’22 Season Preview: Wilson Bulldogs
Classification: Class 6A
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1
Last season: 5-0 Section 1, 9-4 overall
Schedule: Click here
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2021
Head coach: Doug Dahms, 17th season, 170-35
Key losses: QB Brad Hoffman, all-league RB Jadyn Jones, all-league WR & second-team LB TJ Flite, all-league C Jack Durning, all-league G & second-team DE Jon Ramsey, all-league DT Dominic Memmo, second-team all-league DT Elian Rodriguez, second-team all-league LB Gavin Lenart, second-team all-league DB Josh Drake.
| LL1 | Projected finish |
| 1 | Wilson |
| 2 | Manheim Township |
| 3 | Hempfield |
| 4 | Cedar Crest |
| 5 | Penn Manor |
| 6 | Reading High |
| 7 | McCaskey |
Top offensive players: All-League ATH & KR and second-team WR Cam Jones, QB Tommy Hunsicker, QB Adam Woods, RB Cleveland Harding, WR Edison Case, WR Ofure Odiale, WR Austin Valukevich, all-league TE Brady Kline, C Logan Kurzweg, G Brendan Hopp, G Ryan McMillan, all-league T Jack Dendall, PK Ben Rada.
Top defensive players: E Nick Weitzel, E Brady Kline, E Isaiah Casseus, LB Landon Farrell, LB Ryan McMillan, LB Nick Crocona, all-league CB Cam Jones, CB Rafael Fernandez, S Edison Case, S Nate Capitano.
Did you know? Doug Dahms has coached more games (205) than any head coach in Wilson football history. He surpassed John Gurski’s record (199) last year at midseason.
For the record: Kerry Collins set a program record throwing for 2,043 yards in 15 games in 1989. In the years since four other Wilson QBs have topped that mark (Chad Henne, Zach Zweizig, Seth Klein and Connor Uhrig). Collins went on to throw for 40,922 yards in the NFL, 20th all-time in league history.
On schedule: Wilson and Reading High, once fierce rivals in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League, meet for the first time in nine years when they open league play against each other Sept. 16 at Shirk Stadium. The Bulldogs lead the series 23-5 and own a 10-game winning streak. Reading’s last win came in 2003 when James Bryant and the Red Knights dismanted Chad Henne’s senior team 44-2 in West Lawn.
Quotable: “We’re definitely a different team. Starting with Coatesville (in the scrimmage), and then Roman (Catholic in the opener), we’re going to find our style and see what we can do, like we did last year. I don’t know if it’s going to be exactly the same; it might be the complete opposite.” — Bulldogs tackle Jack Dendall.
Outlook: For decades the Bulldogs’ legendary success has been built around the strength of its senior class but this year’s is a little thin, at least by Wilson’s lofty standards. Doug Dahms will be relying on more juniors in key spots than he’d like to, including at quarterback where Tommy Hunsicker and Adams Woods combined to attempt three varsity passes last season.
The Bulldogs could be stronger a year from now but that doesn’t mean they’re still not capable of a third straight Section 1 title.
Start with senior Cam Jones, easily the most versatile and perhaps the most talented player in Section 1. He was the only player in the entire league — all four sections — to earn all-league honors four ways last year: He was the Section 1 Defensive Back of the Year, a first-team pick at Athlete and KR and a second-team pick at WR.
Jones, who has committed to play at Holy Cross, averaged just two touches from scrimmage a year ago — he did most of his damage as a kick returner, taking seven back for scores. That will change this season as he becomes a primary figure on offense, as a key receiving target at WR and also a factor in the running game, on Jet Sweeps and the like.
Dahms says the O-line is untested but if you include all-league TE Brady Kline half of the six guys up front return, including road grader Jack Dendall, a 275-pound junior who earned all-league status despite missing much of the first half of the season with a knee injury. Brendan Hopp returns at guard.
The Bulldogs should be fine up front, which bodes well for senior Cleveland Harding, who takes over as the lead back. His style, as will the offense’s, will be much different than last season when the Bulldogs realized their best bet was to simply pound people. It worked, but they’ll return to a more balanced approach this season.
The defense should be fine, too; it always is under Defensive Coordinator Ernie Wolber’s guidance. Start with Jones, a lock-down corner and game-changer. He’ll be joined in the secondary by ballhawking 6-2 S Edison Case.
Wilson had so many injuries early last season it was forced to go with young players such as Brady Kline and Ryan McMillan, then a freshman and sophomore, respectively.
They came through and will be impact players this season. Kline and senior Nick Weitzel gives the Bulldogs a pair of top-flight DE’s. McMillan will be in the LB mix along with Landon Farrell.
After slipping behind Manheim Township for a few seasons — the Blue Streaks beat the Bulldogs three times in four games between 2017-19 — Wilson has regained the upper hand, pulling out a pair of close victories the past two years. The teams appear closely matched again, and each will be challenged by an improving Hempfield program.
At the wire: Bulldogs should have just enough to gain a third straight Section 1 title and be in the District 3 mix, as well.
Lancaster-Lebanon League
| Section 1 | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 |
| Cedar Crest | Conestoga Valley | Daniel Boone | Berks Catholic | Annville-Cleona |
| Hempfield | Exeter | Elizabethtown | Cocalico | Columbia |
| Manheim Twp. | Gov. Mifflin | Ephrata | Conrad Weiser | Hamburg |
| McCaskey | Lebanon | Fleetwood | Donegal | Kutztown |
| Penn Manor | Manheim Central | Garden Spot | Elco | Lancaster Catholic |
| Reading High | Muhlenberg | Solanco | Lampeter-Strasburg | Northern Lebanon |
| Wilson | Warwick | Twin Valley | Octorara | Pequea Valley |
| | | | Wyomissing | Schuylkill Valley |
