Berwick Uses Stifling Defense to Shut Out Mid Valley
Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, News, pfn
Mason Eddinger | August 29, 2025
It was a dominant showing for the Berwick Bulldogs under the Crispin Field lights, as they took down Mid Valley 42-0. Berwick is off to their best start since the 2019 season, where they went 9-3.
Through the first two games, Berwick has allowed just seven points, including six consecutive shutout quarters. Through the first pair of games last year, Berwick was allowing over 20 points per game; now, they are averaging 3.5. When speaking on the defense, Berwick Head Coach CJ Curry said, ” They’re great, I think Ty’Meere Wilkerson made the play of the game tonight. He showed his speed and hawked a kid down on a breakaway run, got a strip fumble that goes into the back of the endzone, which was so huge for the momentum.” If you’ve ever seen D.K. Metcalf chase down Budda Baker, Wilkerson’s play was very similar. One of the major improvements from the Berwick defense this year is their tackling. In 2024, it seemed like Berwick could never wrap up on the first effort. In 2025, however, their open-field tackling and their ability to minimize yards after contact have been phenomenal.
Speaking of yards after contact, Berwick running back Ty’Meere Wilkerson couldn’t be stopped tonight. Last week, Curry said that “the first guy could never tackle him” when speaking on Wilkerson. The sentiment was the same tonight. Wilkerson had a knack for falling forward and making the most out of small gains. While he was busy imposing his physical will on Mid Valley, he had to remind everyone of his track speed, finding a hole, and toasting everyone for a score.
Its Ty’Meere Wilkerson again. This time, it’s a breakaway run to put Berwick up 14-0 on Mid Valley.
10 minutes until half.@PaFootballNews @Tywilkerson2020 pic.twitter.com/t5YoSWaVxe— Mason Eddinger (@Mason_PFN) August 29, 2025
By the time the game was over, Wilkerson had finished with a hat-trick of rushing touchdowns. QB Brayden Cleaver and RB Gavin Galutia also found the endzone on the ground. Berwick’s rushing attack has been as good as it’s been in the last few years. With the added speed of Cleaver at the QB position, Berwick has become a scheming nightmare. Not only do opposing teams have to worry about Wilkerson breaking free, but if teams forget about Cleaver, he’ll bust off a big run on a QB keeper.
Behind any good running game is a strong offensive line, and Berwick’s experience at the position has helped them tremendously. Although Wilkerson is great, he ran behind some beautiful blocking today; the same can be said about the other touchdown scorers in Galutia and Cleaver. Curry mentioned the offensive line being a strong point of this team, and tonight further proved his prediction.
For Mid Valley, they struggled to develop any offense. They ran much of their scheme through Senior RB Mason Vinansky, which Berwick was ready for. Vinansky did have a solid enough game, but for the most part, it was Berwick’s defense getting to him at or behind the line of scrimmage. Vinansky was able to bust off a few solid runs, but it was clear Berwick won the line of scrimmage in this contest.
Next week, Berwick will be home to take on Lackawanna Trail, while Mid Valley will play host to Old Forge. Both games kick off on Friday at 7.
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