Bulldogs can’t capitalize on chances, fall to Streaks in Section 1 title game
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Even after all those penalties . . .
After a series of poor snaps, on punts and in Shotgun formation . . . after nearly failing to cover a couple of kickoffs . . . after the turnovers . . .
After all of that the Wilson Bulldogs were still right there Friday night, in position to win a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 championship. They faced a second-and-2 at the Manheim Township 9, trailing by a touchdown with just over a minute left.
| Final | |
| Township | 20 |
| Wilson | 14 |
“We gave ourselves an opportunity,” Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms lamented.
The long string of miscues never abated. In the span of three plays the Bulldogs had a fumble that cost them a big loss, a holding penalty, and finally an interception, the lethal trio foiling their comeback bid in a 20-14 loss to the Blue Streaks in the Section 1 championship game at Gurski Stadium.
The Bulldogs (5-1, 8-2) drove 82 yards on that last-gasp drive, by far their best of the night. They moved from their own 9 to the Township 9 with a steady, measured drive that had them projected to reach the end zone with just a few seconds left.
Then it all blew up. On second down H-back Michael Glover took a hand around the left side. He tried to fight for extra yards but Township’s Dehvyn Lauano punched the ball out of his hands. It went squirting backward. The Bulldogs recovered it, but for a 12-yard loss.
“Huge, huge play,” Township coach Mark Evans said of the forced fumble.
“We were looking to chew down the clock and punch it in there and take the lead and not give them a chance to go down and score,” Glover said of the drive. “I take the blame for that fumble; I can’t let that happen. We know we’ve gotta score on that (drive) to get the win.”
On the next snap, with 1:07 left, Wilson was called for holding – it’s eighth holding infraction of the game.
On third-and-24 from the 31, the 18th snap of a drive that lasted over seven minutes, quarterback Mason Young had plenty of time but couldn’t find an open receiver. He scrambled away from a sack, then from another, drifted toward the left sideline, then fired back across his body to the opposite side of the field.
The ball was picked off, the third of Wilson’s four turnovers.
“I thought all they’ve got to do is punch it in,” Dahms said after seeing Ethan Harding run 8 yards to the 9, “but Mike tried to bounce it outside; probably should’ve took it inside. But hey, you can’t fault the kid for trying to get the extra yardage. We just didn’t capitalize on it.”
On a night stuffed with second and third and fourth chances, the Bulldogs got yet one more. The Blue Streaks took over at their own 36 after Luke Wagner’s interception. There were just 35 seconds left. The Bulldogs, taking a timeout after three straight runs, forced the Streaks to punt.
With seven seconds to go the Bulldogs had one last chance for a miracle, a Hail Mary into the end zone from the 42, but again Young couldn’t find an open receivers. He scrambled to buy time, then saw his last-ditch pass intercepted.
Wilson out-gained Township but was constantly playing behind the sticks after being called for 14 penalties, 11 of which were accepted for 112 yards.
Manheim Township out-played Wilson for much of the first half but couldn’t shake loose. It spent the second half clinging to a small lead.
“Our kids have had a philosophy for a long time about bend but don’t break,” said Evans. “They stayed resilient. That’s the one thing about this group of kids that I’ve been super-impressed with. They’ve been unbreakable, they keep fighting.”
The Blue Streaks (6-0, 9-1), who last won the title in 2023, played a clean game with no turnovers. They didn’t have any big offensive plays but they twice took advantage of a short field, each leading to a field goal – the difference in the game.
After Zach Bomberger’s interception off a deflected pass three minutes into the game gave Township possession at the Wilson 32, Rowan Crispino nailed a 31-yard field goal for a 3-0 lead.
The Blue Streaks completely controlled the game for the first 22 minutes, building a 10-0 lead and holding the Bulldogs to one first down.
They were in position to go up 17-0, facing a fourth-and-1 at the Wilson 10. Linebacker EJ Brownback, who made a game-high 16 tackles, stormed into the backfield untouched and took out the ankles of Marc Fernandez, dropping him for a loss and stopping the scoring threat.
