Berwick Uses 2nd Half Defense to Defeat Lake Lehman
Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Mason Eddinger | August 22, 2025
After a disappointing 4-7 season the previous year, Berwick traveled to Edward Edwards Stadium in Lehman, Pennsylvania, and secured a hard-fought win.
After a stellar year in 2024, it was clear Berwick was going to utilize RB Ty’meere Wilkerson every chance they got. Wilkerson, who rushed for over 1,400 yards last year, had a rocky start to his season. On one of the game’s opening plays, Wilkerson fumbled, but Berwick was able to recover. His fortune was not as kind a few plays later. Wilkerson fumbled once more, and this time Lake Lehman recovered.
After the opening pair of fumbles, Wilkerson had a phenomenal game running the ball. He found the endzone twice, and as Head Coach CJ Curry said, “The first guy that got to him could never bring him down.” Curry added that he felt Wilkerson got better as the game went on.
On the other side, Lake Lehman was able to dominate Berwick on the ground. Over the course of their first few drives, the Black Knights did not ponder passing. Instead, they had a potent rushing attack that was good for 4-6 yards a pop. After a scoreless first quarter, Alex Smith was able to scramble into the endzone on a swinging gate formation trick play.
On one of the more interesting formations you’ll ever see, Alex Smith takes it in for the first score of the game.
Lake Lehman leads 7-0 with 5:32 to play in the first half.@PaFootballNews pic.twitter.com/xwaPRhElYQ— Mason Eddinger (@Mason_PFN) August 23, 2025
After the solid first half for Lake Lehman, Berwick was able to dominate the second half. The Bulldogs pitched a shutout and outscored Lake Lehman 21-0 in the second half. “Our guys were resilient. We went into halftime trailing, but nobody panicked,” Curry said about his team in the second half. The once reliable Lake Lehman rushing attack was shrunk to a shell of its former self. Curry added, “We played well in the second half, which feels good as it wasn’t something we saw a lot of last year,” when asked about the second half turnaround.
Brayden Cleaver made his first start in his first High School game tonight. Cleaver, a freshman, scored on a 50+yard run that Curry said “opened up the game for us”. Although Cleaver didn’t throw much, he handled his first game well and paid it off with a big score.
Lake Lehman is a one-dimensional football team, and tonight it hurt them. After Berwick was able to minimize the run game, Lake Lehman tried their hand at passing, but to no avail. The Black Knights will need to be more versatile when teams can shut down their running game. Many teams in High School Football are one-trick ponies, but they are exceptional at that one trick, whether it be running or passing. What won’t work is being a one-trick pony, but having that trick not be a game-changer. We will see throughout the season if Lake Lehman can rebound from this week one-three-score loss.
Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews
