Click here to subscribe today or Login.
BERWICK — One quick strike was all it took to get a struggling Berwick offense right back in the game.
One quicker strike took them right back out of it.
Mekhi Nelson delivered a backbreaking 79-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and added a victory-sealing 15-yard scoring dash at the end as Wilkes-Barre Area beat the Bulldogs for the first time in three tries with a convincing 35-21 victory that left the Wolfpack whooping it up and Berwick feeling a little blue.
“It feels very good,” Nelson said. “Our coaches kept saying we needed a signature win to show everyone we’re a contender, not just in the area, but in the state.
“This is the signature win we needed.”
He stamped his own name on it.
Nelson answered Berwick’s game-tying 76-yard touchdown pass with a game-turning 79-yard scoring dash two plays later, triggering Wilkes-Barre’s first win over Berwick since the Wolfpack was formed from a merger of former Wilkes-Barre schools Coughlin, GAR and Meyers in 2020.
“I had some really great blocks,” Nelson said. “I only had to make one cut. It was definitely important, especially in games like this when we were in a close game.”
For a bit, Wilkes-Barre Area played it close to the vest.
The Wolfpack lined up their star running back Nelson, a junior who already has a Division I offer from UConn, at receiver for most of the first half.
Then they put him in the backfield in the second, and he delivered.
Big-time.
Nelson finished with 180 rushing yards on 22 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 4, 12, 79 and 15 yards to spark Wilkes-Barre’s historical victory.
“Give Wilkes-Barre all the credit,” Berwick first-year coach Mike Bennett said. “They came out hard, they came out physical and they played a good football game.”
The Bulldogs were feeling pretty good about themselves while taking a 14-7 halftime lead on Drey Wilk’s 4-yard scoring grab and his leaping 38-yard touchdown catch 91 seconds from intermission.
But Wilkes-Barre evened things up with an interception by Howie Shiner, which Nelson turned into a 12-yard scoring surge midway through the third quarter.
Wilkes-Barre forged its first lead when Naquan Johnson got loose for a 37-yard touchdown catch from freshman quarterback Jake Howe five seconds from the end of the third quarter.
But a Berwick offense that was stymied for most of the second half responded.
Wilk ran behind the Wolfpack secondary and made a spinning grab of a 76-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass, giving the Bulldogs new life and evening the score at 21-21.
Two offensive plays later, Nelson scored on a big play of his own.
He tore up the middle, juked a defender and was off with a 79-yard touchdown run with 10:18 to play, giving the Wolfpack a 28-21 lead.
“We were there, we kind of responded a little bit,” Bennett said. “We kind of got the wind out of our sails with Nelson’s long touchdown run.”
That seemed to deflate the Bulldogs.
They went three-and-out on their ensuing offensive series, then couldn’t cross midfield with a final possession that was stymied by a nine-yard sack.
After that, Nelson erased any doubt about the outcome by covering 29 yards with his final two carries, the second a clinching 15-yard dash around the right side into the end zone to set the final score.
“Coach always says run like it’s a track meet,” Nelson said. “It definitely felt good to solidify the game like that.”
Wilkes-Barre Area 35, Berwick 21
Wilkes-Barre Area`0`7`14`14 — 35
Berwick`7`7`0`7 — 21
First quarter
BER — Drey Wilk 4 pass from Matt Lonczynski (Luke Peters kick), 1:28
Second quarter
WBA — Mekhi Nelson 1 run (Evan Corcoran kick), 11:10
BER — Wilk 38 pass from Lonczynski (Peters kick), 1:31
Third quarter
WBA — Nelson 12 run (Corcoran kick), 4:38
WBA — Naquan Johnson 37 pass from Jake Howe (Corcoran kick), 0:05
Fourth quarter
BER — Wilk 75 pass fro Lonczybski (Peters kick), 11:08
WBA — Nelson 79 run (Corcoran kick), 10:18
WBA — Nelson 15 run (Corcoran kick), 2:18V
Team statistics`WBA`BER
First downs`10`8
Rushes-yards`43-194`25-41
Passing yards`196`232
Total yards`390`273
Passing`11-14-0`11-22-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-13`4-35
Punts-avg.`5-32.6`3-22
Fumbles-lost`3-1`0-0
Penalties-yards`315`2-10
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — WBA, Mekhi Nelson 22-180, Howie Shiner 7-19, Javant McClary 2-12, Treyvon Sembitski 5-1, TEAM 3- (minus 3), Jake Howe 4- (minus 15). BER, Ryan Bankes 12-54, Bo Sheptock 3-8, Rowan Slabinski 2-5, Drey Wilk 1-4, Spencer Kishbaugh 1-1, Matt Lonczynski 6- (minus 31).
PASSING — WBA, Howe 11-14-0-196. BER, Lonczynski 11-22-1-232.
RECEIVING — WBA, Nelson 6-78, Naquan Johnson 3-75, Gabe Saracino 2-43. BER, Wilk 4-126, Sheptock 2-42, Ethan Lear 2-14, Spencer Kishbaugh 1-42, Slabinski 1-6, Lonczynski 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS — WBA, Shiner 1-5.
MISSED FGs — WBA, Corcoran, 28 W-R.