High school football: Wilson rolls to easy Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 win
· Yahoo Sports
Never a doubt. Not even for a second.
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The Wilson Bulldogs ran away with a 52-7 victory over the Cedar Crest Falcons in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1 matchup Friday night at John Gruski Stadium.
Both teams entered the night 4-1, along with Manheim Township and Penn Manor in Section 1, but it was evident who is still at the top of the food chain.
Prior to junior varsity taking the field in the fourth quarter, Wilson (3-0, 5-1) outgained Cedar Crest 261-39, dominating with a score of 38-0 at halftime.
Louisville University commit Justice Hardy totaled four first-half touchdowns along with 142 all-purpose yards out of the backfield.
Michael Glover had six receptions for 63 yards, while Cole Peterson completed 12-of-18 passes for 148 yards.
Wilson’s defense set the tone with three takeaways, all in the first half, shutting down an offense that was averaging nearly 40 points a game heading into Friday night.
“Our defense is playing amazing,” senior linebacker Aiden Harmon said. “I’ll take our defense against anyone. I think this win could lead us to a lot of momentum (moving forward).”
Cedar Crest (1-2, 4-2) has not defeated Wilson since 2001, but led by Army running back commit Isaiah Zimmerman, quarterback Steven Reyes and wide receiver Kai Speaks, there are explosive plays awaiting from each at any point in the game.
However, that moment never came.
Zimmerman was continuously met at the line of scrimmage, rushing for just 13 yards on nine carries. Reyes completed 11-of-17 for 117 yards, an interception and three fumbles, while Speaks was blanketed, recording just one reception for nine yards.
“The coaches gave us a great game plan, so if we executed, we could go as far as we wanted to,” senior Justice Hardy said. “That’s exactly what we did.”
From the first play from scrimmage, you could feel it in the air. It was going to be the Bulldogs’ night as the school celebrated its homecoming.
Aiden Harmon, hanging in the hook zone, intercepted Reyes on a pass thrown directly to him, giving the first-year varsity player his first interception.
A trip over his own feet stopped him from a pick-six with nothing but open field in front of him.
“That was amazing. First play, it was the way to start the game,” Harmon said with a smile on his face. “I was so surprised. I was a little too excited.”
At the 15-yard line, not much work had to be done for the electrifying Bulldogs offense.
It took just three plays for Justice Hardy to bounce outside to the right side, going untouched for a 7-yard TD.
Considered “day-to-day” heading into Friday, dealing with a lingering shoulder injury that knocked him out of the Week 2 loss against Central Bucks West, Hardy made his presence felt, and quickly.
Two plays, two turnovers.
The Falcons’ snap from sophomore center Grey Shaffer went over Reyes’ head, bouncing into the end zone as Hardy dived on the ball for his second touchdown in the opening 97 seconds.
“We’re just trying to build off the wins, build off the loss that we had early,” Hardy said of the win. “We’re trying to get better as a program every day. So, we’ll get back to the film room early Sunday morning, and just put our heads down and grind again.”
The Bulldogs’ defensive line, led by nose tackle Damoni Daglis, had Shaffer rushing his snaps all night, trying to get his head up and block as quickly as possible.
A recipe for disaster for a young center.
His first snap on the third drive was also fumbled, but Reyes was able to hop on it.
Nothing was going right for Cedar Crest.
And Wilson took advantage, piling it on early to show they are the top dogs in Section 1.
Hardy put up a first-quarter hat trick.
Motioning up to the right wing position, matched up with a safety, the Louisville commit showed his versatility in the passing game.
Cole Peterson hit him in stride up the seam, bouncing off defenders for a 36-yard TD.
Safe to say No. 5 was feeling healthy.
He had the first seven touches of the game, rushing for 70 yards, and added 46 yards receiving in the first half alone. Defensively, he added a couple of pass breakups, some big hits and a fumble recovery in the first half.
“Just keep the foot on the pedal,” Hardy said of the mindset to keep going. “It’s 14 points, but last year Wilson went up 14-0 very early, and Cedar Crest came back and tied it. We knew they’re a great team… We have to keep on the gas and not let what happened last year happen again.”
There was no shot that the ninth-ranked team in the state in Class 6A, according to Eric Epler of PennLive.com, was going to slow down.
Preston Oxenreider drilled a 35-yard FG to end the first quarter, leading 24-0.
The Falcons had -25 yards through the frame.
In a game where each down matters that much more in the Section 1 title race, Wilson left no doubt, making it clear everyone is chasing their tail.
On the following possession, Harmon had an 8-yard sack to force a punt from the Falcons’ own end zone.
To open the second quarter, Hardy returned back to his home, the end zone.
His fourth score came on an option to the left, which he stopped in his tracks with a linebacker and safety both filling the running lane. He had to make a couple of defenders miss, reversing field before Peterson became his lead blocker for a 10-yard score.
Elusive and explosive, the first-year Bulldog was having himself a night in the red and white.
“Cole Peterson gave me a great block,” Hardy said, giving credit to his QB. “Shout out to him. He’s a hard-nosed kid. He loves the game, and it’s very fun playing with him.”
The snowball effect, on both sides of the field, continued.
The Falcons reached Bulldogs territory for the first time on the night but were forced to punt.
The worst field position of the night for Wilson, starting at their own 20-yard line, was no problem for a unit that was rolling on all cylinders.
Damian Greer joined in on the fun.
The junior scored on a 14-yard run to the left side, with Hardy and Michael Glover leading the way to the end zone to cap off a seven-play, 1:59 drive.
His older brother, Monty Greer, was out with an ankle injury. Prior to Hardy’s outburst, he led the Bulldogs with seven touchdowns.
With 46 seconds left, Cedar Crest intercepted Peterson in Bulldogs territory on a shovel pass, in which two players were in motion, with the penalty getting declined.
A chance for the Falcons to dig their talons into the monstrous deficit.
Completions of 15 and 9 yards got them inside the four-yard line.
But, you guessed it, a bad snap led to a fumble from Peterson, recovered by the Bulldogs to preserve the first-half shutout.
Wilson scored on their first six possessions of the game while forcing three Falcons’ turnovers.
The running clock was enforced in the second half, with the varsity taking the field for the first drive.
Driving down the field with time ticking off the clock, Hardy took a handoff to the left side, getting met by a cast of Falcons who drove him into the ground.
He left the game after aggravating his injured shoulder again, and his night was officially done.
Postgame, he said he “felt great,” so the Bulldogs escaped a scare involving their star playmaker.
In the fourth quarter, Reyes connected with Mason Cevette for a 14-yard touchdown before Tyler Ulrich (38 yards) and NeChar Mercado (3 yards) each had touchdown runs to close out the win.
Wilson will take on Hempfield (3-3) on the road next week, while Cedar Crest will look to get back on track against the winless JP McCaskey Red Tornadoes.