Season preview: Wilson Bulldogs
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What to expect in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
Top players to watch in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
Classification: Class 6A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1.
Last season: 6-0 Section 1 champ, 11-2 overall.
Schedule: Click here.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2024.
Head coach: Doug Dahms, 20th season, 196-44.
Key losses: Section 1 Offensive Back of the Year (at QB) and all-league DB Madyx Gruber, TE/ILB Brady Kline, TE/DE Cam Zullinger, C Anthony Geloso, all-league G Derek Reiniger, G Kam Koch, all-league LB & second-team all-league P Christo Hunsicker, DT Junior Catul.
Top offensive players: QB Mason Young, all-league RB Correll Akings (1,078 rushing yards, 18 TDs), RB/KR Monty Greer (9.3 yards per carry), RB Damian Greer, WR Jaiden Carpenter, WR Eli Dean, All-State TE Michael Glover (40 receptions, seven TDs), C Aidan Giagnacovo, G Prestyn Simons, T Avery Manara, second-team all-league T Jesse Etchberger, PK Preston Oxenreider.
Top defensive players: All-League E Rahmel Gaston, E Michael Glover, E Barima Archampong, T Malachi Toles, T Jaize Hector, ILB EJ Brownback, ILB Joel Amor-Garcia, ILB Matt Wyatt, OLB Ethan Harding, OLB Aiden Harmon, OLB Cole Peterson, second-team all-league S Chase Herb, S Monty Greer, S Eli Dean, CB Correll Akings, CB Jaiden Carpenter, CB Damian Greer.
Fast fact: Iggy Reynoso once scored six first-half touchdowns in a 2016 district playoff win over Central York. Only one other Wilson player, Jeff Niedrowski in 1991, has scored six TDs in a game.
Did you know? This is Doug Dahms’ 50th season coaching at Wilson, and 20th as head coach. He is the winningest head coach in program history, with 196 wins. Over his 49 seasons he has been on the sidelines for 460 wins, more than anyone else at Wilson.
For the record: Tony Cipolla’s program record of completing 68.4 percent of his passes in a season has lasted through 25 seasons. Madyx Gruber’s 64.5 percent completion rate last year ranks No. 2 in program history.
On schedule: The Bulldogs travel to Plymouth-Whitemarsh for the first time on Aug. 29. They took the initial meeting of the series 21-7 last year at Gurski Stadium.
Quotable: “A successful season for us is winning the L-L. That’s all we talk about, all we care about. It (would be) awesome to beat Cheltenham, to beat Plymouth(-Whitemarsh), to beat Nazareth (the first three weeks of the season), but winning the L-L title and going back and beating Manheim (Township) would be everything we played for.” — Senior tackle Avery Manara.
Outlook: The Bulldogs struck gold last year when they moved Madyx Gruber from wide receiver to quarterback. Gruber was a magician at times, leading his team through an unbeaten run in Section 1 and all the way to the District 3 Class 6A championship game. The 11 wins were the most at the school in eight years.
“Who would’ve expected that?” head coach Doug Dahms said of Gruber’s incredible transition and the way he lifted his team.
Twelve starters, including All-State tight end Michael Glover, return from what was a relatively young championship team; that’s probably as many or more returnees than Dahms has had in any of his previous 19 seasons. Still, when he looks at the roster he sees a young and experienced team.
That’s mostly because the Bulldogs again find themselves breaking in a new quarterback. Senior Mason Young has had a strong offseason and appears to be the guy to take over for Gruber, but he attempted just 13 passes a year ago, has never started a game, and has never encountered tough circumstances under the lights.
“Quarterback obviously is huge (for us),” Dahms said. “If Mason comes through like Madyx did, then we’ll go a long way. He’s a good athlete, has a good arm. If he stays calm and cool and doesn’t try to force things he’ll have a nice season. We won’t know for sure until he starts feeling the heat of the pass rush.”
Elsewhere, the Bulldogs are just fine.
They’ve got a terrific backfield with the return of all-league tailback Correll Akings and junior Monty Greer, who ran the ball at an all-league clip as a sophomore. He averaged 9.3 yards per carry, scored five TDs and showed breakaway speed. On a team built for speed, he’s one of the fastest players. So is Akings, who rushed for 1,078 yards as a junior and led the team with 18 TDs.
They’re both exceptional receivers – Akings had 27 catches last year – which will take some of the heat off Young.
It’s not often a team’s leading receiver is the tight end but that was the case last year with Glover, who had 40 catches and seven TD grabs. It’ll be the case again this year as the Bulldogs plan to feature him by moving him around to different spots in order to get him open in space.
Senior Jaiden Carpenter, another burner, provides Young with a target capable of stretching the field. He finished second in the 100 meters and third in the 200 at the Firing Meet last spring..
The offensive line isn’t big enough for Dahms’ liking but there are experienced hands back, chief among them second-team all-league pick Jesse Etchberger and tackle Avery Manara.
The defense was one of the best in the league a year ago – it ranked No. 2 among the league’s 37 teams against the rush and No. 3 in total defense – and it returns nearly intact, with seven starters back.
You could form a winning 4×100 relay team from the defensive backfield of Akings, Carpenter, Greer and his younger brother Damian. For toughness throw in second-team all-league safety Chase Herb, one of the league’s fiercest hitters.
All-League pick Rahmel Gaston returns at one D-end spot and Glover will man the other. He’s a rangy 6-3 and physical and looks like a natural for that spot.
EJ Brownback is the glue guy of the defense at inside linebacker. He led the team in tackles and tackles for loss as a sophomore and was as good as any ’backer in the league.
Special teams will be a plus, as always. Opposing teams won’t want to kick it to either Akings or Monty Greer, that’s for sure. The placekicker will be a freshman, Preston Oxenreider, who has a big leg and showed during the spring and summer that he can hang with the top kickers around.
At the wire: The Bulldogs have the depth and experience to win another Section 1 title and challenge for the District 3 Class 6A championship.
