It’s Wilson vs. Harrisburg in GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week

GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week

District 3 Class 6A championship

No. 5 Wilson (9-3) vs. No. 2 Harrisburg (11-1)

Kick: Saturday, 1, at Severance Field, Harrisburg.

District 3 Class 6A bracket: Click here.

Series: Tied 4-4.

Last meeting: Harrisburg won a district semifinal 33-29 at Gurski Stadium in 2019 as QB John McNeil passed for 304 yards and three touchdowns. The Cougars took the lead for good with 2:45 remaining. After a pass interference penalty in the end zone against Harrisburg, the Bulldogs had an untimed down from the 6 but the game ended on an incompletion in the end zone.

Did you know? The Bulldogs and Cougars have met five times in the postseason over the past 14 seasons, with Harrisburg winning three. It eliminated Wilson in 2007 (in OT), 2018 and 2019. They have met just once in the championship game, with Wilson winning 39-14 in 2012.

Bulldogs update: Have won seven straight. . . Knocked off No. 1 seed Central York 14-11 last week, surviving a last-second 32-yard field goal attempt to win it. . . QB Brad Hoffman carried the ball a career-high 29 times, for 167 yards and one score. . . Jadyn Jones had 27 carries for 161 yards. . . Hoffman has recorded five straight 100-yard rushing games and last week became the first Wilson quarterback to rush for 1,000 yards in a season; he has 1,038 yards, with 12 TDs. . . Jones has recorded five straight 100-yard games and has topped 100 seven times in his 10 games. . . Jones has rushed for 1,264 yards and scored a team-best 14 TDs. . . Got field goals of 31 and 21 yards from Ben Rada last week, his first two attempts of the season; the second kick came with 1:13 left. . . Have turned the ball over a Berks-leading 24 times; minus-7 in turnover differential. . . LB Gavin Lenart leads team with 50 tackles, and has five tackles for loss. . . S Josh Drake is second with 37 tackles. . . T Dominic Memo leads team with 11 tackles for loss. . . LB Nick Weitzel leads team with five sacks. . . . S Gannon Brubaker leads team with three interceptions. . . Ranked No. 10 in the state by PennLive.com.

Cougars update: Have won eight straight since 49-13 loss at Gov. Mifflin. . . Played without starting QB Shawn Lee in that game. . . Mid-Penn Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year Terrell Reynolds fronts an active defense that has 45 sacks, 33 takeaways and is allowing just 14.6 points per game, second-fewest among District 3 Class 6A schools. . . Reynolds has 19 1/2 sacks and 89 tackles. . . Have allowed six TDs over last five games. . . Reynolds is among four all-league picks on defense, and 10 overall. . . Two-way all-league pick Tyshawn Black, a 6-1, 270-pound senior, anchors both lines. . . He’s joined up front by 6-4, 315-pound all-league center Roy Irvin. . . Black and Irvin are among seven starters who returned from last season’s unbeaten team. . . All-League WR Kyle Williams is the biggest threat on offense. He has 57 receptions, has rushed for over 600 yards and scored 14 TDs. . . Power back Mahkai Hopkins has rushed for 556 yards and scored nine TDs. . . All-League WR Justin Cook has 45 catches; he’s also an all-league pick at DB and KR. . . Williams scored four TDs, one on a 78-yard punt return, in last week’s 32-10 win over Hempfield. . . Calvin Everett, in his 11th season as head coach, was named Commonwealth Coach of the Year. . . Moved up three spots to No. 2 in the state in the PennLive.com rankings.

Fast fact: Jadyn Jones and Brad Hoffman are the first pair of 1,000-yard rushers in Wilson history; no previous team ever had more than one player rush for 1,000 yards.

Wilson playoff history: The Bulldogs are 42-21 overall, with seven championships, most recently in 2016 over Cumberland Valley. They are 7-3 in championship games, and have won their last three championship appearances (including wins over Central Dauphin in 2014 and Harrisburg in 2012).

Harrisburg playoff history: The Cougars are 19-15 overall, with championships in 2007 (over Gov. Mifflin), 2016 (over Manheim Central) and 2018 (over Central Dauphin).

Did you know? The Cougars were the No. 1 seed in last year’s tournament, going 4-0 during a truncated regular season, but were forced to forfeit their semifinal vs. York High due to a COVID outbreak.