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BERWICK — It wasn’t just one lopsided loss that had the Berwick Bulldogs annoyed and angry.
It was a whole stinking season full of them.
So they went to work in an attempt to fix it.
“All week, we’ve been working hard, trying to turn this program around,” Berwick junior receiver and defensive back Spencer Kishbaugh said. “Finally put one together here.”
And maybe saved a season along with it.
Ben Knorr put the Bulldogs on his back for most of the game Friday, Kishbaugh caught the winning touchdown pass and made a game-ending interception in overtime and Berwick stunned highly touted and heavily favored Williamsport 28-21 at Crispin Field.
“It’s surreal,” Kishbaugh said.
Call it a dream come true for the Bulldogs.
Coming off a 42-14 drubbing by Selinsgrove a week ago, Berwick held Williamsport’s electric offense to 149 rushing yards and kept big plays to a minimum while keeping the game close throughout.
Knorr was a big part of it, as he had at least 10 tackles from his linebacker spot and rushed for a team-high 71 yards, including a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs. The first one tied the game at 7-7 in the second quarter and his second score gave Berwick a 21-14 lead with 4:32 to play in the third quarter.
“He’s our captain,” Berwick coach Carm DeFrancesca said. “We expect a lot from him. He showed great leadership tonight.”
Kishbaugh simply showed up in the clutch.
On third down, he ran a slant to the end zone and made a leaping grab of Matt Lonczynski’s 6-yard touchdown pass, holding on despite a hit that toppled him in the end zone.
“I was eyeing it in the whole time,” Kishbaugh said.
When Williamsport had it’s opportunity to respond, Kishbaugh kept eyeing the ball.
His third-down interception at the 5-yard line ended the game, but had it been regulation, Kishbaugh would have easily scored on the play. He ran the length of the field to the end zone anyway as Berwick’s sidelines and stands exploded in bedlam.
The clinching play came two plays after Keith Freeman’s 10-yard touchdown run was called back by Williamsport’s 12th penalty on the Millionaires’ first play of overtime.
“I don’t know where we got this energy from,” DeFrancesca said. “Our kids just have great heart.
“I think we were just tired of losing.”
The Bulldogs, now 2-3, lost contain a couple of times and Williamsport made them pay.
The Millionaires, who came in at 3-1 and on a two-game winning streak, scored the game’s first points on a trick play, as Freeman unleashed a 77-yard touchdown pass to DJ Greene in the first quarter. And later, backup quarterback George Whaley took off on a 52-yard run to set up Frankie Morrone’s game-tying 8-yard touchdown pass to Sebastian Robinson that ultimately forced overtime with 2:05 to play.
“The big play again,” DeFrancesca sighed. “That’s been our Achilles’ heel all season long.”
This time, those long-gainers didn’t leave Berwick limping.
“This was a huge win,” DeFrancesca said. “We’re heading into the second half of the year, it’s like a whole new season for us. If we can just get on a little bit of a roll and get in the playoffs, we’ll see what happens.”
Berwick 28, Williamsport 21 (OT)
Williamsport`7`7`0`7`0 — 21
Berwick`0`7`14`0`7 — 20
First quarter
WIL — DJ Greene 77 pass from Keith Freeman (Connor Poole kick), 3:04
Second quarter
BER — Ben Knorr 2 run (Brandon Hinkle kick), 11:08
WIL — Nasir Hennigan 39 pass from Frankie Morrone (Poole kick), 4:33
Third quarter
BER — Ryan Bankes 8 run (Kick failed), 6:57
BER — Knorr 2 run (Matt Lonczynski conversion run), 4:32
Fourth quarter
WIL — Sebastian Robinson 8 pass from Morrone (Poole kick), 2:05
Overtime
BER — Spencer Kishbaugh 6 pass from Lonczynski (Hinkle kick)
Team statistics`WIL`BER
First downs`9`11
Rushes-yards`40-155`39-123
Passing yards`219`143
Total yards`374`266
Passing`11-19-1`9-16-1
Sacked-yards lost`4-25`4-18
Punts-avg.`2-37`3-36.7
Fumbles-lost`3-1`2-0
Penalties-yards`12-80`5-65
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WIL, George Whaley 6-95, Nasir Hennigan 9-42, Damir Sams-Glover 7-26, Keith Freeman 8-26, Frankie Morrone 4- (minus 11), TEAM, 6- (minus 23). BER, Ben Knorr 12-71, Ryan Bankes 19-64, Spencer Kishbaugh 1-2, Matt Lonczynski 7- (minus 14).
PASSING — WIL, Morrone 8-13-1-124, Whaley 2-6-1-18, Hennigan 1-1-0-77. BER, Lonczynski 9-16-1-143.
RECEIVING — WIL, DJ Greene 3-127, Hennigan 3-52, Freeman 3-21, Yazhir Slaughter 1-11, Sebastian Robinson 1-8. BER, Spencer Kishbaugh 5-57, Knorr 2-66, Dray Wilk 2-10.
INTERCEPTIONS — WIL, Sams-Glover 1-2; BER, Wilk 1-33, Kishbaugh 1-0.
MISSED FGs — None.