Bulldogs can’t turn special teams plays into a special win

By Mike Drago Last updated Nov 12, 2023

Wilson quarterback Tommy Hunsicker finds a running lane against Cumberland Valley. (PhilMarPhoto)

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By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor

MECHANICSBURG — A blocked punt for a touchdown. . . a kickoff return to midfield . . . a well-executed fake punt.

Those are the building blocks for a big comeback and they put Wilson in position to pull one off Friday night against Cumberland Valley.

“We were feeling the momentum a little bit,” said junior Christo Hunsicker, who blocked the punt to get the comeback started, “but . . . we couldn’t take it all the way.”

The fifth-seeded Bulldogs twice pierced Cumberland Valley territory in the second half but couldn’t back up those special teams plays with any kind of sustained offense in falling to the fourth-seeded Eagles 20-14 in a District 3 Class 6A quarterfinal at Chapman Field.

Hunsicker found a gap in the middle of the line and stormed through to block a punt that Monty Greer covered in the end zone for a touchdown, trimming Cumberland Valley’s lead to six points with 9:45 remaining.

Eagles coach Josh Oswalt could feel the game slipping away.

“They’re lethal in special teams,” he said of the Bulldogs (7-4). “They’re very well coached. (But) I give it to my guys: They fought like hell and they were able to come back (from that).”

The Eagles’ defense was relentless in the second half. They constantly stormed the pocket, forcing Tommy Hunsicker to throw on the run; four times they sacked him.

Their defensive backs came up big, too, breaking up several passes as Tommy Hunsicker tried valiantly to bring his team back. Nothing seemed to work. Passes fell off the hands of normally reliable receivers and the Bulldogs went nowhere.

A potent offense that dropped five touchdowns on state powerhouse Manheim Township just a few weeks ago netted just 36 second-half yards – most of that when upback Nick Fiorino took a direct snap out of punt formation and ran 24 yards to midfield with seven minutes left.

Christo Hunsicker reacts after his punt block leads to a touchdown. (PhilMarPhoto)

That gave the Bulldogs renewed life, but they got no closer. Tommy Hunsicker, who recorded one of the best seasons of any quarterback in program history, saw just 4 of his 15 second-half passes attempts go for completions. Several were dropped, a couple others knocked away.

“We know how good of a player he is,” Oswalt said. “Our defense played well against a very good team.”

The opening-round exit is the second straight for Wilson, which lost last year at Harrisburg 32-21.

The Eagles, who have won six straight, now get a crack at top-seeded Manheim Township (11-0), which crushed York High 44-8 in the opening round.

“We had opportunities,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms lamented. “We made mistakes: The (second-quarter) fumble (in Cumberland Valley territory); we didn’t capitalize on that onside kick. And we had a couple big drops at the end by our best receivers. The bottom line is we just weren’t stopping No. 1.”

No. 1 is Bryce Staretz, a 215-pound tailback who literally carries the Eagles’ offense on his back. He accounted for half of Cumberland Valley’s total yards during the regular season and gained two-thirds of it Friday, when he ran for 138 yards on 33 carries, with a pair of touchdowns.

He never ran for more than 8 yard on any carry over the final three quarters but it was his relentless assaults on the line that made the difference. He ran to the sticks time and time again, never more so than on the Eagles’ monstrous, ball-hogging drive to open the second half.

He had 11 carries on an 18-play, 76-yard, nine-minute drive that gave the Eagles a 20-7 lead with 2:40 left in the third quarter.

He was chiefly responsible for Cumberland Valley’s 10-minute advantage in time of possession.

“It was frustrating,” said Christo Hunsicker, a linebacker and Wilson’s leading tackler on the season. “We couldn’t get them off the field.”

Twice on that critical drive the Eagles converted on fourth down, once on a 2-yard run by Staretz, once on an 8-yard catch by Caiden Pines, who collected 11 of Grant Shipley’s 13 completions.

“We had had ’em third-and-long several times, fourth-and-long, and they kept getting just enough,” Dahms said.

It was a frustrating night all around for the Bulldogs. Two plays after they recovered a second-quarter onsides kick at the Cumberland Valley 32 they fumbled the ball away after a completed pass.

A few minutes later they stopped the Eagles short on a third down and forced them to attempt a 37-yard field goal, which went wide. Wilson was whistled for a running into the kicker penalty and Cumberland took advantage. Staretz converted on fourth-and-1; two plays later Shepley found Pines for a 17-yard TD that gave Cumberland Valley the lead for good.

“That was a bad call,” Dahms said flatly of flag on the field goal attempt. “(The kicker) walks forward into (our) guy.”

Ryan McMillan lays a shoulder into Bryce Staretz. (PhilMarPhoto)

	1	2	3	4	Final
Wilson	0	7	0	7	14
Cumberland Valley	7	6	7	0	20

Scoring summary

1	Cumberland Valley	Staretz, 9 run (Rice kick)	1:40
2	Wilson	Gruber, 10 pass from T. Hunsicker (Rada kick)	9:05
2	Cumberland Valley	C. Pines, 17 pass from Shepley (kick failed)	1:40
3	Cumberland Valley	Staretz, 1 run (Waggoner kick)	2:40
4	Wilson	Greer, recovered blocked punt in end zone (Rada kick)	9:46

Team statistics

	Wilson	Cumberland Valley
First downs	11	16
Rushes-yards	18-35	35-145
Passing yards	156	78
Total yards	191	223
Passes	14-27-0	13-19-0
Fumbles-lost	2-1	0-0
Punts-average	1-29.0	2-22.0
Penalties-yards	5-50	6-50