Berry 35, East Meck 31

Berry senior Bryan Digsby was the starting tight end for the Cardinals until Monday when he was told he’d be starting at quarterback for injured starter Jeremy Barber.

So Digsby went out and accounted for 311 total yards and five touchdowns, including the game-winner to Mike Roberts with 23 seconds left, as visiting Berry defeated upset-minded East Meck 35-31 at Dick Williams Stadium.

Digsby’s effort helped offset East Meck’s running game, which ran for 252 total yards led by Juan Powell with 170. When Jacobi Thomas scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard run with 2:37 left, East Meck led 31-28 and looked poised to spring the upset.

Digsby hit Kusegi Cureton for a 35-yard gain on the first play to get to East Meck’s 31, and hit Cureton again on a fourth-down play with 50 seconds left. Three plays later Digsby threw a fade to Roberts in the right corner of the end zone for the game-winner. Williams sealed the win with an interception of quarterback Khalil Gilliam with five seconds left.

Quote: “I felt pretty confident the whole game,” said Digsby. “We worked hard all week to prepare for this, and when they (East Meck) took the lead the coaches just told us to stay calm and that we’ve been here before. Luckily, we were able to make some plays and get the win, and it feels really good.”

Records: Berry is 1-0 while East Meck is 0-1

Worth mentioning: East Meck has just eight seniors on its roster and of its starting skill players, only Powell is a senior.

Berry wide receiver Kusegi Cureton caught seven passes for 152 yards and a touchdown and drew a crucial pass interference penalty on the final drive right before the game-winning touchdown.

East Meck is much improved but hurt itself with penalties, committing 11 for 94 yards while Berry was only flagged twice.

What's Next: Berry will travel to Rocky River while East Meck will play host to South Meck.

This story was originally published August 21, 2015 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Berry 35, East Meck 31."