RICH KELLY
ANDOVER TOWNSHIP — The Berkshire Badgers have had a lot of success on local gridirons over the years, with the Pymatuning Valley Lakers being the victims on a regular basis.
After the Lakers took a halftime lead while pretty much controlling the Badgers, Berkshire tightened things up defensively in the second half, shut PV down and overcame an 8-6 Laker lead with control on both sides of the ball to rally for a tough 25-8 victory in non-conference action Friday.
Keying the big second half for Berkshire was Josh Hess, who picked off three Laker passes to thwart PV attempts to stretch the Badger defense after PV had pushed their way all over the field in the first half.
“We were not happy with our first half,” Berkshire coach Terry King said. “We didn’t capitalize on what we were given, and you have to credit PV for pretty much pushing us around.
“We expect our defense to play better, and with Josh Hess getting those picks to give us good field position in the third period, I was happy with how we came out for the second half and shut them down. This is always a tough game for us, so getting a win gives us a big boost because our next five games are at home.”
The trio of interceptions by Hess keyed a total of six takeaways for the Badgers, including four picks and a pair of fumble recoveries. While showing signs of being a very potent offense, key injuries in the second half, while not expected to be serious, did have an effect on PV. It forced the Lakers to try other things, and they didn’t work as hoped.
PV pounded the ball on Berkshire in the first half with Kyle Kiser (17 carries, 73 yards) and Nick Marshall (14-53) doing the work. Marshall had a minor injury and didn’t play in the third period, lineman Drew Skeleres went out for a while with an ankle problem and Berkshire clamped down on the Laker running game.
“I was really happy with how we started out,” PV coach Jason Root said. “We moved the ball well and were crisp, but we ran out of steam in the second half.
“We were able to run the ball, but when Drew and Nick Marshall got hurt in the third period, it took two big players out of the middle of what we were doing on both sides of the ball.They (Berkshire) were able to run the ball better, we turned the ball over, and that was it. We had some good stands on defense, but the offense put us in a hole several times, and they are too good a team to do that.”
PV won the battle of yardage in the first half, 191-144, but the second half went decidedly toward Berkshire by a 199-65 count. With four of the six PV turnovers coming in the second half, time was not on the Lakers’ side.
Still in the game midway through the fourth quarter, though, PV saw backup quarterback Tyler Keyes come off the bench for the Badgers. He found Hess along the right sideline near midfield, who escaped several tackle attempts and completed a 75-yard play to cap the scoring and put the last nail in the Laker coffin.
PV had a daunting task at hand to start the season in replacing Andrew Smith and Thomas Erwin in the backfield, but Marshall, Kiser and Josh Adkins at quarterback showed promise. With only four seniors on the roster, none of them starters, the underclassmen at PV will get their chances.
Sophomore wideout Nick Stasiak scored the lone Laker touchdown on an 11-yard pass from Adkins in the second period.
For Berkshire, Tim Miller tallied on runs of one and three yards. Derek Ashba opened Berkshire’s scoring with a 19-yard run, while Hess had his long play.
Kelly is a freelance writer from Jefferson.
