Hempfield hoping to play keep away vs. Wilson in GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
Special teams can be the difference-maker in big football games. A blocked punt, a kick return, can flip a game in heartbeat.
That’s been one of the things costing George Eager sleep this week. The Hempfield football coach saw what Wilson’s Cameron Jones did to Cedar Crest last week — what’s he done to many of the teams on the Bulldogs’ schedule — and wants to avoid that at all costs.
“We do not, do not, do not want to give him a chance to break the game open, because he’s a special talent,” Eager said after watching the junior take back both a punt and a kickoff for touchdowns in Wilson’s 49-24 win (a third scoring return was called back by penalty).
The Bulldogs (3-0, 5-3) didn’t play their best overall game — they put the ball on the ground four times, helping keep Cedar Crest in it — but Jones’ returns washed those sins away.
| Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 | League | Overall |
| Wilson | 3-0 | 5-3 |
| Hempfield | 2-1 | 5-3 |
| Manheim Township | 2-1 | 5-3 |
| Penn Manor | 1-2 | 5-3 |
| Cedar Crest | 1-2 | 3-4 |
| McCaskey | 0-3 | 2-6 |
“He’s a guy who can change the game in a second, and we don’t want that to happen,” said Eager, the former Wilson assistant, as he prepares to play the first-place Bulldogs in the GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week Friday at Landisville.
There’s plenty on the line.
A win clinches at least a share of the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title for the Bulldogs and eliminates the Black Knights (2-1, 5-3) from that title.
A loss could cost Wilson a shot at the District 3 Class 6A playoffs; it enters ranked No. 8 in the power ratings. Only eight qualify.
Hempfield, which is sixth in the power ratings, can’t clinch a playoff berth with a win but it’ll put itself in great position if it does. With a loss the Black Knights will be on the bubble.
Hempfield might be the most improved, and perhaps most surprising, team in the Class 6A field. It has scored impressive wins over Exeter, Warwick and — biggest of all — last week over Manheim Township.
The Blue Streaks had been unbeaten in the league and eying a final-week showdown at Wilson that would’ve determined the Section 1 title. Now the best they can hope for is a split.
Wilson had to slug it out a year ago to beat Hempfield; it trailed 9-0 in the first quarter before wresting control.
This Hempfield team, Eager’s second as head coach, is markedly better. It’s been playing solid defense and has the kind of winning presence behind center in Cameron Harbaugh that makes championships possible.
He has thrown for 1,282 yards and leads his team in rushing. Dahms calls him the best quarterback in the league; Eager thinks he’s one of the best in the state.
“Township couldn’t stop Harbaugh’s running game,” Dahms said. “Every time they needed anything, he ran the ball. I mean, the kid’s 6-1, 210. He’s a specimen. He doesn’t try to run around you, he trucks you.
He’s like a fullback running the ball. He finds his receivers and he throws the ball really well on the run. We’re gonna have our hands full.”
Hempfield is deep and fast at wide receiver, is plenty solid up front and has played clean football; it has turned the ball over only 10 times.
“They were getting 5 and 6 yards on every play (against Township),” Dahms said. “They had five and six-minute drives; that means Township doesn’t have the ball very much and it makes a big difference.
“George has them moving in the right direction, and they’re going to present a problem for us.”
The Bulldogs have won three in a row after losses to Exeter and Manheim Central put their season in jeopardy. They’ll still not out of the woods. A pair of losses could end their season at 5-5, and snap the state’s longest streak of consecutive winning seasons at 46.
Wilson has been a run-heavy team this season. It’s run the ball more than twice as much as it’s thrown it — a vast departure from past seasons — and is averaging more yards per rushing attempt than passing attempt.
Quarterback Brad Hoffman has run for nearly as many yards (414) as he’s thrown for (593). He ran for a career-high 195 yards last week, with a pair of long scoring runs.
They feature punishing tailback Jadyn Jones, who is averaging better than 100 yards per game, and 6.9 yards per carry.
And then there’s the other Jones, younger brother Cameron. He starts at cornerback and gets a few touches out of the set offense but his biggest value comes in the return game. He’s already set a program record with six kick returns for touchdowns this season. (Incredibly, he’s also had five called back since he got the job late last season.)
“The goal is not to kick to him,” Eager said. “If we do, it’s a mistake, because we don’t want to. There’s no chance we want him to get the ball in his hands.”
