Somewhere between the first days of practice in August and mid-November, the goals of Wilson football changed dramatically.

Due to youth and inexperience, many fans were just hoping the Bulldogs could extend their winning streak to 49 and avoid suffering their first losing season since 1963.

After capturing a Lancaster-Lebanon League championship, Wilson’s next goal is to earn its first District 3 Class 6A championship in eight years.

The second-seeded Bulldogs defeated third-seeded Central York 28-20 Friday night at Gurski Stadium to advance to the District 3 title game against defending champion Harrisburg Saturday at 1 p.m. in Exeter.

“We started seven guys on both sides of the ball that were underclassmen and a bunch were sophomores,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “They’re going to make mistakes and it took them a while to get going, but they’re starting to play like veterans.”

There were plenty of mistakes by both teams in a game that featured five turnovers. But it was sophomore Michael Glover and first-year starting quarterback senior Madyx Gruber who stepped up when Wilson needed them most.

Gruber threw three touchdown passes, two to Glover, and hit his 6-3, 220-pound tight end for a 61-yard gain that put Wilson in position to extend a 1-point lead to 28-20 with just over two minutes remaining .

“Look at his build, he’s a big dude,” Gruber said of Glover. “I just give him the ball and let him play. That’s what he did.”

Glover’s catch and run got Wilson to the Central York 19-yard line. After a penalty moved Wilson back, Gruber connected with Cam Zullinger for 16 yards on fourth-and-13 to set up a 6-yard TD run by Correll Aikings.

Wilson (11-1) forced Central York (9-3) into four straight incompletions from the Wilson 43 in the final minute to preserve the win.

“We did enough to win,” Dahms said. “A win is a win.”

The Bulldogs allowed two long TD plays in the first half, a 66-yard pass from Brooklyn Nace to Brendyn Smith and a 52-yard run by Legend Johnson, as the Panthers took a 14-7 lead.

But Wilson’s defense stiffened and limited Central York to a pair of long field goals by Penn State commit Matthew Parker the rest of the way.

The Bulldogs took the lead with a pair of touchdown passes from Gruber to Glover 50 seconds into the second quarter.

The first from 12 yards with 3:39 left before halftime tied the score. After Gruber intercepted a pass, one of three turnovers by Central York, he found Glover again for an 18-yard score with 2:49 left before halftime to put Wilson ahead to stay.

“I do what I can for my team,” Glover said. “I’m playing my part. I’m glad I was able to help get this big W tonight.”

Gruber, who also threw a 7-yard TD pass to Zullinger in the first quarter, completed 13 of 24 for 172 yards. Glover had five catches for 117 yards.

“He’s a beast,” Dahms said of Glover. “He goes up and he catches the ball. He’s a target and everybody knows it. He’s a big player.”

The defense, led by seven tackles each by sophomore EJ Brownback and junior Ethan Harding, also came up with big plays to keep the Panthers out of the end zone in the second half. Junior Christo Hunsicker contributed six tackles, went 4-for-4 on extra points and hit a 71-yard punt.

It all added up to a district championship trip for Wilson that few people thought was likely in August.

“Everybody doubted us at the beginning of the season,” Gruber said. “Getting to the district finals now, I’m so proud of my team.”

Wilson 28, Central York 20
Central York 7 10 0 3 – 20
Wilson 7 14 0 7 – 28

Scoring
W — Zullinger 7 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick)
CY – Smith 66 pass from Nace (Parker kick)
CY – Johnson 52 run (Parker kick)
W — Glover 12 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick)
W — Glover 16 pass from Gruber (Hunsicker kick)
CY — Parker 56 FG
CY — Parker 43 FG
W — Aking’s 6 run (Hunsicker kick)

Statistics
CY Wil
First downs 13 19
Rushing yards 29-121 45-111
Passing yards 171,172
Fits 18-33-1 13-24-1
Punts Average 5-29.4 5-40.4
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 2-1
Penalty yards 9-56 3-25

Individual statistics
Rushing — Central York, Johnson 17-123, Nace 9-5, Frey 2-5, Lag 1-(-12). Wilson, Akings 14-45, Greer 9-35, Gruber 21-24, Young 1-10, Lag 1-(-3).
Passing — Central York, Nace 18-32-1–171, Team 0-1-0–0. Wilson, Gruber 13-24-1-172.
Receiving — Smith 6-107, Gurley 4-26, Johnson 3-8, Suchanic 2-14, Ruppert 2-12, Ramnath 1-4. Wilson, Glover 5-117, Zullinger 5-49, Akings 2-7, Carpenter 1-(-1).

Originally published: 15 November 2024 at 11:53 PM EST