Four plays later the Bulldogs were right back in the game when Glover took a shovel pass and rambled 76 yards for a touchdown. The All-State pick split through a pair of defenders at the Wilson 40, then sprinted the rest of the way for his longest scoring play of the season.
| SECTION 1 | League | Overall |
| Manheim Twp. | 6-0 | 9-1 |
| Wilson | 5-1 | 8-2 |
| Hempfield | 4-2 | 6-4 |
| Cedar Crest | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Penn Manor | 2-4 | 3-7 |
| Reading High | 1-5 | 1-9 |
| McCaskey | 0-6 | 0-10 |
Preston Oxenreider’s PAT cut Township’s lead to 10-7 with 1:14 left in the half.
Wilson pulled within 17-14 with 4:21 left in the third quarter on Monty Greer’s 13-yard TD run.
Again, penalties put the Bulldogs in a big hole. They were called for two personal fouls on their PAT attempt and ended up kicking off from their own 13. A 42-yard return by Allan Feliciano set up the Blue Streaks with a first down at the Wilson 25. They didn’t move much from there but Crispino snuck a 38-yard field goal inches over the crossbar for a 20-14 lead with 1:27 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs drove inside Township territory on their next drive but a poor snap from center hit Young in the leg and the Blue Streaks recovered the fumble.
It was, to say the least, a long, frustrating night for the Bulldogs.
“Defensively I thought our kids played a heckuva game,” Dahms said. ” We stayed in the game. The defense had a bunch of good stops. (But) we killed ourselves on penalties. We must’ve had 10 holds. (It seemed) every drive started that way. You can’t start first-and-20 all the time against a good team.”
“We had plenty of chances to win,” Glover said. “Props to Manheim, they came out on top. But I’m proud of these guys. We battled to the end; we fought. I’m proud of these guys and I’m proud of the seniors. We’ve just gotta keep battling and get ready for the playoffs.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Manheim Township | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 20 |
| Wilson | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Township | Crispeno, 31 FG | 5:16 |
| 2 | Township | Kenneff, 10 run (Crispeno kick) | 8:46 |
| 2 | Wilson | Glover, 76 pass from Young (Oxenreider kick) | 1:14 |
| 3 | Township | Lauano, 3 pass from Kenneff (Crispeno kick) | 7:08 |
| 3 | Wilson | M. Greer, 13 run (Oxenreider kick) | 4:21 |
| 3 | Township | Crispeno, 38 FG | 1:27 |
Team statistics
| TOWNSHIP | WILSON | |
| First downs | 12 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-127 | 29-111 |
| Passing yards | 155 | 205 |
| Total yards | 282 | 316 |
| Passes | 14-20-0 | 13-18-3 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-27.3 | 3-32.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-70 | 11-112 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Manheim Township: Fernandez 21-81, Myers 4-19, Veilleux 5-1, Kenneff 2-10, Dixon 2-6.
Wilson: Akings 8-39, Harding 6-36, Young 4-20, M. Greer 2-16, Glover 7-11, Team 2-(-11).
PASSING
Manheim Township: Kenneff 14-20-0–155.
Wilson: Young 13-18-3–205.
RECEIVING
Manheim Township: Dixon 8-111, Feliciano 3-23, Fletcher 1-11, Zulick 1-7, Lauano 1-3.
Wilson: Glover 3-88, Carpenter 2-26, Akings 2-26, Farrell 2-21, Herb 2-15, D. Greer 1-25, M. Greer 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
Manheim Township: Bomberger, Wagner, Feliciano.
| 2025 | Manheim Twp. |
| 2024 | Wilson |
| 2023 | Manheim Township |
| 2022 | Hempfield |
| 2021 | Wilson |
| 2020 | Wilson |
| 2019 | Manheim Township |
| 2018 | Warwick, Wilson, Manheim Twp. |
| 2017 | Manheim Township |
| 2016 | Wilson |
| 2015 | Wilson |
| 2014 | Wilson |
| 2013 | Wilson |
| 2012 | Wilson |
| 2011 | Wilson |
| 2010 | Wilson |
| 2009 | Wilson |
| 2008 | Wilson |
| 2007 | Manheim Township |
| 2006 | Wilson |
| 2005 | Hempfield, Manheim Township |
| 2004 | Wilson |
| 2003 | Reading, McCaskey |
| 2002 | Wilson |
| 2001 | Cedar Crest, McCaskey |
| 2000 | Cedar Crest, Reading, Wilson |
