Bulldogs can’t slow down Blue Streaks’ march to perfect season, Section 1 title
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
WEST LAWN – Maybe sometime in December, when Manheim Township is closing in on a spot in the PIAA championship game, Wilson coach Doug Dahms might feel a little better about the way things went for the Bulldogs when they faced the powerhouse Blue Streaks.
Not Friday. He was bemoaning some of the mistakes and breakdowns that cost his team early in a 49-34 loss in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 shootout at Gurski Stadium that saw the Streaks finish off a perfect regular season and claim their first league championship in four years.
“That’s a good football team,” Dahms said after the Streaks outlasted the Bulldogs in a game that featured 43 first downs, 45 complete passes, 735 total yards and zero punts. “I don’t know who’s gonna beat ’em They can go far.”
The Bulldogs (5-1, 7-3) matched the league’s highest-scoring team touchdown for touchdown over the final 2 ½ quarters. Problem is they didn’t score until the Blue Streaks (6-0, 10-0) had a 21-point lead.
The bottom line is that Wilson couldn’t stop Township, which reached the end zone on seven of its first eight possessions until taking a knee on the final series with under a minute to go. The Bulldogs never drew closer than 14 points after falling behind in the first quarter.
Township had 458 total yards. It was stopped only once, on its third series, and even that didn’t work out well for Wilson. Quarterback Hayden Johnson, who also handles punts, saw his protection collapse as he was in punt formation. Rather than risk a block he ran the ball, though he was stopped short of a first down.
“We knew it wasn’t going to be a low-scoring football game,” said Dahms, whose team had not allowed more than 34 points during its seven-game winning streak. “Every time (our defense) got to a fourth down, or a long third, they made the play.”
Johnson made the most of them. The Lehigh recruit completed 22-of-26 passes for 272 yards and five touchdowns; he has 40 TD passes this season without an interception.
Johnson, who makes fast reads and releases the ball in a split second, has the Streaks’ RPO game down to a science.
“When we have all facets of the whole game in one play it really helps us out,” he said of the RPO package. “I just think it’s too much to handle.”
It was for the Bulldogs.
“Their offense is one of the better ones I’ve ever seen in high school,” said Wilson quarterback Tommy Hunsicker. “They attacked our weaknesses like we were trying to do to them. Hayden, he’s a great quarterback, he’s got great weapons. Their line was holding up well. It’s tough to stop ’em.”
Hunsicker did all he could to keep the pressure on the Streaks. He completed 22-of-29 passes for 169 yards, with three TDs, two to Madyx Gruber. Hunsicker rushed for 91 yards but was sacked four times for minus-30 yards.
Gruber had eight catches and also threw a TD pass on a flea flicker, good for 40 yards to Edison Case.
The Bulldogs never stopped pressing, scoring four second-half touchdowns, which forced Township’s starters to remain on the field the entire game. That’s something that hadn’t happened in a season which has seen the state-ranked Streaks dominate, with eight mercy-rule victories.
The 34 points are the most the Blue Streaks have allowed this season; they came off three consecutive shutouts. They allowed as many as 28 points just once before.
The Blue Streaks were the preseason favorite in Section 1 and left no doubt along the way, a point head coach Mark Evans emphasized to his team following the game.
“They worked hard with this goal in mind,” Evans said. “They have the talent, the opportunity and they persisted. Our whole message all year has been: Continue to reach for the top.”
Johnson spread the ball around, connecting with six different receivers, five of whom had three or more catches; four different receivers had scoring catches. Antonio Vazquez had two.
The back-breaker came in the final minute of the first half after the Bulldogs got on the board for the first time. Hunsicker threaded the needle and found Gruber between two defenders with a 9-yard TD pass. That cut Township’s lead to 21-7.
Any momentum they might have gathered with that score disappeared quickly as Johnson led the Streaks right down the field, covering 75 yards in 48 seconds, the last a 13-yard TD pass to running back Declan Clancy, who blasted a defensive back at the goal line. That made it 28-7 with 12 seconds left in the half.
Dahms said his team had just 10 players on the field for that play.
“That hurt,” he said. “But that’s the kind of offense they have.”
Johnson made a lot of incredible plays for Township, twice throwing on the run for scores. His favorite play Friday was the final one.
With the Blue Streaks leading 49-34 and just a few seconds left on the clock, Johnson and his teammates lined up in the Victory formation.
“We’ve never kneeled before,” he said with a smile, “but it felt good.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Manheim Township | 14 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 49 |
| Wilson | 0 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 34 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Manheim Township | Clancy, 16 run (Nguyen kick) | 3:15 |
| 1 | Manheim Township | Palumbo, 14 pass from Johnson (Nguyen kick) | 1:14 |
| 2 | Manheim Township | Kennel, 20 pass from Johnson (Nguyen kick) | 7:19 |
| 2 | Wilson | Gruber, 9 pass from T. Hunsicker (Rada kick) | 1:00 |
| 2 | Manheim Township | Clancy, 13 pass from Johnson (Nguyen kick) | 0:12 |
| 3 | Wilson | Case, 40 pass from Gruber (Rada kick) | 9:48 |
| 3 | Manheim Township | Vazquez, 27 pass from Johnson (Rada kick) | 7:08 |
| 3 | Wilson | Zullinger, 6 pass from T. Hunsicker (Rada kick) | 3:37 |
| 4 | Manheim Township | Vazquez, 28 pass from Johnson (Nguyen kick) | 8:52 |
| 4 | Wilson | Akings, 1 run (Rada kick) | 5:49 |
| 4 | Manheim Township | Johnson, 3 run (Nguyen kick) | 3:48 |
| 4 | Wilson | Gruber, 11 pass from T. Hunsicker (kick failed) | 0:21 |
Team statistics
| Manheim Township | Wilson | |
| First downs | 24 | 19 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-186 | 29-68 |
| Passing yards | 272 | 209 |
| Total yards | 458 | 277 |
| Passes | 22-26-0 | 23-30-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 13-137 | 4-36 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Manheim Township: Clancy 22-145, Johnson 7-42, Team 1-(-1).
Wilson: Hunsicker 20-61, Gruber 2-15, Akings 3-5, Brownback 1-0, Kline 1-0, Team 2-(-13).
PASSING
Manheim Township: Johnson 22-26-0–272.
Wilson: T. Hunsicker 22-29-0–169, Gruber 1-1-0–40.
RECEIVING
Manheim Township: Haberbosch 5-34, Wolfe 4-66, Kennel 4-52, Clancy 4-26, Vazquez 3-58, Palumbo 2-36.
Wilson: Gruber 8-74, Wagner 6-46, Case 4-66, Aikings 3-5, Valukevich 1-12, Zullinger 1-6.
