If we were to handicap the projected Section One race inside the Lancaster-Lebanon League heading into the 2024 season, there’s more than enough ample evidence to suggest this is essentially the place we figured to find ourselves right here inside of mid-October. That of course being Manheim Township and Wilson largely running away from the rest of the pack.
It wasn’t exactly inconceivable of course. Over the last decade, both the Blue Streaks and Bulldogs have jockeyed back and forth for the division’s top spot, largely shrugging the rest of the group back to an arm’s length, if not to an even further distance in the process. And now, entering the evening of October 18th, not only were both of these same teams neck-and-neck in terms of the L-L standings in particular, but District 3-6A as a whole for that matter, as Township has essentially all but locked up the #1 slot heading into the postseason with Wilson hot on the chase, residing at either some combination of the #2 or #3 seed line comparatively speaking more than likely. Suffice to say, while not only have both teams made good on those preseason prognostications up to date, but they’ve also been in many ways eerily similar to one another. Yes, even all the way down to the schedule-making part of it.
Since both teams find themselves inside the same section, the opponents are exactly the same of course. To that end, coming into Week 9 here at least, both the Streaks and Bulldogs have surged past all those same familiar foes, with both clubs on the precipice of entering their game with one another via identical, unbeaten section records. Beyond that, Manheim Township and Wilson ironically enough dipped into the same out-of-area pool this fall, both going up against Plymouth-Whitemarsh, and each coming away with only two losses the Colonials by way of District 1 have suffered thus far to date.
Now, all that is to say that of course that the long preamble there would lead you to believe that Friday night was finally that much-awaited Manheim Township and Wilson scrap, yes? Well, not quite. This was largely all about set up.
Rest assured, the scheduling gurus in charge of laying out the collective slates annually know exactly what they’re doing in trying to line up the projected the donnybrooks towards the tail end of the season, or in the very last regular season game as far L-L Section One figures to go, with Township and Wilson on the verge of a winner-take-all scenario come Week 10.
But this is Week 9, however. And all that flash, sizzle and overall noise would go down the down the drain in the event that either one would stub their toe just prior.
For Township, this week saw them go up against Penn Manor, the same exact Comets’ squad that Wilson dispatched by a 58-0 count just seven days ago, not even being gracious enough to yield their hosts literally any positive yardage, nor even a first down for that matter, inside of a victory where “dominant” may not even be anywhere near a strong enough adjective to use. So, without putting the cart too far before the horse, considering that the Streaks have already shut out three Section One foes along the way thus far in the campaign, chances were that they would be able to fulfill their part of the deal by the end of this week.
For Wilson, yes, another eerie case of a similar scenario on the Bulldogs’ side would await.
Now, all that is to say, taking the McCaskey Red Tornado totally for granted is a risk not exactly for the faint of heart. In fact, you could reasonably make the argument that no team inside the 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League were the darlings of the opening weekend more than McCaskey given their emphatic 41-14 triumph on the road at Bartram, a Philadelphia Public League outfit. And yes, while McCaskey would find themselves on the opposite end of a 55-7 score one week later against their next-door neighbors from Conestoga Valley, there’s not exactly any shame in that considering that the Buckskins entered this week with an 8-0 mark in their own right and a de-facto section championship game with Exeter afoot waiting this week. After that CV contest, the Tornado fixed their ills to the tune of a 14-7 victory over E-town in Week 3, giving those in the Red Rose city hopes that perhaps this would be the year in which this bubbling powerhouse just waiting to explode may finally be on course towards making it back to the postseason for what would be the first time in a decade-plus.
Unfortunately, while McCaskey may indeed on that correct course when it comes to the long-term play, the short-terms goals of perhaps finishing with a winning record –or maybe even making it back to the district playoffs as mentioned – slipped away from grasp over the ensuing few weeks as McCaskey has gone winless since that E-town affair, including coming no closer than a 24-point gap in terms of final score difference when it comes that aforementioned shared L-L Section One contingent. But as is always the case, especially with skill players the likes of DeAndre Jones lining up out wide for them, quite possibly the best multi-sport athlete inside the entire L-L given his collective football and basketball prowess, if you even so much as blink against the Red Tornado, you could just as soon find yourself with a throbbing headache you just can’t shake the whole night thru.
So, with all that out in the open, the case for Wilson on their Senior Night here really could not have been any simpler for this group that is essentially one play, one yard even, away from a perfect 8-0 mark of their own this season. Handle your business without the need for any drama in your last (scheduled) game at home inside of InstaShine Carwash Field at John Gurski Stadium in West Lawn on Friday night, and then you can officially christen it “Township Week” once the clock hit zeroes against McCaskey.
And as would quickly become evident almost right from the opening kickoff itself, there would be no need for any Tylenol or Aleve to be consumed from inside the Bulldogs’ medicine cabinet on Friday night.
