Cam Jones takes the fifth as Wilson rolls Penn Manor
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Dave Byrne — LNP/Lancasteronline
MILLERSVILLE — A wounded bulldog is a nasty thing.
That’s what Wilson football coach Doug Dahms told his team early this week in the aftermath of a last-second loss to Hempfield.
Those wounded Bulldogs sank their teeth into Penn Manor Friday, scoring six touchdowns on offense and one each on defense and special teams in a 56-7 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 win.
Wilson is now 31-0 all-time in its series vs. Penn Manor.
Cam Jones scored his school-record fifth punt return touchdown just before halftime, part of an eight-touch, 131-yard all-purpose, three-touchdown evening for the senior tailback.
Jones coverage 94 yards on his punt return, longest in program history; it bested the mark of 93 yards by Jason Cape in 2002. It is the fourth-longest in modern Berks history.
“He’s special,” Dahms said. “We try to scheme and scheme and scheme to get the ball in his hands. When you do, he’s a threat, every time he touches the ball.”
“It’s that man right there,” Jones said, gesturing to Dahms. “He’s the genius behind everything. They’re going to try their best to keep it away from me, so we have to put in wrinkles here and there.”
Penn Manor (2-2, 4-4) studiously avoided kicking to Jones all night, so the ’Dawgs (3-1, 6-2) made things happen.
Edison Case, who already had a 52-yard punt return, fielded Peter Skiadis’ punt at the Wilson 10, took two steps and tossed the ball back to Jones at the 6. Jones wove his way through the initial defense and took it down the right sideline for the record setter.
“Four (return TDs) was the record,” Jones said. “Tonight I beat it.”
Jones gave the Bulldogs the early advantage with TD runs of 6 and 1 yards. Up 21-0, Case scooped Eli Warfel’s fumble at the Comets’ 45, taking it to the house.
Two minutes later Case returned a punt 52 yards down the left sideline to the Comets’ 6. Brady Kline gathered in Tommy Hunsicker’s second TD pass of the night, a 6-yarder, to set the mercy rule in motion once the second half began.
Wilson added second half scores on Adam Woods’ 6-yard run and Pat Donato’s 24-yard TD pass to Ofure Odiale.
The Comets, who lost starting quarterback Eli Warfel to injury with 7:49 to play in the first half, broke the shutout late in the fourth quarter on Noah Bolin’s 2-yard run.
Down two scores with 4:19 left in the first quarter, Penn Manor gambled to keep possession at its own 34, on fourth-and-2. Dhamir Wesley was open on the left wing, but couldn’t immediately gain control. The Bulldogs tackled him for a 1-yard loss and went up 21-0 four plays later on Hunsicker’s 19-yard toss to Makih Cooper.
“We’re a team on a mission,” Dahms said. “We let one slip away last week and now our backs are to the wall. The L-L (Section 1) title is out of the picture, so there’s only one title left to shoot for and that’s districts. That’s the mission.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 21 | 21 | 8 | 6 | 56 |
| Penn Manor | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wilson | Jones, 6 run (Rada kick) | 7:10 |
| 1 | Wilson | Jones, 1 run (Rada kick) | 4:19 |
| 1 | Wilson | Cooper, 19 pass from Hunsicker (Rada kick) | :49 |
| 2 | Wilson | Case, 45 fumble return (Rada kick) | 10:30 |
| 2 | Wilson | Kline, 6 pass from Hunskicker (Rada kick) | 8:04 |
| 2 | Wilson | Jones, 94 punt return | 1:41 |
| 3 | Wilson | Wood, 6 run (Valuekevich, pass from Woods) | 3:15 |
| 4 | Penn Manor | Bolin, 2 run (Skiadas kick) | 8:56 |
| 4 | Wilson | Odiale, 24 pass from Donato (run failed) | 1:16 |
Team statistics
| Wilson | Penn Manor | |
| First downs | 16 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 24-181 | 29-41 |
| Passing yards | 132 | 65 |
| Total yards | 313 | 106 |
| Passes | 10-15-1 | 7-10-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 5-35.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-35 | 5-48 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wilson: Harding 3-63, Welmaker 3-34, Hunsicker 3-30, Jones 6-29, Gruber 2-9, Donato 2-7, Fiorini 2-6, Woods 3-3.
Penn Manor: Osman 7-24, Stuart 2-11, Warfel 5-10, Bolin 9-3, Stanley 2-3, Furnier 4-(-10).
PASSING
Wilson: Hunsicker 7-10-1–87, Donato 1-3-0–24, Woods 2-2-0-21.
Penn Manor: Warfel 3-5-0–11, Furnier 3-4-0–19, Stanley 1-1-0–35.
RECEIVING
Wilson: Case 2-47, Cooper 2-27, Kline 2-5, Odiale 1-24, Madyx 1-11, Valuekevich 1-10, Jones 1-8.
Penn Manor: Wesley 3-8, Osman 2-14, Wagstaff 1-35, Stuart 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS
Penn Manor: Wagstaff.
