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By Brad Rosemas
For the Mirror
BERLIN -- Northern Bedford County wide receiver Wyatt Clouse may not be the biggest player on the field, but the senior made the most impactful play of Friday night's contest against Berlin Brothersvalley.
With the game tied at 14-all with 5:46 to go, Clouse hauled in a 16-yard touchdown pass for the game-winning score as the Black Panthers took down the Mountaineers, 20-14, at Snyder Sports Complex.
"This feeling is hard to describe," Northern Bedford coach Garry Black said. "Teams don't just walk into Berlin and win. We faced a team that came into the year with a state ranking in double-A and we beat them. This is one of the greatest games I've ever been a part of."
Play of the game: Facing a 3rd-and-8 from the 16-yard line, Black Panthers quarterback Vaughn Schleinkofer found Clouse wide open on a seam route in the middle of the field.
In what was a busted coverage by the Mountaineers defense, the 5-foot-6, 130-pound Clouse raised his right hand to call for the ball and crossed the goal line without a Berlin Brothersvalley defender within 10 yards of him.
"I know I'm not the biggest guy on the field, but I love football and I give it my all on every play," Clouse said. "I don't back down from anyone out there. I do what my coaches tell me to do and do the best I can for my teammates, and I'm glad I was able to do my part tonight."
The game-winning score was Clouse's only reception of the game, and was the lone points scored in the second half.
Player of the game: Northern Bedford wideout Aaron Bowers topped the Black Panthers with 70 receiving yards on five catches and also rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown, but his most important play came on special teams.
Lining up to punt on his own 37-yard line with just over eight minutes to go in the game, Bowers caught the ball and took off toward the left sideline. After breaking three tackles, Bowers crossed the first down marker.
Bowers then caught a 38-yard pass from Schleinkofer to set up the winning touchdown.
"Coach Black said if you want to take it, go for it," Bowers said. "I'm not gonna back down from that. You have to be physical. We looked at this as one of the most important games we had so far, and we were going to do anything to win it."
Most vital statistic: NBC forced Berlin to turn the ball over on downs on three of its second-half possessions, including the final one coming at the 10-yard line.
"It shouldn't have came down to the end," Berlin coach Doug Paul said. "We just made too many mistakes. I told our guys that we're the team that can figure out a million ways to shoot yourself in the foot, and we've found so many ways. We just aren't where we want to be fundamentally."
Notable: Berlin falls to below .500 for the first time since 2018... Despite being 2-3, the Mountaineers have held all five of their opponents to 20 points or fewer.
Records: Northern Bedford 4-1, Berlin Brothersvalley 2-3.
Next week: Northern Bedford County travels to Tussey Mountain, Berlin Brothersvalley travels to Meyersdale.
SCORE BY QUARTERS
Northern Bedford …………………………….14 0 0 6 -- 20
Berlin Brothersvalley……………………….. 7 7 0 0 -- 14
First Quarter
NB -- Schleinkofer 1 run (Kochara kick), 8:51.
BB -- Huston 30 run (Kimmel kick), 5:59.
NB -- Bowers 15 run (Kochara kick), 0:22.
Second Quarter
BB -- Kimmel 8 run (Kimmel kick), 11:13.
Fourth Quarter
NB -- Clouse 16 pass from Schleinkofer (Conversion failed), 5:46.
TEAM STATISTICS NBC BB
First Downs 12 17
Total Yards 285 369
Rushes-Yards 25-125 57-299
Yards Passing 160 70
Pass (comp.-att.-int.) 12-23-1 7-10-1
Punts-Avg. 2-38 1-36
Fumbles-Lost 2-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 7-56 7-69
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: NBC, Schleinkofer 7-11, Clark 13-58, Bowers 4-46, Snider 1-0. Berlin, Ritenour 1-12, Hutzell 2-17, Huston 44-229, Kimmel 10-41.
Passing: NBC, Schleinkofer 12-23-160-1. Berlin, Foor 7-10-70-1.
Receiving: NBC, Horsh 1-14, Snider 1-12, Clark 2-25, Clouse 1-16, Donaldson 2-25, Bowers 5-70. Berlin, Ritenour 4-34, Hutzell 2-33, Huston 1-3.