Berwick Squeaks By Wyoming Valley West 33 - 27 On January 25

Berwick hosted the Spartans of Wyoming Valley West on January 25.  While Berwick was able to squeak out a 33 - 27 win, the Dawgs did not have one of their better nights and once again the dual was decided by the last bout which was uncontested by the Spartans.  The Dawgs must regain their intensity to close out the regular season strong against Crestwood Friday night. 

Prior to the dual with WVW, the Berwick Wrestling Family celebrated by paying honor to our seniors, parents, and junior high Dawgs (coverage is listed below).

For the second consecutive night in a row, senior team captain Josh Walsh was called upon to start the action for the Dawgs.  Walsh answered and once again got Berwick off to a great start as he completely controlled and dominated his opponent for an excellent 17-3 major decision.  Sophomore Chris Johnson shook off a tough loss in his last bout and got revenge against his opposition on the night in a hotly contested bout that finished with Johnson exploding for a third period fall.  The Spartans took the next bout by a 1-point decision before sophomore Aaron Karns continued his dominating wrestling performance in notching an overwhelming 10-1 major decision.

Berwick now held a 14-3 lead after the first 4 bouts.

Despite Berwick's strong opening rally, the Spartans came to wrestle and that was the theme for the rest of the night.  Wyoming Valley West took the next 3 bouts, 2 by fall and 1 by major decision.  The Spartan counter rally provided them with a 19-14 advantage and a lead that would not be relinquished until the last scheduled bout of the night.

Freshman Dom Yantorn got Berwick back on the scoreboard when he engaged in a highly competitive battle and once again Yantorn came out on top with a 5-3 decision.  The Spartans took the next bout by decision.  Freshman Mike Derkotch was called upon to step into the circle for a critical bout.  Derkotch not only stepped into the circle, but he stepped up his performance and penned an important 3-2 decision into the record books.  Once again, the Spartans replied with more bonus points when they cemented the next bout by technical fall.

Berwick was still trailing 20-27 with 3 bouts remaining.

Junior team captain Tyler Perry entered the circle of manhood next for the Dawgs and initiated a slugfest with his opponent and finished the hard-fought bout with another critical 5-0 decision.  Sophomore Nick Venditti looked at the scoreboard and knew that his job was just not to win, but to secure bonus points for Berwick.  Venditti answered the bell and, as he has been doing all season, took complete and overwhelming control of his opponent and tied up the score at 27-27 with a 10-0 major decision.

With the score tied at 27, Wyoming Valley West had no wrestler on deck and was forced to forfeit the last bout to sophomore Josh Snyder and concede the contest in handing Berwick a 33-27 win.

Berwick gets a practice session in the wrestling room on Thursday before making the short trip to Mountain Top to take on the Comets of Crestwood on Friday, January 27, at 7pm.  The dual with the Comets will be another big battle that will hinge on key bouts.  The Dawg Faithful is strongly encouraged to make the short drive to cheer on and support our Dawgs!

Winning Dawgs Against WVW
Josh Walsh:  Major Decision
Chris Johnson:  Fall
Aaron Karns:  Major Decision
Dom Yantorn:  Decision
Mike Derkotch:  Decision
Tyler Perry:  Decision
Nick Venditti:  Major Decision
Josh Snyder:  Forfeit

Go Dawgs!!