Madyx Gruber, Bulldogs pick off Plymouth-Whitemarsh
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Sam Cavalieri — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Madyx Gruber scored on a 67-yard interception return and threw a touchdown pass to lead Wilson to a 21-7 non-league victory over Plymouth-Whitemarsh Friday night in West Lawn.
The Bulldogs (2-0) sputtered for most of the first half but on their final possession of the half Gruber made big plays rushing, receiving and passing.
His 10-yard scramble on third down allowed Wilson to convert a fourth-and-short. Then on fourth-and-7 the Bulldogs reached deep into their playbook with a halfback pass from Correll Akings that allowed Gruber, a converted wide receiver, to flash his skills with a 7-yard reception for first down. Two plays later, he found Jaiden Carpenter for a 13-yard touchdown with 23 seconds left in the half.
Wilson never let the Colonials (1-1) feel like they were in the game in the second half. They leaned on Gruber and Akings on the ground for a 14-play, nearly 8 minute drive that Akings finished with a 1-yard touchdown. Akings finished with 57 yards while Gruber led the Bulldogs with 58 yards on 21 attempts.
The Colonials drove the ball to the Wilson 37 late in the third quarter, but the defense that pressured quarterback Caiden Leszczynski all night got another quarterback pressure. They forced Leszczynski to get rid of the ball and Gruber jumped all over it to put Wilson ahead 21-0 with 22 seconds left in the third quarter.
Plymouth-Whitemarsh ran for 410 yards against Upper Merion last week, but the Wilson defense was up to the task against a stout offensive line. They limited the Colonials to 93 yards on 30 attempts.
The defensive line controlled the Plymouth-Whitemarsh front and it allowed linebackers EJ Brownback and Christo Hunsicker to roam free. Brownback was credited with 10.5 tackles including 4.5 tackles for loss and Hunsicker had eight tackles.
Wilson travels to Nazareth (2-0) next Friday.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Plymouth-Whitemarsh | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Wilson | 0 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Wilson | Carpenter, 13 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick) | 0:23 |
| 3 | Wilson | Akings, 1 run (Hunsicker kick) | 4:19 |
| 3 | Wilson | Gruber, 67 interception return (Hunsicker kick) | 0:22 |
| 4 | P-W | C. Smith, 36 pass from Leszczynski (Peterson kick) | 4:42 |
Team statistics
| PLYMOUTH-WHITEMARSH | WILSON | |
| First downs | 14 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-93 | 39-133 |
| Passing yards | 124 | 47 |
| Total yards | 217 | 180 |
| Passes | 14-28-1 | 7-13-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-23.7 | 4-25.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-35 | 7-45 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Plymouth-Whitemarsh: Canales 13-75, DiCiurcio 8-30, Ianozzi 2-5, Hegarty 2-0, Team 1-(-6), Leszczynski 4-(-11).
Wilson: Gruber 21-58, Akings 13-57, Greer 5-18.
PASSING
Plymouth-Whitemarsh: Leszczynski 14-27-1—124, Canales 0-1-0—0.
Wilson: Gruber 6-12-0—40, Akings 1-1-0—7.
RECEIVING
Plymouth-Whitemarsh: Laffredo 3-28, Bongard 3-28, Canales 3-19, DiCiurcio 2-16, C. Smith 1-36, Ianozzi 1-(-1), Laviola 1-(-2).
Wilson: Carpenter 2-29, Akings 2-0, Gruber 1-7, Greer 1-6, Glover 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wilson: Gruber.
