Wilson can’t stop Hempfield on final drive, sees Section 1 title hopes slip away
Wilson’s resilient defense came up with a pair of key red zone stops Friday, one in the first quarter, one late in the third, each forcing Hempfield to settle for a field goal, each preserving a Bulldogs lead.
They needed another stop in the fourth quarter and had several chances to get it, the Black Knights facing a couple third-and-longs and a fourth-and-3.
The Bulldogs couldn’t get off the field.
“It was frustrating,” said all-league cornerback Cam Jones after Hempfield scored with 17 seconds left for a 20-16 win over Wilson at Gurski Stadium in a battle of Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 leaders.
The Black Knights (4-0, 6-1) took their only lead of the game on Stephen Katch’s 2-yard run, which capped a mammoth 17-play, 7 1/2-minute, 76-yard drive.
“Every time they needed a play they got one,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms. “We had ’em, and we didn’t stop ’em.”
The Black Knights converted three third downs and a fourth down at the Wilson 32 in the final minutes to keep the game-winning drive alive. On the key fourth-down play quarterback Jackson Landis dumped the ball off to tight end Aiden Shorter on a screen, and Shorter stretched just enough to move the chains.
“The way they were pushing us around, I was worried,” Dahms said of the final drive. “We needed somebody to make a big play. We’d make some contact . . . they’d break the tackles.”
“I love that last drive,” said Hempfield coach George Eager, “converting when we needed to convert, just finding a way to win in a very, very tough environment.”
Eager, in his third season as Black Knights head coach, knows all about the landscape of Wilson football. He was an assistant coach under Dahms for two seasons. That made this win even more special for him.
“This is the greatest sports moment of my life,” said the former Manheim Township and Franklin & Marshall standout wide receiver. “(This win) is that impactful, because of the respect I have for the (Wilson) program, and knowing how hard they work.”
The Black Knights can claim their first Section 1 title since 2005, and their first outright title since 1994, by winning out in league play against Cedar Crest and Reading High, in Weeks 9 and 10, respectively. They play a non-leaguer against Exeter next week.
Hempfield may have been a little overlooked in the preseason but no one’s looking past the Black Knights now, not after wins at ManheimTownship and Wilson — programs that have dominated Section 1 for the past 20 years — in the span of three weeks.
The Bulldogs (2-1, 5-2) got a 53-yard touchdown run from the dynamic Jones on the second play of the game and a 48-yard scoring run from him with 3:26 left in the third quarter for a 16-10 lead.
The Black Knights drove for a first down to the Wilson 4 on their first possession of the game but a second-down tackle for loss by Wilson end Nick Weitzel and an incompletion on third down forced them to settle for a field goal, and 7-3 deficit.
Late in the third quarter they had a first-and-goal at the Wilson 6 but Jack Dendall had a first-down tackle for loss, blitzing Nick Crocona forced a second-down incompletion and Isaiah Casseus had a third-down sack to force another field goal, one that cut Wilson’s lead to 16-13.
They forced the Bulldogs to punt the ball away on their first possession of the fourth quarter; the next time they Wilson touched there were just 17 seconds left. Brian Williams intercepted a pass on the first play of Wilson’s final drive to clinch it.
Landis completed 16-of-26 passes for a career-high 269 yards, including a 58-yard TD to Micah Gates that tied it 10-10 just a minute into the second half.
Landis, a junior and first-year starter, completed five of his final six passes on the last drive, including an 18-yarder to Andy Garcia on third-and-9 to the Wilson 9.
“Wilson is gonna stop the run unless you’ve got freaks up front (on the offensive line),” Eager said, “so we knew we were gonna have to throw the ball. We knew if we were gonna win our quarterback was gonna have to play well, and he stepped up in the biggest game.”
Jones ran for a career-high 189 yards on 15 carries but Hempfield made sure he didn’t touch the ball on special teams, kicking the ball away from the record-setting return man. He has returned four punts for scores this season.
“For them to take that away, it took away a big spark that we need,” Jones said. “We look for that as a team.”
“Luckily, we have players that executed (in the kicking game),” Eager said. “Cam’s such an electrifying player, if he touches it he can go the distance.”
Jones, who moved into the tailback role early in Wilson’s five-game winning streak, ran for 10 yards on the first play from scrimmage. He took it the distance on the next snap, going 53 yards up the middle to give the Bulldogs the lead.
“It was just a great effort by our kids, getting down on the second play (of the game). They took a shot (but bounced back). Teams in the past might’ve fallen (in that situation), thinking, ‘This is Wilson.’ “
The Bulldogs moved deep into Hempfield territory twice late in the second quarter but came away with just three points. Ben Rada missed a 37-yard field midway through the second quarter before hiting a 25-yarder 1:55 before intermission for a 10-3 lead. He later saw a 25-yard field goal attempt get blocked, with the score tied 10-10 midway through the third quarter.
Hempfield had 18 first downs, possessed the ball for nearly 29 minutes (to Wilson’s 19) and had 359 total yards (to Wilson’s 274).
Grant Hoover rushed for 75 yards on 22 carries. Garcia and Micah Gates each had over 100 receiving yards.
“We didn’t tackle the way we needed to tackle and we didn’t finish drives,” Dahms said. “I mean, how many times were we down in the red zone and didn’t get anything out of it.
“Their kids wanted it more. (Hoover) ran tough as nails; you weren’t bringing him down. And (Katch) was the same way. They’re a good football team, I’ve said that all along. They were better than us tonight.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hempfield | 3 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 20 |
| Wilson | 7 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 16 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wilson | Jones, 53 run (Rada kick) | 11:16 |
| 1 | Hempfield | Biscoe, 20 FG | 4:56 |
| 2 | Wilson | Rada, 25 FG | 1:55 |
| 3 | Hempfield | Gates, 58 pass from Landis (Biscoe kick) | 10:51 |
| 3 | Wilson | Jones, 48 run (kick failed) | 3:26 |
| 4 | Hempfield | Biscoe, 29 FG | 11:57 |
| 4 | Hempfield | Katch, 2 run (Biscoe kick) | 0:17 |
Team statistics
| Hempfield | Wilson | |
| First downs | 18 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-82 | 27-219 |
| Passing yards | 277 | 55 |
| Total yards | 359 | 274 |
| Passes | 17-28-1 | 4-11-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-24.0 | 2-31.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-20 | 4-31 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hempfield: Hoover 22-75, Katch 6-19, Team 2-(-2), Landis 5–(10).
Wilson: Jones 15-189, Hunsicker 8-17, Fiorini 2-8, Harding 2-5.
PASSING
Hempfield: Landis 16-26-1–269, Katch 1-2-0-8.
Wilson: Hunsicker 4-11-2–55.
RECEIVING
Hempfield: Garcia 7-101, Gates 4-124, Morales 2-22, Shorter 2-15, Landis 1-8, Benjamin 1-7.
Wilson: Jones 2-39, Case 1-15, Kline 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Hempfield: Williams 2.
Wilson: Case.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Wilson: Rada 37, 28.
