Madyx Gruber, Correll Akings give Bulldogs a lift in win over Cheltenham
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
By Rick Woelfel — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
KING OF PRUSSIA — The Wilson Bulldogs got their 80th season off to a successful start and Madyx Gruber made an impressive debut at quarterback Saturday afternoon.
There were some speed bumps to deal with and some growing pains to overcome as is typical in a season-opener. All the pieces fit together when it mattered as the Bulldogs beat Cheltenham 28-20 in a non-league opener at Upper Merion.
Correll Akings started his junior season in impressive fashion, rushing for 95 yards, scoring two touchdowns, and catching a pass for 23 yards.
Gruber, Wilson’s top wide receiver as a junior, got his first start at quarterback and threw for 172 yards and a touchdown, completing 15-of-21 passes. He also rushed for 52 yards.
The Bulldogs stepped up on defense as well, doing its best to neutralize Cheltenham signal caller Kendall Jackson. The sophomore threw for 253 yards and two touchdowns but was under duress much of the afternoon; he was sacked four times and intercepted once. His receivers had to work for every yard.
“I was pleased defensively,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms, who saw his defense withstand 33 pass attempts. “We were getting after people. We were attacking receivers. We had a couple picks called back (due to penalties). We’re still making some mistakes but we’re getting there.”
Wilson had a stumble on its first drive. Monty Greer picked off a Jackson aerial and returned it 37 yards to the 9 but Akings was turned away on fourth-and-goal from the 1.
The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard when Greer went in from the 3 with 22 seconds left in the opening quarter.
“We have a young offensive line that’s got to mature,” Dahms said. “(Cheltenham) had some big guys up front and they gave us some fits because they’re big guys and we weren’t getting on their linebackers real well. But we’ll grow.”
Akings’s 51-yard jaunt with 8:01 left in the first half was the most picturesque play of the afternoon. He went up the middle, broke two tackles, and bounced to the right sideline on his way to the end zone.
“I just have to read my blockers, execute, and be patient,” he said, “and run through holes and just keep going whenever we can.”
Dahms noted that Akings has matured as a football player.
“He was much more physical than he ran last year,” Dahms said. “He’s a big part offensively and defensively, then you’ve got Monty to spell him when he’s tired. In games like this, you need it.”
Jackson threw to Carsen Giddians for one score and ran for another 25 seconds later thanks to an interception; that brought Cheltenham within 14-12 with 39 seconds left in the first half.
The Bulldogs answered in short order. Gruber found 6-3 sophomore tight end Mike Glover deep on the right side of the end zone on the final play of the half to send Wilson up 21-12.
Akings scored his second touchdown on an 8-yard run midway through the fourth quarter. Jackson and Giddians hooked up once more with 3:15 left in the game to make it a one-score game but Wilson recovered the subsequent onside kick and the Panthers, who were out of timeouts, never got the ball back.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 6 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Cheltenham | 0 | 12 | 0 | 8 | 20 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wilson | Greer, 3 run (kick failed) | :22 |
| 2 | Wilson | Akings, 51 run (Greer run) | 8:01 |
| 2 | Cheltenham | Giddians, 6 pass from Jackson (kick failed) | 1:04 |
| 2 | Cheltenham | Jackson, 1 run (run failed) | 0:39 |
| 2 | Wilson | Glover, 37 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick) | 0:00 |
| 4 | Wilson | Akings, 8 run (Hunsicker kick) | 5:53 |
| 4 | Cheltenham | Giddians, 49 pass from Jackson (Upchurch pass from Jackson) | 3:15 |
Team statistics
| Wilson | Cheltenham | |
| First downs | 18 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 39-183 | 18-15 |
| Passing yards | 172 | 253 |
| Total yards | 355 | 268 |
| Passes | 15-21-1 | 17-33-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-43.0 | 3-33.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 10-95 | 10-58 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wilson: Akings 16-95, Gruber 14-52,Greer 7-28, Peterson 1-9, Team 1- (-1).
Cheltenham: Fairel 3-12, Higgenbotham 4-10, Smith 1-1, Jackson 10- (-8).
PASSING
Wilson: Gruber 15-21-1—172.
Cheltenham: Jackson 17-33-1—253.
RECEIVING
Wilson: Zullinger 6-74, Glover 3-43, Carpenter 2-9, Akings 1-23, Kline 1-11, Greer 1-8, Hunsicker 1-4.
Cheltenham: Upchurch 5-94, Gideons 5-69, Dunn 3-48, Barnes 3-20, Gordon 1-22.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wilson: Greer.
Cheltenham: Alston.
