GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Wilson vs. Manheim Central

GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week

Manheim Central (4-0) vs. Wilson (2-2)

Kick: Friday, 7, at Gurski Stadium.

Series: Bulldogs lead 8-4.

Last meeting: Wilson won 40-21 at Manheim in 2020. Kaleb Brown passed for three touchdowns and set a program record for quarterbacks by rushing for 243 yards.

Did you know? Manheim Central and Wilson each have 578 victories. This is the Bulldogs’ 77th season; they began playing in 1945. This is the Barons’ 75th season; their first season was 1947.

About the Barons: Have successfully bounced back from the program’s first losing season since 1971 with a strong start, including back-to-back shutouts over Hempfield and Susquehanna Township in Week 2 and 3 before escaping with a 43-40 win at Perkiomen Valley last week.

The Barons trailed 40-35 with 7 1/2 minutes remaining and came up with a go-ahead TD drive in four minutes.

Justin Heffernan rushed for 119 yards and three TDs. QB Judd Novak threw for 181 yards and has 814 yards and eight TDs threw four games. His top receiver is Owen Sensenig, who has 23 catches for 377 yards.

Before withstanding that barrage from Perk Valley the Barons had allowed just one TD and 51 total rushing through the first three games. Perk Valley QB Ethan Kohler passed for 239 yards and kept his side ahead most of the night.

Averaging 395 total yards per game.

About the Bulldogs: Rebounded from a crushing loss to Exeter with a walk-over last week against Martin Luther King, winning 50-8. QB Brad Hoffman returned after sitting out Week 3 with a knee injury and passed for 172 yards and three TDs; he also ran for a score.

Leading rusher Jadyn Jones missed the game after being ejected late in the Exeter game. Back-up running back Gavin Lenart was also out, with a shoulder injury. Jaison Beckford rushed for a team-high 89 yards on 14 carries.

Defense held over-matched Martin Luther King to minus-33 rushing yards and 5 total yards.

Currently No. 12 in the District 3 Class 6A power rankings. Another loss could severely hamper chances to make the postseason.

Fast fact: Manheim Central, a District 3 kingpin, missed the postseason in 2020 for the first time in 29 seasons. It finished 3-5.

Did you know? The teams played three times between 1949-51, then not again until 1998 when Wilson moved to Section 2 for a two-year cycle. (The teams split those two games.) They met in non-league games from 2008-11 and then every year since 2018 as part of the Lancaster-Lebanon League’s mandated crossover games (which don’t count in the standings).

Fast fact: The most lopsided game in the series was Wilson’s 51-7 win in 1951, which, at the time, set a program record for points in a game.

Series flashback, 1999: Playing before one of the biggest crowds ever assembled in West Lawn, Pete Gilmore rushed for a career-high 303 yards as the Bulldogs beat the nationally-ranked Barons 34-29.

Did you know? Manheim Central wide receiver Brady Harbach is part of interesting family tree. His grandfather is Mike Williams, who became the winningest coach in District 3 history (348 wins) with Manheim Central. Brady’s father, Chad, is a former Wilson baseball and football player; Chad is the nephew of Bruce Harbach, who won two PIAA titles with Lancaster Catholic and now coaches at Schuylkill Valley.

GoBigRecruiting.com key to the game: Line play is always critical, and the strength of this Manheim team may be its offensive line. Wilson’s front seven will need to disrupt blocking schemes and put pressure on QB Judd Novak.