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Wilson Starts Fast and Holds on to Defeat Hempfield 49-34

Tagged under: District 3, Gameday Hub, News

| October 7, 2023

The Hempfield Black Knights came into tonight’s game 2-4 after suffering a heartbreaking loss to Penn Manor last Friday. This week, the Knights hosted the Wilson Bulldogs, who improved to 4-2 last week. The Bulldogs defeated Governor Mifflin 21 to 14 and stretched their winning streak to four games. Tonight, Wilson kept that streak alive with a 49 to 34 win over Hempfield.

Hempfield received the opening kickoff, but after just three quick plays, they were forced to punt. That punt ended up only netting ten yards, and Wilson was set up with great field position at the Hempfield 40 yard line. 

The Bulldogs quickly moved the ball down the field. Wilson quarterback Tommy Hunsicker found wide receiver Jackson Wagner for a 23 yard completion that set up the Bulldogs on the Hempfield 17 yard line. Three plays later, Hunsicker found a way to avoid a sack and extend the play before tossing a 17 yard touchdown to Madyx Gruber. After the extra point, Wilson led by seven. 

Hempfield’s next drive started at their own 19 yard line. After two short runs and an incomplete pass, they were forced to punt again.

Wilson was set up again in Hempfield territory after the punt. Hunsicker drove the Bulldogs right back down the field. He had two solid runs followed up by two solid passes which set Wilson up at the eight yard line. Running back Correll Akings then carried the ball into the endzone and gave the Bulldogs a 14-to-nothing lead.

Hempfield’s third drive of the night went much like the first two. Still unable to get anything going offensively, the Black Knights punted away for the third time. This time Wilson’s Edison Case returned the punt 39 yards for a touchdown. 

Just like that, the Knights found themselves down by 21 only eight minutes into the game. Hempfield fought hard for the rest of the night, but this early deficit was too much for them to overcome.

On the next drive, Hempfield leaned on senior wide receiver Micah Gates to get them going. Quarterback Jackson Landis completed three passes to Gates totaling 46 yards. The Black Knights capped off this drive when Landis connected with Phillip Krauser for a 25 yard touchdown.

Hempfield’s defense finally came up with a stop, and the Knights got the ball back on their own 29 yard line. Gates brought in another two catches totaling 56 yards. However, the Wilson defense got a big sack and forced Hempfield to attempt a field goal. Wilson’s Jonah Pertet then blocked the field goal attempt, keeping the score at 21 to 7. 

The Bulldogs then strung together a quick five-play, 68 yard drive, which ended with an 11 yard Hunsicker touchdown pass to Case. This touchdown extended the lead back to 21.

The following drive for Hempfield resulted in an interception when Landis took a deep shot to Gates. However, Wilson did not take advantage of the turnover as they went three and out. 

After the Wilson punt, Hempfield started on the Wilson 49 yard line. The Black Knights worked their way down the field on the ground. Jackson Landis finished off the drive with a two yard touchdown run, trimming the Wilson lead to just 14 with 1:17 remaining in the half.

The Bulldogs answered right back. On the first play after the kickoff, Tommy Hunsicker found Madyx Gruber again for a touchdown. This one was for 80 yards and gave Wilson a 35 to 14 lead entering the half. 

After the game, Hunsicker said, “I was just trying to spread the ball around, get it out as quick as I could … our offensive line did a great job … and the receivers also did a great job finding holes and getting open for me.”

Head Coach Doug Dahms said, “Tommy Hunsicker just does a nice job prolonging the play, he escapes the pressure, he moves around the pocket well, he finds the open guys, and we have a nice core of receivers”

After halftime, Wilson drove down the field but was stopped on a fourth and six at the Hempfield 19. The Black Knights then put together a long 13 play drive that was kept alive by some crucial penalties on the Bulldogs. Landis found the endzone again on this drive to cut the lead once again back to 14.

Once more, Wilson responded with a touchdown drive of their own. Correll Akings ripped off a gigantic 71 yard run that set up Wilson inside the redzone. Then Hunsicker threw his fourth touchdown pass of the night. Cameron Zullinger hauled in the 12 yard touchdown reception and made the score 42 to 21.

The following drive for Hempfield was even longer than their last. This time they took 15 plays to get down the field. Micah Gates added to his amazing performance when he caught an 11 yard touchdown pass to complete the drive. Gates ended the game with 16 catches, 203 yards, and a touchdown. The Knights failed the extra point attempt, leaving the score at 27 to 42 with 9:32 remaining in the game.

Hempfield attempted an onside kick but Wilson recovered the kick easily, setting up the Bulldogs in Hempfield territory. Wilson quickly found themselves back in the endzone after two carries from Akings, who finished the night with 131 yards and two touchdowns. The Bulldogs now led 49 to 27 with 8:54 remaining.

Hempfield’s next drive resulted in another touchdown, but they were unable to get the ball down the field quickly. More than five minutes came off the clock before Landis finally got into the endzone for Hempfield, making the score 34 to 49. Landis went 27 for 43 with five total touchdowns on the night.

Hempfield attempted another onside kick but yet again Wilson recovered. The Bulldogs then ran out the rest of the clock and celebrated their 49 to 34 win over Hempfield. 

After the game, Head Coach Doug Dahms said, “All we can do is keep getting better one game at a time and hope we are still in the hunt when we get to the end of the season.”

Wilson improves to 5-2 while Hempfield falls to 2-5. Next week, Wilson hosts Penn Manor and Hempfield travels to face Exeter.

 

Thanks for reading,

Follow me on twitter @jpletch33

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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