BERWICK — Four-time defending champ Scranton Prep may not have walked the same dominant path to reach the finals this year.
But from whistle to whistle on Friday, the Cavaliers proved exactly why they’ve been an unstoppable force in the district playoffs.
Scranton Prep came to Crispin Field and tamed previously unbeaten Berwick, winning the District 2 Class 3A championship in a 42-7 rout of the Bulldogs.
Prep’s first-team offense scored six touchdowns in seven offensive drives, and senior quarterback Will McPartland was right at the center of it all.
McPartland ran for four touchdowns, and threw two more to Braedon McPartland and Mackey Lynett as the Cavaliers had this one wrapped up and into running clock territory by halftime.
“We went through a ton of adversity, playing some teams with a ton of talent, but those games made us better,” Will McPartland said. “The defensive line was outstanding, our backers got downhill and made tackles. … I couldn’t be happier with how we played.”
Prep entered the championship game with a 6-5 record opposite Berwick’s sparkling 11-0 mark. The Bulldogs, largely through running back Ty’Meere Wilkerson, had run roughshod over everyone in front of them before Friday night.
Wilkerson finished with 139 yards rushing and the lone touchdown for the Bulldogs, but much of his production came in the second half after Scranton Prep had built up an insurmountable lead.
Prep also picked off two passes from Berwick quarterback Brady Cleaver, got a partial block of a punt that led to a score and generally bottled up an offense that had been scoring in the neighborhood of 45 points a game.
“They haven’t thrown the ball often this year, he’s a good back,” Scranton Prep coach Terry Gallagher said of Wilkerson. “For the most part, I thought we ran to the ball well … that’s what I expect from our defense.”
The Cavaliers marched downfield on their opening drive, with Will McPartland scoring the first of his four rushing touchdowns to put Prep ahead.
It would be 21-0 by the end of the first quarter, McPartland adding another rushing score and a touchdown pass to his brother Braedon McPartland on a screen pass with a ton of blockers providing plenty of room for Braedon to score.
Will McPartland added a third rushing score early in the second quarter and saved his most memorable work for right at the halftime whistle.
As the clock hit all zeroes with Prep right around midfield, McPartland managed to escape a would-be Berwick tackler in the backfield, rolled out and fired toward the end zone.
There, Lynett was waiting to go up and bring down a jump-ball for a 47-yard Prep touchdown, making it a 35-0 Cavs lead.
“I knew we were going deep, I saw Mackey one-on-one,” Will McPartland said. “I trusted my guy, I threw it up and he made the play.”
Will McPartland added one more rushing score in the third quarter before the reserves came in for Prep. Wilkerson took a direct snap, faked a handoff and ran in a 10-yard touchdown to help Berwick avoid the shutout.
This marks the fifth straight District 2 Class 3A title for Scranton Prep. Berwick ends the year with an 11-1 mark and a Wyoming Valley Conference Division 2 title.
Scranton Prep will head to the first round of the state playoffs next weekend, taking on District 4 champ Mifflinburg on Friday at a time and site to be announced.
District 2 Class 3A Championship
Scranton Prep 42, Berwick 7
Scranton Prep`21`14`7`0 — 42
Berwick`0`0`7`0 — 7
First quarter
SP — Will McPartland 7 run (Tyler Bianchi kick) 9:26
SP — W. McPartland 3 run (Bianchi kick) 4:19
SP — Braedon McPartland 18 pass from W. McPartland (Bianchi kick) 1:01
Second quarter
SP — W. McPartland 1 run (Bianchi kick) 10:43
SP — Mackey Lynett 47 pass from W. McPartland (Bianchi kick) 0:00
Third quarter
SP — W. McPartland 1 run (Bianchi kick) 5:50
BER — Ty’Meere Wilkerson 10 run (Caleb Yost kick) 3:11
Team statistics`SP`BER
First downs`15`11
Rushes-yards`23-124`35-169
Passing yards`226`(minus-4)
Total yards`350`165
Passing`10-12-0`2-7-2
Sacked-yards lost`0-0`0-0
Punts-avg.`3-37.6`4-26.5
Fumbles-lost`0-0`1-0
Penalties-yards`5-60`3-30
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — SP, W. McPartland 11-48, B. McPartland 3-54, Noah Krzywiec 2-12, Anthony Prince 4-16, Caleb Rutkoski 2-3, Sal Talarico 1-1. BER, Wilkerson 25-139, Brady Cleaver 4-(minus-6), Caleb May 3-22, Conner Roberts 2-10, Ashton Smith 1-4.
PASSING — SP, W. McPartland 10-10-0-226, Oliver Swingle 0-2-0-0. BER, Cleaver 2-7-2-(minus-4).
RECEIVING — SP, Krzywiec 3-80, B. McPartland 6-99, Lynett 1-47. BER, Alex Estrella 1-3, Everett Snyder 1-(minus-7).
INTERCEPTIONS — SP, AJ Croom 1-35, Jake Rowell 1-0. BER, none.
MISSED FGs — none.
