GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Wilson vs. Hempfield
Wilson (5-1) vs. Hempfield (5-1)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Gurski Stadium.
L-L Section 1 records: Bulldogs 2-0, Black Knights 3-0.
Series: Wilson leads 38-10.
Last meeting: Jadyn Jones ran for 139 yards and two touchdowns and Brad Hoffman for 131 yards and a TD in a 28-21 Week 9 win last season that kept the Bulldogs unbeaten and atop Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League heading into a season-ending showdown against Manheim Township, which had already lost to Hempfield. It was Wilson’s fourth straight win after a 2-3 start.
The Bulldogs led 21-7 in the second quarter but the Black Knights, on the strength of Cam Harbaugh’s arm, kept coming back. His 68-yard pass to Andy Garcia tied it with 8:48 left. Harbaugh completed 15-of-28 for 280 yards and two TDs.
The Bulldogs went 78 yards over the final 3:00 minutes to take the lead for good on Jones’ 14-yard run with 32 seconds left.
Hempfield put a scare into Wilson on the last play of the game when Harbaugh’s “Hail Mary” from the 45-yard line landed beyond the back of the end zone. (The Black Knights beat Township earlier this season 17-14, getting a “Hail Mary” score to end the first half.)
Bulldogs update: Have won five straight since season-opening loss. . . Cam Jones scored three TDs, one on a punt return, in 32-14 win over Gov. Mifflin last week. . . Jones has 17 TDs, four on punt returns. . . He has 11 punt/kickoff return TDs over the past two seasons. . . Jones is averaging 8.6 yards per carry and has 466 rushing yards, second in Seciton 1. . . QB Tommy Hunsicker is second on the team in rushing with 325 yards. . . Ranked No. 1 among Section 1 teams in rushing, averaging 178 yards per game. . . Over his last five games Hunsicker has completed 60.6 percent of his passes, for 525 yards, 6 TDs and 1 INT. . . He connected five times for 99 yards and a TD last week with Edison Case. . . Defense has allowed just six TDs during five-game winning streak and an average of 163 total yards per game during that stretch. . . Allowing 8.6 points during winning streak. . . LB Ryan McMillan leads team with 29 tackles; he has forced two fumbles. . . LB Nick Crocona has 28 tackles; he leads team with 7 tackles for loss. . . S Nate Capitano leads team with 3 INTs.
Quotable: “They play great special on teams, they have a ball-control offense, and a really solid defense. And they’ve got those two horses (offensive linemen Deyvid Palepale and Mike Shaffer) that, when they need it they can go behind them. Their two linemen are what you’ve gotta deal with.” — Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms.
Did you know? Wilson has won 16 straight in the series, starting in 2006, the first season for Doug Dahms as head coach. Hempfield’s last win in the series came in 2005, 56-28 at Landisville; that’s the most points ever allowed by the Bulldogs in the series, which began in 1972.
| Section 1 | League | | Overall | | |
| Hempfield | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Wilson | 2 | 0 | 5 | 1 | |
| Penn Manor | 2 | 1 | 3 | 3 | |
| Manheim Township | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| Cedar Crest | 1 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
| Reading High | 0 | 3 | 2 | 4 | |
| McCaskey | 0 | 2 | 1 | 5 |
Black Knights update: Have won 3 straight since 30-20 loss to Central York in Week 3. . . Ranked No. 2 in District 3 Class 6A power ratings, behind Cumberland Valley. . . RB Grant Hoover is top rusher in Section 1, with 619 yards; he has 4 TDs. . . He runs behind 6-3, 288-pound Division I recruit Deyvid Palepale and 6-2, 300-pound G Mike Shaffer. . . Palepale, a junior OT/DT, has offers from Penn State, Louisville, Temple and Boston College. . . He scored on a 23-yard fumble recovery last wekin 34-7 win over Penn Manor. . . QB Jackson Landis is completing 58.9 percent of his passes, with 5 TDs and 4 INTs. . . He hit on 15-of-20 passes for 181 yards in last week’s win over Penn Manor. . . Gabe Benjamin had a pair of TD catches against Penn Manor. . . Earned 17-14 Week 5 win over ManheimTownship, getting a TD on a “Hail Mary” on the final play of the first half. . . Finished tied for second last season in Section 1 with ManheimTownship, each at 5-2. . . Returned 7 starters on offense and 6 on defense from a team that finished 7-5 and reached the District 3 semifinals.
Quotable: “(Cam Jones) changes the game. He’s done it in most of the games he’s played this year, and last year. We made a point to say we don’t want to kick to him; hopefully we execute that. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.” — Black Knights coach George Eager.
Fast fact: Wilson has won 16 straight Section 1 games, dating to 2019, when it lost 30-14 to Manheim Township. The Bulldogs have gone 92-3 in league play over the last 15 seasons. In Doug Dahms’ 17 seasons as head coach they are 104-5 in Section 1, with 13 championships in 6 seasons.
Did you know? Wilson’s victory last week over Gov. Mifflin was the 590th in program history, tops in Berks. Only three District 3 programs have more wins: Steel-High (809), Bishop McDevitt (611) and Middletown (607).
Series flashback 2015: The Bulldogs got the go-ahead score in the 15-9 victory at Hempfield when H-back Alex Twiford took a direct snap and scored on a 3-yard run with 2:13 left. That victory extended Wilson’s Lancaster-Lebanon League winning streak to 52, tying Manheim Central for longest in league history at the time.
It was the latest point during the streak that the Bulldogs scored to take the lead. Twiford’s score capped a 60-yard, four-minute drive. Hempfield, which entered the Week 6 game unbeaten, scored on a kickoff return and took a 9-7 lead on a third-quarter safety.
Wilson went on to extend the streak to 68 straight wins, a league record for all sections. It was snapped in 2017 by Manheinm Township.