In fact, on the first play from scrimmage, Wilson junior running back talent, Correll Akings, proceeded to tote the rock and promptly galivant his way out for a 19-yard pickup. From there, Wilson senior quarterback, Madyx Gruber, did his part in breaking free from would-be McCaskey tacklers on the very next play, quickly jettisoning the Bulldogs out to their own 49-yard line in short order. Then, turning around the giving the ball to Akings once more proved to just as fruitful seeing as how his run around the left side of the Wilson line this time not only pushed the Bulldogs’ attack past the midfield stripe officially, but it also put them right on the precipice of entering the redzone with the ball now resting at the Tornado 23. All told, if it seemed as if Wilson’s nose for the endzone right off the bat was nothing if not the strongest of their collective senses, you’d be correct as this six-play, 82-yard opening march would be capped off by way of a bubble screen thrown from Gruber to Jaiden Carpenter out in the flat, good for the 28-yard scoring connection as the junior wideout’s TD reception helped make it a 7-0 buffer in Wilson’s favor with fans from either side barely even getting settled into their seats considering how exactly 10:00 remained in the opening stanza at that point.
Then, after holding the McCaskey starting offensive unit to a quick three-and-out, the Wilson defense did their part in helping to give their offensive mates a short field in which to work with. Well, it certainly didn’t hurt matters in that regard given how the snap on the upcoming McCaskey punt attempt would be high enough to throw the entire operation off kilter, leading to Wilson setting up shop at the Tornado 18-yard line following the snafu.
By comparison, the half dozen plays it took Wilson to score the first time around were incredibly tardy and sluggish considering how this “drive” would take all of one-play and just 17 seconds as a marvelous jaunt through the heart of the McCaskey defense by way of Akings made it a 14-0 Wilson cushion following Christo Hunsicker’s second PAT of the very young evening with all of 8:34 still left in first frame.
Then, after locking McCaskey out of nothing more than their ensuing three plays on downs on the Red Tornado’s ensuing offensive series yet again, seeing Wilson trot back out onto the field on a remarkably short field was just about the last thing the visitors from Lancaster city needed to see.
Unfortunately, with the Bulldog’s third drive beginning right at the midfield stripe, witnessing Correll Akings bust his way out the gate en route to a 30-yard scamper on the very first play didn’t help matters most assuredly from the guests’ perspective. Next, after a spectacular grab in traffic courtesy of Carpenter launching himself upward and catching the ball at its summit, the Bulldogs had suddenly positioned themselves right at the 3-yard line as this Madyx Gruber to Jaiden Carpenter hook up would be good for the 17-yard variety. By this point, a score here felt more than inevitable. Sure enough, this three-play Wilson excursion would be capped off right then and there with Gruber calling his own number on the zone read and then strolling in unimpeded for a 3-yard touchdown run which made it a 21-0 Bulldogs’ lead with 5:49 still left of a first quarter that was just barely past its halfway point.
Suffice to say, McCaskey needed to stem the tide –and fast—if they had wished to try and keep Wilson even remotely within reach at this early stage. That said, while things didn’t appear to be heading in that direction once their ensuing offensive drive following Wilson’s third score would end on the heels of its second play given a Rahmel Gaston fumble recovery for the staunch Wilson defensive effort currently being posted, there was a sliver of good fortune as the Red Tornado defense would stiffen here when called upon, sending the Bulldogs away without points following a missed field goal attempt that bounced off the upright.
The thing was, with still more than a minute and change still not yet accounted for on the first quarter clock, that would be more than enough time for Wilson to inflict even further damage.
In terms of what would materialize in what wound up being their fourth score of the game’s initial frame, Monty Greer found himself earning those honors as the Bulldogs’ sophomore back strolled in for the 34-yard touchdown run totally untouched, helping to lower the curtain on an utterly emphatic first quarter that showed Wilson in total command given their 28-0 advantage.
The problem for McCaskey? Not even the brief stoppage in between quarters seemed to do much of anything when it came to slowing down this white-hot Wilson outfit on Friday evening.
Case in point, what would amount to a 25-second series once the second quarter got underway as a 40-yard touchdown toss from Gruber to his fellow senior, wideout Christo Hunsicker, seen darting across the middle, made it a 35-0 Bulldogs’ lead following Hunsicker accounting for all seven points of this most recent Wilson scoring punch considering his fifth successful PAT of the evening here with 10:00 on the nose still left in the opening half.
Here though, after starting to integrate the reserves into the fold with a majority of the second quarter clock still left in front of them, Wilson would remain just as lethal and just as potent as they had been with their starters at the controls.
