Everyone knew this wasn't going to be easy. Going into the game, Berwick was ranked 7th in the state in Class AAA. They were averaging over 400 yards of offense a game, and held their first two opponents to 0 and 6 points. They had huge offensive and defensive lines--outweighing their Warrior counterparts by an average of over 50 lbs. Berwick also plays with 22 different players on offense and defense, so players are fresh on both sides of the ball.

On Berwick's second offensive series, running back Lou Hampton broke through the right side of the line for an 80 yard run, giving the Bulldogs an early 7-0 1st quarter lead. The Warriors had some success moving the ball against a stingy Bulldog defense, as Chris Murphy hit Sam Eramo and Leo Malsky on some nifty pass plays. Murphy, Malsky, O'Brien, and Lemardy also picked up some decent yardage--enough to sustain a few drives. While the defense was giving up some yardage to the running back duo of Lou Hampton and Alec Ladonis, they always seemed to stiffen at the critical times in the first half.

With 10:29 left in the second quarter, and the Warriors working from midfield, Murphy pitched the ball to Malsky who was running to his right. The Berwick cornerback bit on the run, and Malsky heaved a long pass to Sam Eramo down the far sideline. Eramo had no one within 20 yards him, caught the pass and trotted into the end zone for a 51 yard scoring play. The Warriors were tied 7-7 with Berwick. Near the end of the first half, the Bulldogs and the Warriors traded interceptions and the two teams went to half time tied at 7.

Berwick came out in the second half and played like a state ranked team. After a long kickoff runback, Ladonis had a 14 yard TD run at 11:08 of the third. They then added two more touchdowns in the third quarter, and left no doubt who was the better team.

To Wyoming Area's credit, the players never quit. The offense moved the ball in the fourth quarter on a nice drive that was capped by a Nick O'Brien 3 yd touchdown run. Ahmad Bouie electrified the crowd with an 88 yard kickoff return with 23 seconds remaining. It was too little, too late, as the Warriors were worn down by a physically superior team.