On a steamy night, where Wilson’s offense wasn’t clicking on all cylinders, their defense came up huge. The Bulldogs held the CD East Panthers scoreless through three quarters before finally giving up two touchdowns in the fourth.
After trading punts to begin the game, Wilson used a balanced attack to grab a 7-0 lead on quarterback Jake Templin’s three-yard touchdown run. CD East’s ensuing drive went backwards leading to a punt and a quick Nick Hart 31 yard field goal giving Wilson a 10 – 0 lead. CD East showed life on the kick-off as running back Joe Lemelle broke several tackles during a 50 yard return. However, a Bulldog defender chased Lemelle down and forced a fumble that Wilson recovered. Wilson capped the first half scoring with a Templin to Jake Fox 37 yard touchdown pass giving the Bulldogs an 17 – 0 half-time lead.
The Panthers best chance at a first half score came midway through the second quarter when a rare defensive miscue left wide receiver Evan Pierce without a Bulldog within twenty yards. The pass was overthrown and Wilson dodged a sure touchdown. Wilson outgained CD East 162 yards to 47 in the first half. CD East also committed several penalties resulting in 50 yards.
In the second half, Wilson turned to senior running back, Shane Dantzler. Dantzler returned the opening kick-off to Wilson’s 46. Wilson kept the ball on the ground in the third quarter using both Dantzler and Tim Whitmoyer trying to grind out yardage and keep the clock rolling. Neither back was able to break free, however, as CD East’s defense toughened. The Panthers turned almost exclusively to the air during the second half with mixed results. Neither team was able to score in the third quarter.
The Wilson faithful had been waiting for two games for a Shane Dantzler explosion. It came on the first play of the fourth quarter as Dantzler took a handoff and dashed through the line sharply cutting right for a 47 yard TD run, giving the Bulldogs a seemingly insurmountable 24 – 0 fourth quarter lead. Dantzler would finish with 112 yards on 17 carries.
The Panthers weren’t quite ready to surrender, as quarterback Justice Jacobs hit his senior receiver Evan Pierce on a short sideline pass. Pierce took the pass, spun on a dime, and went 59 yards untouched down the right sideline to the end zone. After a Dantzler fumble on his own 35, CD East’s offense was right back at it. Jacobs connected with Joe Lemelle for a quick 22 yard score, bringing the Panthers to within 10 with 9:35 left in the game.
CD East’s defense seemed motivated by the offense scoring and forced a punt attempt on the next drive. However, punter Jake Klein spotted his gunner Joe Lopez completely uncovered. A simple pitch and catch later, Lopez was running for the end zone coming up just three yards short. Tim Whitmoyer ran the back-breaking touchdown in, making the score 31 – 14 with only 5:29 to go. No more scoring would result as the Bulldogs finished off a 31 – 14 victory.
Wilson’s offense did not find things easy tonight. They turned the ball over an uncharacteristic four times and committed several drive stalling penalties. However, a stingy defense and just enough offensive firepower kept the Bulldogs undefeated at 2-0.
