CORRY — Trailing 24-7 at the half, Butler County Bears coach Kirk Bergbigler and his staff needed to make an adjustment.

And quickly.

Erie running back Moe Williams was making life difficult on Butler’s semi-pro football team in the Grid Iron Football Alliance championship game at Corry High School Saturday night.

“We changed most of our defense (at halftime),” Bergbigler said. “We put (defensive back) Stephon Conto to spy on Moe Williams. We shut them down in the second half.”

But Butler couldn’t overcome that first-half deficit as a frantic final drive came up short in a 24-20 loss to the Outlaws.

Williams and Erie jumped on the Bears quickly, building an early 17-0 lead.

The Bears answered with a touchdown on a 90-yard kickoff return by Moniteau graduate James Shope, but Erie went up again by 17 late in the second quarter on a scoring run by Williams.

Bergbigler said there was little doubt that Williams was the difference maker for the Outlaws.

The former Strong Vincent standout wide receiver had a stellar game against the Bears.

“In all honesty — I talked to the coach for Erie and he admitted this — take Moe Williams out of the lineup and they will struggle,” said Bergbigler. “That kid can take over a game by himself. But we pretty much shut him down as far as making the big play in the second half.”

Meanwhile, it was Butler making the big plays in the second half.

An interception by Butler linebacker Randall Palakovich set up a touchdown pass from quarterback Erik Fuhrer to Antawane Davis to cut the deficit to 24-14.

Fuhrer, a Karns City graduate, hooked up with Davis again on an 80-yard strike to make it a one-score game.

Butler took over at its own 1-yard line late in the game and Fuhrer drove the Bears past midfield. However, he was intercepted with 45 seconds remaining.

“It was just a bad read by myself,” Fuhrer said. “It was tough one to swallow.”

Not many thought Butler would reach the playoffs coming off a 2-6 record a season ago in the now defunct United States Football Alliance.

“I think it was a good season, especially considering the season we had last year,” Bergbigler said. “We improved in just about every aspect of the game. I’m very proud of the guys and what we were able to accomplish.”

Butler finished its second season with an 8-4 record, but three of those losses — including Saturday’s GIFA title game — came against Erie.

The Outlaws downed the Bears 27-25 in Butler and 33-7 in Erie this season.

“They had our number,” Fuhrer said. “That’s for sure.”

The third meeting against Erie wasn’t supposed to decide the league championship.

Youngstown finished with the best record in the league and was supposed to play the winner of the Erie-Butler game for the GIFA title, but the franchise was booted from the league because it was unable to provide a suitable stadium.

The Youngstown franchise also had problems this season with officials, security and safety issues.

The Steelers had to forfeit a game to Butler in July because officials hired by Youngstown did not obey the rules.

Bergbigler pulled his team off the field in the second half of that game.

Still, the championship game was one of quality play and drama, Bergbigler said.

“We could have packed it in early,” Bergbigler said. “But we kept going and our guys didn’t quit. There were guys laying on the sideline after the game — it took us a while to get to the locker room — because they were so tired and left it all out there.”

Fuhrer said he and many of his teammates plan on returning next season.

“It was definitely a blast,” Fuhrer said. “The county accepted us. We had probably one of the biggest crowds at every game in the league. After the loss, it felt like graduation — we’re such a close-knit team. I think a lot of the players feel the same way I do. We have unfinished business to take care of.

“We may not have won this one,” Fuhrer added. “But we’re going to make a run again at it next year.”