Central York turns out the lights on Wilson’s season
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jason Guarente — LNP/Lancasteronline
YORK — Wilson’s football players broke off into pairs, shook hands and gave hugs. They said “good game.” Then they wished each other good luck.
It’s a nice tradition for the Bulldogs at the end of each season. It’s also a painful one.
| Final | |
| Central York | 42 |
| Wilson | 7 |
“This is a sad moment,” senior Jaiden Carpenter said. “I won’t get to play with these boys ever again.”
Top-seeded Central York overmatched No. 4 Wilson 42-7 in the District 3 Class 6A semifinals at Panther Stadium Friday night.
No football player is emotionally prepared for his final game. It doesn’t matter how late it comes or how thoroughly defeat is delivered.
Wilson was no exception. Some of the Bulldogs have been teammates for as long as they’ve worn helmets and shoulder pads. All the way back to their Lincoln Park or Van Reed days.
This has been their shared passion. Their lifelong pursuit. They unsuccessfully fought back tears in the postgame huddle.
“This is not what we wanted,” senior Jesse Etchberger said. “We’ve created a bond. It’s sad that it ended this way.”
To keep the journey going, Wilson (9-3) needed to achieve something no one else in the PIAA has over the past few months. The Bulldogs had to stop one of Class 6A’s best offenses.
Central York entered the night averaging 46.3 points. The Panthers play fast and have a variety of options. Quarterback Brooklyn Nace, wide receiver Brendyn Smith and running back Legend Johnson have ruined Friday nights for many opponents.
“They’re a good football team,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “They kicked our butt.”
Johnson inflicted the most damage. The 6-1, 195-pound junior carried 16 times for 171 yards and three touchdowns.
That part seemed to surprise Wilson’s coach.
“The running back ate us up,” Dahms said. “There was no excuse for that. We just didn’t do a very good job inside. I thought we could do a much better job in the trenches than we did.”
Johnson’s third score, a 46-yard burst just 10 seconds before intermission, felt like a decisive blow. Instead of heading into halftime down 20-7 with the ball after the break, Wilson was down by 21 points.
That seemed to erase whatever thoughts of a comeback the Bulldogs were entertaining.
“It’s definitely upsetting,” quarterback Mason Young said. “We didn’t go out too well. I think I could have played a better game. I should’ve played a better game. It’s emotional no matter how you go out.”
Nace, an Old Dominion recruit, connected on his 35th touchdown in the third quarter. It was a 51-yard strike to Smith, his favorite target.
Wilson reached into its bag of tricks a couple of times. The Bulldogs tried an onside kick in the first half that didn’t travel the necessary 10 yards. They attempted a halfback option in the fourth quarter that resulted in Dwayne Morgan’s 55-yard interception for a TD.
Central York’s lead was stretched to 35 points and invoked the running clock for almost all of the fourth quarter.
“We thought we were gonna win this,” Etchberger said. “They’re a good team. We can’t do much about it. They’re really good this year.”
Young connected on 16-of-31 attempts for 201 yards, becoming the eighth Wilson quarterback to surpass 2,000 yards in a season. The senior is the third in the past three seasons to do it, joining Madyx Gruber and Tommy Hunsicker.
Michael Glover scored Wilson’s only touchdown in the second quarter. That made it 14-7 and was a glimmer of hope that quickly faded.
Central York (11-1) will play either No. 2 Harrisburg or No. 3 Manheim Township for the championship. Those two will decide the other finalist at Harrisburg’s Severance Park on Saturday.
Wilson suffered its first loss in six meetings against Central York and fell short in its bid to return to the district final for the second consecutive year.
“Tonight, we didn’t think it was gonna end,” Carpenter said. “It just happened. Now we just have to deal with it.”
More hugs were waiting for Wilson’s players when they reached the other side of the fence. As they were being comforted by their families, the lights turned off at Panther Stadium.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Central York | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Central York | L. Johnson, 4 run (Burt kick) | 8:04 |
| 1 | Central York | L. Johnson, 34 run (Burt kick) | 5:08 |
| 2 | Wilson | Glover, 3 run (Oxenreider kick) | 11:29 |
| 2 | Central York | D. Johnson, 16 run (Burk kick) | 3:40 |
| 2 | Central York | L. Johnson, 46 run (Smith, pass from Nace) | :10 |
| 3 | Central York | Smith, 51 pass from Nace (Burt kick) | :49 |
| 4 | Central York | Morgan, 55 interception return (Burt kick) | 11:46 |
Team statistics
| WILSON | CENTRAL YORK | |
| First downs | 19 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 36-93 | 24-224 |
| Passing yards | 201 | 138 |
| Total yards | 294 | 362 |
| Passes | 16-32-1 | 9-11-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-24.0 | 2-39.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-30 | 5-58 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wilson: Akings 14-46, Glover 5-27, M. Greer 6-23, Young 11-(-3).
Central York: L. Johnson 16-171, D. Johnson 3-58, Nace 4-(-2), Team 1-(-3).
PASSING
Wilson: Young 16-31-0–201, Akings 0-1-1–0.
Central York: Nace 9-11-0-0–138.
RECEIVING
Wilson: Carpenter 5-52, Glover 3-44, Akings 3-31, M. Greer 2-37, D. Greer 2-22, Farrell 1-15.
Central York: Smith 6-86, Murray 1-35, Bahr 1-12, Gurley 1-5.
INTERCEPTIONS
Central York: Morgan.
