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BERWICK — As each opportunity went unfulfilled, Coughlin eased closer to the fate so many previous Berwick opponents have endured under coach George Curry’s tenure.
Perhaps it’s a curse. Perhaps happenstance. Whatever it is, Berwick once again changed everything on one play Saturday afternoon in what was likely Curry’s last game at Crispin Field.
Linebacker Kyle McMillan returned an interception 52 yards for Berwick’s only touchdown as the Dawgs edged Coughlin 7-6 in a District 2 Class 3A semifinal game.
Berwick (9-2) advanced to the D2-3A championship game for a fourth consecutive year. The Dawgs will play Scranton Prep (10-1), a 28-2 winner over Dallas, at 7 p.m. Friday at Scranton Memorial Stadium.
The Dawgs last won a district title in 2013 and have 1o overall, all but one coming under Curry. They will be in the championship game for the 14th time. Prep is in a district championship game for the first time since 1992 when it lost 24-21 in overtime to Nanticoke in the inaugural D2-3A title contest in 1992.
McMillan’s interception return came with 4:44 left in the third quarter. He made the pick in the flat and raced down the right sideline untouched after breaking off his initial assignment. Jordan DiValerio’s extra point made it 7-0.
“All I saw was green. That’s all I saw,” McMillan said. “I was supposed to blitz on that, but I dropped back when I saw the running back coming out. So I just covered it.”
Up to that point, Berwick’s offense had crossed midfield just once. That came on the next-to-last play of the first half.
And up to that point, Coughlin (7-4) saw scoring opportunities come and go.
Coughlin moved all the way to the Berwick 12-yard line on its first possession of the game, but a couple negative plays from there killed the drive at the 18.
The Crusaders started their second possession at the Berwick 23 after an interception by Jacob Soller. It died three four plays and three yards later.
Coughlin’s first drive of the third quarter was hampered by a 15-yard personal foul penalty after the Crusaders moved to the Berwick 18. Two plays later, Berwick defensive lineman Stone Force intercepted a pass batted in the air at the line. After McMillan’s interception touchdown, the Crusaders moved to the Berwick 6 where they fumbled the ball away.
“I’ve said it all year, they’re the best defense in the league no doubt,” Coughlin coach Ciro Cinti said. “They come and play the ball, and we didn’t take care of our opportunities. We had that drive in the first half we didn’t get any points on. Against team like that playing from behind (is difficult).”
Coughlin received a break after the fumble as Berwick fumbled the ball right back, with defensive end Malik Diop making the recovery. The Crusaders drove down field and capped the drive with a 16-yard TD option pass from running back Vincent Todd to receiver Nick Zalaffi on fourth-and-12.
The touchdown came on the first play of the fourth quarter, meaning the extra-point try would be into a fierce wind that blew goalpost-to-goalpost all game. The try was just wide as Berwick maintained a 7-6 lead.
Coughlin had the ball just once more all game. The Crusaders decided to punt on fourth-and-7 from their 47 with under five minutes to play, hoping a strong defensive effort along with two timeouts would allow time for a rally. They didn’t.
Instead, Berwick used the running of Len Wyda to get three first downs and run out the clock.
“Lenny is a good back,” Curry said. “He’s quick, he’s fast. We took advantage what they gave us. … We ran the same play nine times in a row and they couldn’t stop it.”
Wyda, who is part of the committee backfield, had six carries in the final drive and 11 in the fourth quarter. He hadn’t carried the ball more than nine times in a game all season.
“I just have to wait my turn and take the opportunity when it comes to you,” said Wyda, who finished with 73 yards on 17 rushes. “You have to share it with every other back.”
D2-3A Semifinals
Berwick 7, Coughlin 6
Coughlin`0`0`0`6`—`6
Berwick`0`0`7`0`—`7
Third quarter
BER — Kyle McMillan 52 interception return (Jordan DiValerio kick), 4:44
Fourth quarter
BER — Nick Zalaffi 16 pass from Vincent Todd (kick failed), 11:53
Team statistics`COU`BER
First downs`14`10
Rushes-yards`46-148`36-99
Passing yards`80`43
Total yards`228`142
Passing`6-14-2`3-7-1
Sacked-yards lost`2-11`1-8
Punts-avg.`2-27.5`3-37.7
Fumbles-lost`2-1`4-3
Penalties-yards`4-35`6-35
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Coughlin, Jacob Soller 23-90, Zach King 19-66, Todd 3-2, team 1-(minus-10). Berwick, Anthony Cicini 4-16, Daquan Hellenthal 4-9, Alex Koch 4-13, Jared Marshman 1-(minus-8), Len Wyda 17-73, Mike Force 4-(minus-2), team 2-(minus-2).
PASSING — Coughlin, Soller 5-13-2-64, Todd 1-1-0-16. Berwick, Force, 1-2-1-10, Marshman 2-5-0-33.
RECEIVING — Coughlin, Mike Brown 3-47, Todd 1-8, Zalaffi 2-25. Berwick, Harrison Kuchka 2-33, Robbie Harter 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS — Coughlin, Soller 1-13. Berwick, Stone Force 1-0, McMillan 1-52.
MISSED FGs — None.
