After early setbacks, Wilson in position for strong finish in Section 1
For those who thought the Wilson Bulldogs were finished several weeks ago after losses to Exeter and Manheim Central that left their record at 2-3 — their worst at midseason in 20 years — well, think again.
The Bulldogs are alone in first place in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The schedule, and topsy-turvy nature of the league this season, have given the Bulldogs time to work through early season injury and other issues. Now, with two weeks left, and their two biggest Section 1 games ahead of them — they play at Hempfield Friday, and host Manheim Township the following week — the Bulldogs are fully healthy and have momentum after three straight wins.
| 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 |
“It couldn’t have played out better for us,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms, who didn’t seem to catch many break in the first half of the season.
Wilson was down about eight starters by the end of its 42-14 loss to Exeter and played the next two games without its top offensive threat, tailback Jadyn Jones, who was suspended.
The Bulldogs (3-0, 5-3) caught a break of sorts last week when Hempfield upended Manheim Township 17-14. The Blue Streaks (2-1, 5-3) were considered a favorite, or co-favorite with Wilson, heading into the season and seemed to be playing better at midseason, winning four straight after an overtime loss to Harrisburg in Week 3.
The Black Knights (2-1, 5-3) have been sneaky good this season, especially on defense. They beat Exeter 17-14 and Warwick 27-21, and held Manheim Central to a pair of touchdowns in a 14-0 loss.
Hempfield was tripped up a week before playing Township, losing to Cedar Crest 20-13. Perhaps, as Dahms suggested, they were looking ahead to the Blue Streaks.
No matter how you slice it, it has all worked in Wilson’s favor.
“Hempfield beating Township played right into our hands,” Dahms said. “Now the kids have gotta think about Hempfield (this week and not look ahead).”
Since the schedules came out many were looking at the Week 10 match-up between Wilson and Manheim Township at Gurski Stadium as the de facto Section 1 championship. It has been for much of the past decade.
Either Wilson or Manheim Township has earned at least a share of the Section 1 title for the past 17 seasons. They shared it in 2019, and each got a third of it in 2018, along with Warwick.
Hempfield hasn’t seen even a piece of that trophy since 2005 and hasn’t won the title outright since 1994.
Second-year head coach George Eager has breathed life into the program and, despite coming into the season with only a handful of returning starters, is one win away from essentially snaring a piece of the Section 1 crown.
To get that the Black Knights will have to do something they haven’t done in 16 seasons: Beat Wilson. Their last win in the series came in in 2005, when Dahms was still the Bulldogs’ defensive coordinator.
They’ll need another big game from dual-threat quarterback Cam Harbaugh, who has thrown for 1,282 yards and leads his team in rushing. Dahms says he may be the best quarterback in the league.
The Black Knights will be hitting the Bulldogs at their peak, coming off a 49-24 win over Cedar Crest.
“We’re healthy, which is a big plus,” said Dahms. “I thought we were making good strides, then we slipped backwards against Cedar Crest, turned the ball over, made some stupid mistakes. We can’t do that the next couple weeks.”
The Bulldogs overcame four turnovers and 113 yards in penalties by getting big games from Cameron Jones, Brad Hoffman and Jadyn Jones. Cameron Jones scored three touchdowns, including two on kick returns. Hoffman rushed for a career-high 195, and scored on runs of 60 and 44 yards. Jadyn Jones rushed for 162 yards.