Bulldogs dig deep, hang on to beat Central Dauphin, 27-21
When Wilson and Central Dauphin clash you expect a hard-hitting, physical, tight contest, and that’s what the Bulldogs and Rams provided Saturday night at Gurski Stadium in the GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week.
What you might not have expected to see was the Bulldogs getting a late two-point conversion pass from their backup quarterback, Gannon Brubaker, to a freshman tight end, Brady Kline.
Or the Bulldogs’ third-string quarterback, Nick Crocona, in for the game-changing play.
Or the Bulldogs clinging to a late lead with their starting backfield on the sideline with injuries or cramps.
“It got a little scary for a second,” said senior wide receiver TJ Flite after the Bulldogs hung on for a 27-21 non-league victory in their season-opener. “We had to do what we had to do.”
The Bulldogs showed off their depth and got clutch plays from guys up and down their roster. They led by three scores early in the fourth quarter but the victory wasn’t secured until Brubaker came out of a scramble to recover an onside kick in the final minute.
Wilson was in command when Flite took a Jet Sweep 50 yards for a TD and 27-7 lead with 7:11 left.
The Rams, held at bay to that point, struck for a pair of TDs and made it a one-possession game when Tyrell English crashed into the end zone with 53 seconds left.
The Bulldogs were playing short-handed for much of the last 15 minutes.
Running back/linebacker Gavin Lenart came out with an ankle injury late in the third quarter.
Running back/linebacker Jadyn Jones, who rushed for a team-high 110 yards on 16 carries, cramped up and didn’t return after his 19-yard run to the 2 late in the third quarter.
Quarterback Brad Hoffman, who had 13 carries for 70 yards, left a couple plays later after he cramped up.
Wilson also played the entire second half without defensive back Cam Jones, who turned an ankle; he had a 70-yard punt return five minutes into the game for a 7-0 lead.
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“We historically have a deep team, and we do this year, as well,” said senior defensive back Josh Drake. “I was always staying confident in my teammates. I wasn’t too, too worried. Obviously, you see Jadyn and some of the stars on this team go out, that’s always rough, but I trust all my other teammates.”
Brubaker, a senior who also plays defensive back, had to come out briefly after replacing Hoffman when he took a hard hit on his shoulder running for a first down.
Crocona, a junior, replaced him; his first handoff went to Flite, who cut around left corner, then cut back to his right and raced to the end zone for what seemed like a bonus score.
“I saw a huge block by my left tackle, Kyle Hassler, and I cut back to the right,” Flite said. “I saw open space, I had to make it go. We don’t want to show (that play) too much; when times get like that, we have to show it.”
“You’ve got a third-string quarterback and a third-string tailback in the game and you still run for a 50-yard touchdown,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms. “I thought (offensive coordinator) Jeremy (Palm) did a really nice job play-calling and took advantage of what we had.”
The Bulldogs needed everything they could get to hold off Max Mosey and the Rams. Mosey has developed into an elusive runner and made some key third- and fourth-down runs to keep the chains moving; he finished with 76 yards on 20 carries.
Wilson’s defensive front chased him out of the pocket several times but he continued to make plays, the biggest a 63-yard pass to David Chase to the 4 with just under two minutes left. Three plays later English smashed in with his second TD.
“I thought our secondary did a really good job all night, except when he scrambled,” Dahms said. “Then we were locking up, we were watching instead of playing.”
The Bulldogs led just 13-7 late in the third quarter before putting together their best drive of the night: 15 plays, 75 yards, 6 1/2 minutes. Hoffman had a pair of first-down runs and Brubaker converted on fourth-and-2 with a 3-yard run. Lenart’s score made it 21-6 with 11:57 left.
The final minutes were unpredictable, and unscripted, but said a lot about the Bulldogs’ mettle.
“It shows a lot about our team,” said Flite, “how we’re going to step up when times get tough. I really like what I saw today.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Central Dauphin | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 21 |
| Wilson | 7 | 6 | 0 | 14 | 27 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Wilson | C. Jones | 70 punt return | Rada | Kick | |
| Wilson | J. Jones | 1 run | Kick failed | ||
| Central Dauphin | Mosey | 2 run | Stauffer | Kick | |
| Wilson | Lenart | 2 run | Kline | Pass from Brubaker | |
| Wilson | Flite | 50 run | Kick failed | ||
| Central Dauphin | English | 4 run | Stauffer | Kick | |
| Central Dauphin | English | 2 run | Stauffer | Kick | |
Team statistics
| Central Dauphin | Wilson | |
| First downs | 13 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 45-170 | 46-284 |
| Passing yards | 130 | 63 |
| Total yards | 300 | 347 |
| Passes | 10-16-0 | 5-12-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 5-1 |
| Punts-average | 6-36.3 | 3-37.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-76 | 7-66 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Central Dauphin: English 21-89, Mosey 20-76, Chase 2-4, Allen 1-2, Yeager 1-(-1).
Wilson: J.Jones 16-110, Hoffman 13-70, Flite 1-50, Lenart 3-40, Brubaker 6-11, C. Jones 1-7, S. Dendall 1-5, Beckford 3-4, Team 2-(-13).
PASSING
Central Dauphin: Mosey 10-16-0–130.
Wilson: Hoffman 5-12-0–63.
RECEIVING
Central Dauphin: Chase 5-89, Noel 4-37, Rudy 1-4.
Wilson: S. Dendall 2-17, Flite 2-8, Williams 1-38.