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Mid Valley runs past Berwick in Defensive Masterclass.

Tagged under: District 2, Gameday Hub, pfn

| August 30, 2024

  The second week of Pennsylvania High School Football got underway on Friday Night as Mid Valley took down Berwick.

  Last year saw a respectable 7-4 season for Mid Valley. Throughout the 11 games last year, they allowed over 30 points just twice. Last season was good, but Mid Valley looks like a different animal this time around. They dominated their way through Pittston last week and did the same thing this week. In that Pittston game, RB Jakob Lesher ran for over 150 yards en route to a shoutout win. This week, Lesher had his way once again easily eclipsing the century mark for a second consecutive week.

   Winning just three games last year is not something Berwick wants to become accustomed to. Last week, they were shocked by the Lake Lehman Black Knights at Crispin Field, losing 13-7. They had success early in that game, but would not find the endzone after the first quarter. This game they did not find the endzone offensively for the entirety of the game. Unlike last year, the Berwick defense impressed in week 1, allowing just 13 points in the loss. By week 2 last year, they had allowed over 70 in the first two contests against Southern Columbia and Valley View. As CJ Curry continues his inaugural season, one of his main tasks is to take a once-electric offense back to its high-scoring days. CJ Curry played QB at Berwick, so the expectation was the offense would return to higher production. So far, this has not been the case.

  Berwick and Mid Valley went at it in front of a decently packed Spartan Stadium. Early into the game, early-season kinks were still being worked out. Both offenses struggled to establish anything early in the game, so much so the first score wasn’t even offensive. Ty’meere Wilkerson of Berwick took an interception to the house and Berwick led 7-0.

  For the majority of the first half, Berwick did a relatively solid job stopping Jakob Lesher from getting a rhythm on the ground. Stopping Lesher is one thing, but stopping the entirety of the Mid Valley rushing attack was just not going to happen. Mid Valley got it going on the ground to tie it up. 

   The story of the season last year for Berwick was their inability to finish games well, it appears to still be true in 2024. After losing with 1 minute left last week, Berwick let another close game slip away. Mid Valley would be able to take the lead on a run to give them a 14-7 lead.

   The Spartans led 14-7 at the half and did not look back. Jakob Lesher added in two more rushing Touchdowns to give him a hat-trick on the day. When the final horn sounded, Mid Valley had won 28-7.

  After a 32-0 win over Pittston a week ago, Mid Valley once again used the great defense to propel past Berwick. After two weeks, Mid Valley has yet to give up a single defensive point (Berwick’s Touchdown was defensive). Couple that with the incredible rushing ability of Jakob Lesher, and the Mid Valley Spartans are poised to make serious noise this year. Mid Valley travels to Old Forge Next week.

 

  Berwick falls to 0-2, once again. The defense looks sharp, allowing just 41 points in 2 weeks. The offense, on the other hand, is struggling. Seven points offensively in two weeks simply just won’t cut it. The test doesn’t get any easier from here, as the Bulldogs take on 1A powerhouse Lackawanna Trail next Friday Night. It’s an uphill battle for Berwick, and we will see if they can make the climb.

 

My Interview with Mid Valley HC Stan Yanoski :

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