Hoffman, Bulldogs, bust through Hempfield, remain on top in Section 1
GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports senior correspondent
LANDISVILLE – There isn’t much elusiveness when Brad Hoffman decides to keep the ball. He runs straight ahead until he collides with someone.
Wilson’s quarterback is more like a fullback. The 6-1, 215-pound senior delivers hits as much as he takes them.
“Brad will run you over,” teammate TJ Flite said. “He’s not scared of that.”
Wilson’s final drive was a seven-play, 78-yard display of power running with the QB providing much of the power. It lifted the Bulldogs over Hempfield 28-21 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 game Friday night at Landisville.
With the score tied at 21 and 3:00 left in the GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week, it looked like Hoffman decided he was going to bulldoze his way down the field.
The senior kept it himself on the first three read-option carries. They went 5 yards. Then 19 yards. Then 24 yards. Wilson advanced to Hempfield’s 30 before anyone else even touched the ball.
“I’m not going to shy away from contact,” Hoffman said. “There are times when a kid will lick me and I’ll be like, ‘OK, I’ve got to slow down a little bit. I can’t do everything with my legs.’ I didn’t have any of those hits tonight luckily.”
Hoffman’s last carry was an 8-yard designed run to convert on third down. That set up Jadyn Jones’ 14-yard touchdown with 32 seconds left.
Wilson (4-0, 6-3) didn’t attempt a pass on the winning drive. The Bulldogs took the lead and took away most of the time Hempfield had to answer.
“He’s a leader; he’s built for that situation,” Flite said of his quarterback. “I’ll put trust in any one of these guys to get it done when we’re trying to go up seven.”
Hoffman’s style drew some interesting postgame comparisons. NFL players from the past and present.
Flite mentioned Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, another hard-nosed runner. Wilson coach Doug Dahms dropped some jaws when he said Hoffman might be his team’s most rugged QB since Kerry Collins.
“Kerry had the physicality,” Dahms said. “He never ran the ball. He was one of the biggest hitters on our team.”
Hoffman and Jones, the “two-headed monster” as their coach called them, split the rushing burden. Jones collected 139 yards and Hoffman had 131 yards.
Wilson built a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter. Hoffman and Jones each found the end zone on short runs. Brady Kline caught a 13-yard TD pass.
That was all of Wilson’s offense until the final minutes. It wasn’t enough to feel comfortable against Hempfield’s high-flying passing game.
Cam Harbaugh completed 15-of-26 attempts for 280 yards and two touchdowns. Harbaugh hit Andy Garcia on a 68-yard scoring strike to tie it with 8:48 remaining.
“Harbaugh is a tough runner,” Dahms said. “He scrambles well and he finds the open man. He’s a really good quarterback.”
Hempfield was 7-for-12 on third-down conversions. Many of those were third-and-long when Harbaugh moved around to give his fast receivers time to spring open.
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Adam Acker had five receptions for 129 yards and Garcia contributed four catches for 105 yards.
“They had some speed,” Flite said. “We had to catch onto that. We didn’t in the first half. Once we found out what they were trying to do, we guarded against it. We minimized it.”
Hempfield (2-2, 5-4) put a scare into Wilson until the last play. Harbaugh’s Hail Mary from the 45-yard line landed beyond the back of the end zone.
Wilson will finish the Section 1 schedule undefeated if it can beat Manheim Township at Gurski Stadium next Friday. The Bulldogs have won four in a row.
Hoffman will find some more collisions in that matchup. He isn’t going to juke and jive his way through the second level of a defense.
“Running downhill is my strong suit,” he said. “I feel like my running style is a little different than the typical quarterback. But I get the job done.”
If there were any doubts, that final drive was proof.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wilson | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Hempfield | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wilson | Hoffman, 8 run (Rada kick) | 10:42 |
| 1 | Hempfield | Smith, 21 pass from Harbaugh (Biscoe kick) | 5:39 |
| 1 | Wilson | Kline, 13 pass from Hoffman (Rada kick) | 2:17 |
| 2 | Wilson | J. Jones, 2 run (Rada kick) | 6:01 |
| 2 | Hempfield | Katch, 2 run (Biscoe kick) | 4:25 |
| 4 | Hempfield | Garcia, 68 pass from Harbaugh (Biscoe kick) | 8:48 |
| 4 | Wilson | J. Jones, 14 run (Rada kick) | 0:32 |
Team statistics
| Wilson | Hempfield | |
| First downs | 16 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 43-280 | 22-16 |
| Passing yards | 50 | 280 |
| Total yards | 330 | 296 |
| Passes | 5-8-0 | 15-27-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-37.3 | 3-32.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-103 | 3-27 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wilson: J. Jones 21-139, Hoffman 17-131, Flite 2-5, C. Jones 2-3, Lenart 1-2.
Hempfield: Smith 5-9, Katch 4-7, Harbaugh 13-0.
PASSING
Wilson: Hoffman 5-8-0–50.
Hempfield: Harbaugh 15-26-0–280, Acker 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Wilson: Kline 2-16, Dendall 1-20, Case 1-9, J. Jones 1-5.
Hempfield: Acker 5-129, Garcia 4-105, Minnich 2-12, Gates 2-10, Smith 1-12, Felsinger 1-3.