In fact, the very next Wilson offensive series would net points yet again, largely buoyed by way of a 19-yard zig-zagging run from an incredibly talented reserve trigger man the Bulldogs appear to have if called upon found in junior quarterback, Mason Young, ushering the hosts down to the Red Tornado 1-yard line on a key 3rd & 6 play. From there, it seemed rather apropos that on Senior Night, a member of the 2025 graduating class have the opportunity to score which is exactly what Wilson senior running back, Emir Bailey, proceeded to do with his 1-yard TD run on the very next play to make it a 42-0 lead in favor of the home team which is precisely where things would remain etched in stone once the final 6:40 bled off the second quarter clock and a businesslike performance had been put forth by Wilson in the first two dozen minutes to put it mildly. But, if stats are more your liking when it comes to evidence, here are just a few to chew on. In terms of net rushing output, Wilson was McCaskey’s superior to the tune of 168 to -47. For total offense altogether, the Bulldogs took that crown too by virtue of a 270 to 34 difference. Need much more really be said?
Yet even the second half, while pushed up against it somewhat given the Mercy Rule that they themselves had helped trigger, Wilson still found time to score here inside of the third quarter just as they had done when the game clock wasn’t constantly melting away after essentially every play.
Case in point, Mason Young being able to reap the fruits of his earlier labor and that scintillating 19-yard jaunt that had set up the Bulldogs’ most recent score back in the waning stages of the second quarter as Young proceeded to rip off a 24-yard quarterback keeper for the touchdown which then made it a 49-0 Bulldogs’ lead following sophomore kicker, Mark Sneij’s, first PAT of the evening upon entering the final stanza once the rapidly moving final 5:38 bled away from the third quarter.
In the fourth, the script seemed to be the same carbon copy, at least from the outset that is.
Sure enough, on the very first play of the final quarter did Wilson find paydirt yet again as this time a 59-yard touchdown bomb thrown from the Bulldogs’ third quarterback of the evening who was able to account for a TD in some form or fashion, sophomore Cole Peterson, dropped it in the bucket perfectly to a streaking Jackson Becker running in stride, made it a 56-0 Wilson bulge following Sneji’s second consecutive PAT knocked through the pipes with 11:45 left to play.
Now, it should be noted that the unquestioned best player on the football field amongst all of this throughout the duration of Friday night was McCaskey’s senior do everything man, DeAndre Jones. You name it, Jones did it against Wilson. Field kickoffs five times over is what you need? He’s got you. Do that and then play the entire first half while running the show at quarterback? Yeah, he’s got you covered there too. Oh, you need a punter to kick it away after being turned away on downs? Yep, DeAndre’s got that on his duty sheet. Come the second half, you need to move him over to his natural position at wide receiver? Well yeah, I mean that’s a layup, right? And for the final cherry on top, guess who happened to lead the Red Tornado in tackles on Friday as well? I’ll save you the drama. It was DeAndre Jones.
The only downside was, for his yeoman’s work put forth on quite literally darn near every play he was out on the field against Wilson, there wasn’t much Jones had to tangibly show for his collective efforts to that point. Finally, and certainly not a moment too soon, that narrative was finally put to rest as after moving back into quarterbacking duties following an injury in the third quarter forced the Tornado to reshuffle the offensive deck of cards yet again, Jones would fire off a dart of a 27-yard touchdown pass off his left arm to Marquise Washington which made it a 56-7 ballgame following a Tom McCoy PAT with time running down.
And once it did, the dust would settle on what would end up being a picture-perfect night of work in that the participation chart for Wilson was surely packed to the brim with likely everyone who had dressed in red getting the opportunity to play under the lights given what was a decisive 56-7 Wilson victory over McCaskey that was never in any sort of doubt or question. And because of that, yes, you can now officially declare it “Township Week” in Wilson camp.
NEXT UP: It really could not be any simpler from Wilson’s perspective. They did what they needed to do and took care of business to set things up for all the marbles being on the line next week in Neffsville. Ironically, both Wilson and Manheim Township happened to take identical 42-0 leads with them heading into the half of each of their games Friday night respectively with the Streaks finishing off an eventual 42-14 victory over Penn Manor. But don’t be mistaken. There is plenty to clean up and address heading into what was always figured to be the key inflection point of the Bulldogs’ season coming up. Chief among them, finding a remedy to quell the nine penalties tallied against themselves –certainly not one of the stats that they desired to also beat McCaskey out on in terms of greater numbers by the end of the night considering Wilson’s nine to Tornado’s eight – that will only be magnified next week in a game where both the margins for error and separation are somehow so inherently intertwined and miniscule. But to their credit, Wilson will head into Township the owners of an 8-1 overall record that is only within a whisker of being perfect. Hard to be much better than perfect at this stage of the game.
For McCaskey’s side of things, this has obviously been a tough road to ho down the final stretch. That’s the downer side of the news. The upside? Call it hokey if you must, but next week in the season finale presents a golden opportunity for the Red Tornado to end this thing in the right way. For next week brings them back home on their campus for game against Penn Manor, an evenly matched foe that provides either side with the opportunity to end their respective 2024 journey with a bit of a boost heading into the offseason. And who knows for sure? Maybe that will be the exact catalyst McCaskey needed if it means them evolving into the program that when its humming along, as it was not all that long ago with high-level college talent oozing out of the seams, can be one of the best programs residing on this side of the state.
