Warriors SHOCK Bulldogs

“Do you believe in miracles?” No, Al Michaels wasn’t at Crispin Field Friday night making his historic miracle call, but he might as well have been as the Wyoming Area Warriors took over Crispin Field with a 21-7 over the #1 team in the state, the Berwick Bulldogs.
Wyoming Area used a tenacious defensive attack to stop the high flying Berwick offense and hold them to a mere 7 points. It was without a doubt one of the biggest upsets in school history for the Warriors.
A stadium that usually strikes fear into the hearts of opponents doesn’t do that to the Warriors as they have now won three out of their last 4 trips to Crispin Field including a 2003 district playoff victory, the first win ever for a 4 seed over a 1 seed in the District 2 playoffs.
The game started with the intensity of a playoff game as the Berwick faithful were seeing their team at home for the first time all year. With a crowd of around 7,000 people Crispin Field was definitely the place to be on Friday night. Berwick won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Warriors gained just one first down on their first possession but gained a lead in the field position battle making the Dawgs start on their own 18. A quick 3 and out had the Warrior fans on their feet to open up the game.
Wyoming Area started their second possession of the game on their own 48. They marched down the field for three first downs all the way to the Berwick 17 yard line. The Berwick defense stood strong though and moved the Warriors back 9 yard to set up a 45 yard field goal attempt by Kyle Shymanski which fell just short to keep the game scoreless.
The next drive looked like it could be the one Berwick went ahead with but a huge sack by Matt Rynkiewicz set up a 3rd and 29 for the Dawgs with the first quarter ending as the crowd was surprised to see a tie game after the first quarter.
The very next play Ryan McDonnell intercepted Tristan DiPippa for the first turnover of the game. The Berwick defense didn’t give up though and forced the Warriors to punt the ball after just 3 more plays. Another Berwick possession, and yet another Berwick interception, this time picked off by Rynkiewicz who ran it back all the way to the Berwick 16 yard line with 7:31 left in a scoreless first half.
It took just 5 plays, capped off by a Tyler Saville 1 yard touchdown run, to put the Warriors ahead 7-0 with the Rynkiewicz extra point with just 5:19 left in the first half. Berwick threatened at the end of the first half getting the ball all the way to the WA 27 with 22 seconds left but 4 incompletions stopped that drive and allowed the Warriors to go into halftime with a 7-0 lead.
The opening possession of the second half was the one that probably decided the game. Berwick drove 74 yards down the field all the way to the Wyoming Area 6 led by all-star Brant Quick. But the Warrior defense would not budge as they brought Berwick to a pivotal 4th and 4 with the crowd on their feet. Tristan DiPippa carried the ball and broke through the Warrior line but was nailed as he was going into the endzone fumbling the ball out of the endzone for a touchback and another Berwick turnover.
It was time to eat the clock for the Warriors as they drove the ball down the field but were finally forced to punt. McDonnell pinned the Dawgs back deep on their own 6 yard line with just a minute left in the third quarter. A first down to end the third quarter gave the home fans some hope as the third quarter ended with a 7-0 Wyoming Area lead. But there was much more football left to be played.
Just 4 plays into the 4th quarter Berwick fumbled the ball again to give the Warriors amazing field position on the Bulldog 26 yard line. From there it took just 2 plays with Pat Mackin running 25 yards practically untouched into the Berwick endzone to silence the usually rowdy fans in Berwick Shymanski’s kick made it 14-0 Wyoming Area with just 10:16 on the clock in Berwick. Berwick was held to another 3 and out on their next possession but just 2 plays into the following Warrior drive there was a fumble and the Dawgs recovered to preserve hope.
It took just 5 plays, almost all by Brant Quick to put the Dawgs on the board with a 3 yard Quick touchdown run, it was now 14-7 Warriors with just 7:11 left in the game. Wyoming Area then tried to just eat the clock away but were forced to punt giving Berwick the ball back with just 3:05 remaining. The last Berwick possession really never even got started as the Warrior defense never let down. It all came down to a 4th and 12 on the Berwick 18 yard line, the entire crowd roaring with excitement and just like the rest of the game, the Warrior line dominated and got threw and nailed DiPippa for a huge sack to finish the Dawgs off.
Just the next play the Warriors went in the endzone on a 4 yard Pointkowski touchdown run to make it 21-7 with the Shymanski extra point. Another interception for Ryan McDonnell sealed the deal as the Dawgs went down hard at home 21-7 to the now 3-0 Wyoming Area Warriors.