Berwicks offense all night long holding an offense that was averaging in the neighborhood of 200 yards rushing per game to under 80. That statistic isn’t very unpredictable considering the Seals were holding their opponents to under 35 per game.
Berwick looked like they were going to keep the momentum rolling after last weeks drubbing of Wyoming Valley West on their first series. Starting at their 42 the Dawgs drove to the Selinsgrove 11 yard line but on 3rd and 6 the Seals let Berwick qb A.J. Mihaly know what he was in for all night. Pressure. He was sacked on the 16 so on 4th down Berwick got a field goal to take the lead 3-0. It was the last lead they would see all night.
Following a Berwick punt to the Seals 39 and a sack of Selinsgrove qb Cory Briggs, RB Kyle Reinard burst through a full out blitz and went 71 yards to paydirt untouched. The extra point failed and the seals had a 6-3 lead. On Berwicks next series the Seal again pressured Mihaly this time into a fumble which was recovered by the home team on the Berwick 32. 3 plays later Reinard again hit paydirt from 16 yards out. The 2 point conversion failed and the Seals had a 12-3 lead which they took into the locker room at the half.
The first half of this game was filled with Berwick miscues, fumbled snaps, high snaps, dropped balls and the list goes on. The second half saw more of the same with Berwick unable to solve Selinsgroves 3-5 defense. Highlighting some of the misery was Berwick coach Cambells refusal to punt the ball away, resulting in Berwick turning the ball over on downs deep in their own territory. This would bite the dawgs hard in the second half. Following a failed 4th and 3 at their own 31, Reinard (5 of 7 for 86 yards and 2 tds) hit a leaping Kyle Renard in the endzone for a spectacular catch and the two again repeated that feat for the 2 point conversion giving the Seals a 20-3 lead late in the 3rd quarter.
After Selinsgrove defense came up with a big interception on their own 31 Reinard and Keiser hooked up in what you could call a mirror image of the previous scores, this time for a 20 yd td. That closed out the scoring and Selinsgrove celebrated a 28-3 victory over Berwick.
8 Responses
Berwick officailly on UPSET ALERT! for their game against Pittston.
Year in and year out, Selinsgrove is the big fish in the small pond known as District 4 AAA.
OK, a nice win over Berwick, but once the District and State playoffs begin, the Seals will make another early exit.
yeah my cousin a.j. had tough game . but we’ll get them back next week against west scranton.
Go dawgs
man, I thought berwick was gonna be a core team this year, after killin valley west like that..but..teams like hazleton..would demolish selinsgrove..without a doubt..but when the old route 93 classic comes up..hazleton vs. berwick..it’s gonna be pcn..statewide..and a great game
You will recognize me as the overweight old fart with a full white beard. I’ll be wearing my letterman’s jacket that is about three sizes too small for me…not a pretty site but it does make an impression!!!!!!!!!!!
Greatful should be grateful…
^^^
I will drive the 2 hours it takes me and see you there! That will be my week 7 Game of the Week.
I know Berwick is not part of the Heartland Conference, but as fans we should be greatful for what is occuring.
Selinsgrove, Shamokin, Mount Carmel, Southern, and others all playing each other. (Takes me back to the old Susquehanna Conference of the mid 60’s…sort of.)
If only we had a playoff system in Division I A I think we would see competivie matchups like this during the season.
With a playoff system you want to get your team battle ready. With the BCS system its play it safe as much as possible.
Thanks to the high school coaches, the school administrators, athletic directors, and the players for giving us the opportunity to enjoy excellent competitive scheduling and continued, new and renewed rivalries.
Great Job Selinsgrove, I just may drive the four hours it takes to come watch them play my old alma mater…Southern. I can’t wait.
Just a call out to one of the best defenses in the state. Selinsgrove came into this as a underdog and had nothing to loose and everything to gain. Hats off to first year head coach Hess and all the assistance coaches. Great gameplan and well executed by the boys. I think this week Selinsgrove opened some eyes and is now a formidable teams to be reckoned with.