Two dominant backs in Ty'Meere Wilkerson and Dewayne Downey are getting ready to go toe-to-toe. The Berwick Bulldogs will host the Hanover Area Hawkeyes at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Both teams are coming into the contest red-hot, with Berwick sitting on ten straight wins and Hanover Area on three.
Berwick's defense heads into the matchup hoping to repeat the dominance they displayed on Friday. They simply couldn't be stopped as they easily beat Tunkhannock 53-0. Given the Bulldogs' advantage in MaxPreps' Pennsylvania football rankings (they are ranked 173rd, while the Tigers are ranked 493rd) , the win wasn't entirely unexpected.
Brayden Cleaver
| 10/24/25 @ Tunkhannock | 73 |
| 10/17/25 vs Selinsgrove | 48 |
| 09/05/25 vs Lackawanna Trail | 38 |
| 09/26/25 vs Wyoming Area | 31 |
| 10/03/25 @ Greater Nanticoke Area | 11 |
Berwick can attribute much of their success to Brayden Cleaver, who threw for 73 yards and two touchdowns. Those 73 passing yards gave Cleaver a new career-high.
Berwick was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 288 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 214 rushing yards every time they've taken the field this season.
Meanwhile, Hanover Area put their dominant defense on display in the team's third consecutive shutout on Friday. They claimed a resounding 63-0 victory over Greater Nanticoke Area. The score at the end of the third wound up being the final score as the Hawkeyes just coasted through the last quarter.
Berwick better keep an eye on Logan Richardson. He was instrumental in Hanover Area's win, throwing for 190 yards and five TDs while completing 88.9% of his passes. Richardson's passing game has become a key predictor of the Hawkeyes' success: the team is undefeated when his passer rating is 110 or higher, but only 2-4 otherwise. Another player making a difference was Deacon Eisenbach, who picked up 88 receiving yards and a pair of scores.
Special teams played a big role in the game for Hanover Area, adding 18 points to the final score. The biggest highlight from special teams (and perhaps the team as a whole) came courtesy of Dawin Downey, who ran a kickoff back for a touchdown. Another bright spot was a punt return touchdown from Conor Richardson.
Hanover Area's win bumped their record up to 6-4. As for Berwick, their victory bumped their record up to 10-0.
Everything came up roses for Berwick against Hanover Area in their previous matchup back in September, as the squad secured a 56-19 win. In that game, the Bulldogs amassed a halftime lead of 35-12, an impressive feat they'll look to repeat on Friday.
