An offensive lineman who helped to pave the way for Central Dauphin’s District 3 and PIAA AAAA championship team this past season has chosen where he will continue playing collegiate football..
Zach Wilk, a 6’5, 275-pound offensive and defensive lineman for the Rams, issued a verbal declaration to Ivy League representative Cornell Tuesday, according to an e-mail from his father, Dan.
“We visited Cornell over the weekend and it was a home run for Zach,” Mr. Wilk’s e-mail read. “He called Coach (Kent) Austin yesterday (to commit).”
Wilk’s declaration to the Big Red is non-binding until he signs a letter of intent with the school.
The elder Wilk said his son was receiving interest from Penn State, and that there had been dialogue defensive line coach Larry Johnson and interest from the Nittany Lions’ end.
Cornell, located in Ithaca, N.Y., already had landed a member of Pennsylvania’s 2012 recruiting class in Mt. Lebanon running back Luke Hagy. Hagy ran for 1,900 yards each of the last two seasons and set Mt. Lebanon records for career rushing yardage and rushing touchdowns.
During his senior season, Wilk helped to pave the way for a Ram offensive unit which averaged 325.5 yards of offense (215.7 rush, 109.8 pass) and 30.2 points per game, producing three 690+-yard rushers and a 1,490-yard passing quarterback. The Rams scored 59 total offensive touchdowns (40 rushing, 19 passing). In winning the school’s first PIAA football crown, CD’s O-line gouged District 1 champion North Penn for 265 yards rushing.
Defensively, Wilk added 93 tackles, eight sacks and a forced fumble, averaging 5.8 tackles per game. He posted a season-best 13 stops in a PIAA semifinal victory over North Allegheny.
Central Dauphin finished 15-1 overall.
