Mason Young, Jaiden Carpenter well-connected in Wilson rout

By Editor Last updated Sep 14, 2025

Wilson's Jaiden Carpenter pulls in a touchdown pass Friday against Reading. (Joe Mays photo)

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By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent

Wilson quarterback Mason Young and wide receiver Jaiden Carpenter have known each other since their days playing for Lincoln Park. When Young throws a ball up, he knows that Carpenter will come down with it.

Final
Wilson	49
Reading	0

The seniors combined for two touchdowns in Wilson’s 49-0 rout of Reading High in the Bulldogs’ first defense of their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title Friday night at John Gurski Stadium.

“He’s been my friend forever,” Young said of Carpenter. “Ever since I knew him, he’s been the fastest kid. Really smart, really good kid.”

The pair connected for a 32-yard score on the game’s opening drive. Young saw his wideout in man coverage and didn’t hesitate to toss a jump ball. Carpenter somehow came down with it in the corner of the end zone.

“It’s a 50-50 ball,” said Young. “But with him, it’s 60-40. I saw (the defender) was even with him, I put the ball out there and he made a great catch.”

“Mason gave enough of a lead, and Carpenter’s fast and went up and got it,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “That was a big play.”

Later in the first quarter Carpenter worked his way open for an easy 18-yard score. Wilson benched most of its starters late in the second quarter; Young finished 4-for-4 with 92 passing yards and the two touchdown passes.

Wilson’s EJ Brownback takes an interception back to the end zone. (Joe Mays photo)

“That’s a connection we hope will continue to get us scores,” Dahms said. “We just have nice receivers, and Mason’s been doing a good job getting it to them.”

The Bulldogs (3-1) scored all of their points in the first half. The Red Knights (0-4) were shut out for the second time this season and have produced just three touchdowns.

Correll Akings ran for a pair of touchdowns, darting for 37 yards on his first score in the opening quarter before his own outstanding punt return set up a 6-yard tumble in the second frame.

An 18-yard touchdown run by Ethan Harding, a 30-yard Pick-Six by EJ Brownback and a 15-yard connection between backup signal-caller Cole Peterson and tight end Michael Glover rounded out the Bulldogs’ scoring.

Wilson had pulled most of its starters by halftime.

“It feels great to come out (like this) after a loss,” Young said, a week removed from a 30-20 defeat against Nazareth. “I think we played really good, but there’s still some things to work on.”

Taking away a 30-yard loss on a botched snap, the Bulldogs as a team ran for nearly 5 yards per carry. Wilson’s big guys dominated on both sides of the ball; the Bulldogs also recorded five sacks.

“We did what we had to do,” commented Dahms.

Dahms was honored after the game for his five decades of service to the program; his first game as an assistant coach was 50 years ago on Thursday. He now sits at 199 wins as the team’s head coach.

“It’s nice for me, but it’s not about me, it’s about the kids,” Dahms said. “My coaching staff puts in a ton of time. I wish everybody could get people like that.”

Bulldogs’ Jaiden Carpenter looks in a TD pass. (Joe Mays photo)

	1	2	3	4	Final
Reading	0	0	0	0	0
Wilson	21	28	0	0	49

Scoring summary

1	Wilson	Carpenter, 32 pass from Young (Oxenreider kick)	10:12
1	Wilson	Akings, 37 run (Oxenreider kick)	7:25
1	Wilson	Carpenter, 18 pass from Young (Oxenrider kick)	2:10
2	Wilson	Akings, 6 run (Oxenrider kick)	11:35
2	Wilson	Harding, 18 run (Oxenrider kick)	7:10
2	Wilson	Brownback, 30 interception return (Oxenrider kick)	5:55
2	Wilson	Glover, 15 pass from Peterson (Oxenrider kick)	1:45

Team statistics

	READING	WILSON
First downs	7	16
Rushes-yards	35-94	22-69
Passing yards	40	206
Total yards	134	275
Passes	3-9-1	12-16-1
Fumbles-lost	1-1	0-0
Punts-average	5-34.2	0-0
Penalties-yards	4-20	3-25