Wilson closing fast on Manheim Central victory total
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
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Manheim Central and Wilson have not played very often over the years but they have had a long-standing rivalry as the top dog in the Lancaster-Lebanon League.
The Barons have won more games than any team in league history but a rare off season has allowed the Bulldogs to quickly close ground.
The teams head into play Friday with Wilson just one behind Manheim’s 607 victories.
The Barons (2-5) were projected to be a top contender in Section 3 this season but things have gone uncharacteristically off the rails. Manheim heads to Fleetwood Friday as one of two teams – along with the Tigers — without a win in Section 3 play.
The Bulldogs, meanwhile, are 6-1 and unbeaten in Section 1 play.
Manheim Central is one loss away from finishing a full season below .500 for the first time since 1971. The Barons did end up with a losing record in the Covid-truncated 2020 season, finishing 3-5.
They bounced back quickly, going 9-2 the next season and 11-2 each of the last two seasons; they reached the District 4 Class 4A championship game in both 2022 and 2023.
Prior to that Covid collapse the Barons recorded 36 consecutive winning seasons and 48 straight non-losing seasons.
Wilson owns the longest active streak of consecutive winning seasons in the state. Last week’s 38-14 win over Hempfield clinched its 49th straight winning season and 61st straight non-losing season.
The Bulldogs last finished with a losing record in 1963; a year later John Gurski arrived in West Lawn, changing the face of Wilson football for what has been an unprecedented run of success.
Good as the Bulldogs have been, the Barons can make a strong claim as the greatest program in Lancaster-Lebanon League football history.
They have won 28 section titles, 18 district titles championships, and a PIAA Class AAA championship, in 2003. The Barons, who have always played one or two classifications lower than Wilson, have reached the state title game four times.
Wilson also has 28 section titles and has seven district championships but has never won a state championship; the Bulldogs played in the PIAA final in 1989.
Wilson joined the league in 1975; Manheim Central has been a member since the league was formed in 1973.
Overall, Manheim Central is 607-231-18, with a .717 winning percentage.
Wilson is 606-243-14, with a .710 winning percentage.
Head-to-head Wilson owns an 8-5 series lead. They have met just twice in league play, when Wilson dipped to Section 2 for the 1998-99 seasons; each team won one of those meetings.
Manheim Central and Wilson currently rank No. 4 and 5, respectively, in wins among District 3 programs. Steelton-Highspire is credited with 840, Bishop McDevitt with 69, and Middletown with 611.
The Steel-High total erroneously includes wins before the 1956 merger of Steelton and Highspire.
