WICKLIFFE—Berkshire’s Roman Percic set a new school record with his 48-yard field as time expired in the first half of the Badgers’ 38-0 win at Wickliffe on Friday.
The long field goal added an exclamation point to the Badgers’ 31-point first half.
“My coaches believed in me,” Percic said of his record-setting kick. “We do it in practice. My line held off the rush and gave me time to kick it. I’m speechless. It’s pretty great. It meant a lot, and I didn’t realize it was a school record until the coaches told me. I’ve got to give credit to my team.”
Berkshire coach Jesse DeWeese was confident Percic had the leg to make the kick, especially after a deep touchback on an earlier kickoff.
“After we got the touchback kicking that way with the gust of wind, I had confidence in him,” he said. “He hits 45-yarders regularly in practice. We had the wind at our back, and I’m glad we decided to kick it. We had the perfect snap and hold, and he split the uprights.”
The Badgers were just as successful in every other facet of the game in the first half.
“Coming out (of the gate) fast is always a priority for us,” DeWeese said. “We want to come out and establish ourselves offensively. We want to dictate what happens. That was a big focus, and it’s always a big focus for us.”
Berkshire established itself quickly, starting with Abram Southern’s 14-yard run followed by Brady Wadsworth breaking through the Wickliffe defense for a 24-yard gain.
Sam Barcikoski connected with Paul Brent for a 17-yard pickup before finding Southern again for a 15-yard touchdown pass.
The Badgers converted a two-point conversion with Barcikoski finding Luke Stute in the end zone.
Berkshire’s defense forced a turnover on downs, setting up Barcikoski completions to Wadsworth for 14 and 18 yards, and then Justin Phillips capped the drive with a one-yard rushing touchdown, putting Berkshire ahead 14-0.
The Badgers scored again, with Ayden Wiser finding the end zone from four yards out in the second quarter.
Wadsworth added another big run of 18 yards, leading to Phillips’ 18-yard rushing touchdown.
Barcikoski threw a 16-yard pass to Wadsworth that set up Percic’s field goal as time expired in the first half.
Berkshire added one more score in the fourth quarter on a Barcikoski 21-yard touchdown pass to Dasen Marker.
The defense was formidable as it limited Wickliffe to only 76 yards of offense and five first downs.
“Our guys got on the film great this week,” DeWeese said. “We picked up on the keys we needed to focus on from the linebacker spot. The defensive tackles, ends, and the secondary all picked up their reads, and we played team football. We didn’t focus on doing too much, which showed how we closed the running lanes.”
In the postgame huddle, DeWeese praised his team for playing a complete game for the first time this season.
“Complete football is beautiful,” he told his players. “We’ve seen both sides of the ball do it separately in multiple games. To put it all together in the same night, with the special teams hitting, is very encouraging as we head into the second half of the season and (Chagrin Valley Conference) play.”
Berkshire opens league play at rival Cardinal in the 2024 edition of The Kinsman Cup.
“Cardinal is throwing the ball a lot this year,” DeWeese noted. “Cal (Ciminello) and Reese (Soltis) are having great seasons. Their offense brings a different dynamic because we played (Wickliffe), who predominantly runs the ball. It’s going to be a good test for our team to reboot. Cardinal has a bunch of kids who like to play football, and anything can happen in a rivalry game.”
Wadsworth led the Berkshire offense with 152 all-purpose yards on 10 touches, while Phillips gained 56 yards on 14 carries with two touchdowns.
Southern contributed 40 all-purpose yards with a receiving touchdown, and Barcikoski completed 14-of-21 passes for 181 yards and two touchdowns.
Wickliffe fell to 3-2.
Jake Beal paced the Blue Devil offense with four catches for 37 yards, and Ralph Jackson gained 29 rushing yards on seven carries. The Blue Devils travel to Trinity in Week 6.
