Edison Case returns from injury to help Bulldogs catch a much-needed victory
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Wilson senior Edison Case dislocated his elbow on the first day of official football camp, more than a month ago.
The all-league wide receiver stood on the sidelines and watched as the Bulldogs dropped their first two games; that hurt as much as his right arm.
He played in his first game Saturday. The first ball thrown in his direction turned into a 74-yard touchdown, the start of a 40-26 non-league win over Cheltenham that wasn’t completed until Monday evening.
“It was a great feeling to get that going,” said Case, who had 156 receiving yards and a pair of TD catches in the first quarter alone, part of a career-high 173-yard effort.
“It’s awesome to have him back,” said Bulldogs quarterback Tommy Hunsicker. “It takes a little more pressure off the other receivers, and I know I have another great weapon out there to make plays.”
Case seemed to be wide open every time Hunsicker looked his way. The Golden Panthers often appeared confused in their pass coverages and the Bulldogs took advantage.
“They had a couple blown coverages,” Hunsicker said. “Obviously you’re not expecting that to happen but we made the most of it; he found the opening and I got him the ball.”
Hunsicker clicked on 21-of-27 passes for 291 yards, the completions and yards each career-highs – even with several dropped passes. The senior also burned Cheltenham with his feet, rushing for 100 yards and running for three scores.
The Bulldogs (1-2) controlled the ball for nearly 43 of the 60 minutes, moved the chains 25 times and piled up 403 yards – and they needed every last bit of it.
Jon Ingram’s powerful right arm never tired, and he continued firing the ball deep down the field – 41 times in all. The Cheltenham quarterback took a toll on the Bulldogs’ secondary, which was down a couple starters by the end of the game and hanging on with untested sophomores.
Even Hunsicker was forced back there in the final quarter after the Golden Panthers (0-2) – once down 33-0 in the second quarter – scrambled back into the game.
Tre McLeod returned a fumble 89 yards for a score and took a punt 81 yards back to the house with 5:24 remaining in the game.
The Golden Panthers recovered an onside kick and moved to the Wilson 24 with four minutes to go. They were a couple plays from coming all the way back before sophomore Rahmel Gaston’s sack forced a turnover on downs with 3:21 left. With Cheltenham out of timeouts the Bulldogs were able to run out the clock and secure their first win heading into Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 play Friday against Reading High.
“It was rough at some points,” Hunsicker said, “but we got the win.”
It was ugly at times with the teams combining for 271 yards in penalties, including a bunch of personal fouls. The last came in the final seconds, with Hunsicker taking a knee at midfield. A Cheltenham lineman wanted to get in one final shot for measure.
That summed up Cheltenham’s lack of discipline and a ragged performance that saw the Bulldogs surprisingly on their heels at the end.
Ingram’s laser throws were often off-target – his 29 incompletions turning the game into a marathon – but he was so elusive in the pocket that the Wilson defense was fraying at the edges. It nearly had him stopped for a whopping 40-yard loss on the final play but he zigged and zagged and zigged again nearly made it all the way back to the line of scrimmage.
“His running ability is brutal,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms.
The Bulldogs’ performance, at times, was too. A couple of potential touchdown passes weren’t converted during Monday’s session and there were special teams and defensive breakdowns.
“We made it a football game by giving ’em three cheap touchdowns,” Dahms said. “(Our) special teams didn’t do us any favors. Tommy punted well but we didn’t cover well. . . you can’t cover an onsides kick when you know it’s coming?”
Hunsicker, who was sacked six times and pressured several other times, said things felt out of sync Monday playing in the afternoon in a nearly empty stadium.
“This is nothing like anything we’ve ever experienced,” he said. “It felt like a JV game; we had to bring our own energy. That shouldn’t have been an excuse; they were in the same situation.”
Case wasn’t complaining. He was happy to be back on the field and making plays; soon he’ll return to the defensive secondary, where’s he a stalwart. Defensive lineman Anthony Matta, who hasn’t played yet due to a foot injury, is close to returning as well. Defensive coordinator Ernie Wolber will welcome both, for sure.
“A win’s a win,” said Case. “We needed one.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Cheltenham | 0 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 26 |
| Wilson | 26 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 40 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wilson | Case, 74 pass from T. Hunsicker (Rada kick) | 7:38 |
| 1 | Wilson | T. Hunsicker, 7 run (Rada kick) | 3:02 |
| 1 | Wilson | Case, 34 pass from T. Hunsicker (run failed) | 2:00 |
| 1 | Wilson | Fiorini, 4 run (run failed) | 1:27 |
| 2 | Wilson | T. Hunsicker, 8 run (Rada kick) | 5:24 |
| 2 | Cheltenham | McLeod, 34 run (kick good) | 4:40 |
| 3 | Cheltenham | McLeod, 89 fumble return (kick failed) | 11:09 |
| 3 | Wilson | T. Hunsicker, 25 run (Rada kick) | 7:33 |
| 3 | Cheltenham | Ingram, 20 run (run failed) | 5:10 |
| 4 | Cheltenham | McLeod, 81 punt return (kick good) | 5:24 |
Team statistics
| Cheltenham | Wilson | |
| First downs | 16 | 25 |
| Rushes-yards | 24-83 | 42-112 |
| Passing yards | 148 | 291 |
| Total yards | 231 | 403 |
| Passes | 12-41-1 | 21-27-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-2 | 3-2 |
| Punts-average | 1-37.0 | 4-32.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 15-142 | 11-129 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Cheltenham: McLeod 8-46, Williams 3-24, Ingram 10-23, Barksdale 1-8, Wayne 1-1, Team 1-(-19).
Wilson: Fiorini 11-53, Hunsicker 18-46, Akings 6-9, Greer, 2-8, Welmaker 2-6, Team 3-(-10).
PASSING
Cheltenham: Ingram 12-41-1–148.
Wilson: Hunsicker 21-27-0–291.
RECEIVING
Cheltenham: Pagbaya 3-24, Williams 2-33, Dunn 2-33, Higginbotham 2-23, Gordon 1-24, McLeod 1-8, Wyatt 1-3.
Wilson: Case 6-173, Akings 4-25, Welmaker 4-10, Gruber 3-40, Kline 2-16, Zullinger 1-17, Valukevich 1-10.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wilson: Gruber.
