October 9- The Bishop McDevitt Crusaders moved to 6-0 for the 2005 season (5-0 in the Mid Penn Commonwealth Conference) tonight, beating a determined Berwick Bulldog team, 28-14 at Berwick's Crispin Field. The game, postponed from Friday night due to torrential rains from tropical storm Tammy, was scheduled to be televised nationally by ESPNU, but the television plans were cancelled when the game was moved to Sunday night. Regardless, the contest was played in a festival atmosphere, including pre-game celebrations, fireworks and an overflow crowd estimated at 9,000.Given the numerous distractions, the Crusaders rose to the occasion, overcoming numerous penalties and pass-protection problems in the first half to take control of the game. Once again it was the Crusader defense that set the tone, overwhelming the Berwick offense and holding the Bulldogs to 134 total yards. Led by linebackers Pat Berry, Leon Black and Keith Davis, McDevitt's "D' was praised by legendary Berwick Coach George Curry. " I 've never seen a defense as fast as that, that can close like that", Curry told the Harrisburg Patriot News. Berwick scored on drives of 9 and 20 yards. On offense, the Crusaders were led by an unlikely hero: sophomore running back Mike Jones revived the dormant McDevitt rushing attack by running for 164 yards and a touchdown on 26 carries In addition, sophomore wide receiver Julian Harrell and senior fullback Dave Seiple notched their first varsity scores. Quarterback Jeremy Ricker survived some spotty pass protection in the first half to finish with 10 completions on 14 attempts for 135 yards and 2 touchdowns. Ricker spread the ball among 5 receivers, with Mike Comasco catching 3 passes for 33 yards. McDevitt took the opening kickoff and promptly relinquished 2 sacks to the revved-up Berwick defense, forcing a Ricker punt to the BER 33. Berwick was held to a 3-and-out, punting back to the MCD 42. Ricker started the next possession with a 13 yard completion to Mike Comasco, and then Jones ran for 4. A 15 yard, Ricker-to Jones hookup followed. One play later, Ricker launched a perfect pass into the right corner of the end zone, where it was gathered in by Harrell for the game's first score. Mike Comasco continued his reliable PAT performance with a perfect kick and McDevitt had drawn first blood, 7-0, with 5:03 left in the Quarter. Berwick was hampered by a motion penalty on its next possession and punted again to the MCD 45. McDevitt couldn't move the ball and attempted to punt,
but a bad snap ended up on the MCD 9. Two plays later Berwick's Dalen Broussard scored on a well-planned end around to knot the score at 7, with 53 seconds left in the quarter. After the teams traded punts to start the second quarter McDevitt was pinned on its own 1 yard line by a fine Bulldog punt. Three plays netted only 2 yards for the Crusaders, so Ricker was forced to punt again, this time to the MCD 32, where it was returned to the 20. On the next play Berwick quarterback Mike Walton (who suffered through a 3-15, 2 interception evening) lobbed a perfect pass to Gordon Law for the touchdown, posting Berwick to a 14-7 lead as the partisan crowd went wild. The celebration was short-lived, however. Aaron Berry returned the ensuing kickoff to the MCD 44. On the next play Jones took a hand off and started to his right. The speedy soph cut through a gaping hole and outraced the Berwick secondary to the end zone for a 14-14 tie with 2:57 left in the half. An unproductive series by each team ended the half. Berwick started the second half by trying to establish its frustrated running game. After 2 first downs, Bulldog running back Mike Quick was stripped of the ball by Black and Jason Kates recovered at the MCD 37. After 3 Jones runs had produced a first down midfield, Ricker was intercepted by Pete Celona. The McDevitt defense reestablished its domination by forcing another punt, keyed by a David Dunn sack. McDevitt began this 9 play scoring drive at the MCD 36. Jones ran for 11 yards on 2 carries, and then broke a 13 yarder into Berwick territory. Three more Jones carries gained a first down at the BER 29 ,and then Cameron Artis spelled Jones with a 3 yard carry. One play later Ricker hit Mike Comasco for another sizeable gain, but the ball was moved back to the MCD 36 on an offensive interference penalty. Coach Jeff Weachter then called for a screen pass and the Crusaders ran it to perfection. Ricker dropped a pass off to Seiple, who has been earning plaudits for his devastating blocking. The rugged senior gathered in the pass and, following blocks by Tucker Baumbach and Aaron Berry, made a quick move to open field. Seiple showed surprising speed in his race to the end zone that posted the Crusaders to a 21-14 lead with 2:30 left in the 3rd quarter. Berwick threatened on the following series, helped by a 37 yard pass from Walton to Quick. The quarter ended with Berwick poised on the MCD 8. After a botched reverse resulted in a 12 yard loss, the Bulldogs surrendered the ball following 2 incompletions, as Walton scrambled away from the savage McDevitt pass rush. Aaron Berry's 13 yard pass reception got McDevitt started, but a holding penalty doomed the drive and Ricker was forced to punt again, this time a 48 yarder to the
BER 32. One play later Eric McGovern picked off a Walton pass and returned it to the BER 43. A 19 yard, Ricker-to-Berry completion and 3 Jones runs moved the ball to the 18, but the drive stalled and Mike Comasco came on to attempt a 35 yard field goal. The kick looked like it was right on the money but was waved off by the officials. The McDevitt defense soon regained possession, however, as Vince Comasco intercepted Walton and a personal foul penalty on Quick moved the ball to the BER 20. Chris Henderson then blasted 19 yards to set up Ricker's 1 yard touchdown plunge that ended the scoring. Berwick punted on its last possession and the McDevitt offense rolled to the BER 19 behind runs by Jones, Artis and Dave Onorato before Ricker took a knee to end it.Next week McDevitt hosts Altoona at McDevitt Field. The October 15th contest is scheduled to start at 1:00 P.M.