WHITEMARSH — The Week 2 matchup between Wilson and Plymouth Whitemarsh got off to a slow start. The teams traded empty possessions to start the game and Plymouth Whitemarsh’s second possession took the game into the second quarter.
After nine plays – eight runs and one pass – the Colonials lined up for a 42-yard field goal attempt to take the lead. Wilson’s Jaiden Carpenter found his way into the backfield and blocked the kick.
Four plays later, the Bulldogs scored a touchdown. Three plays after that, they added another. Two more touchdowns in the third quarter and the route was on as Wilson improved to 2-0 with a 27-7 non-league win at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
Everything started with the blocked field goal.
“When I blocked that field goal it just changed the whole game,” Carpenter said. “It brung our energy up.”
“It was unfortunate there that (Carpenter) made a great play and was able to block it,” PW coach Dan Chang said, noting that his team’s long snapper was out with an injury.
Correll Akings broke a 26-yard run on the first play after the blocked kick. Two plays later – on 3rd-and-8 – quarterback Mason Young found Carpenter with a screen pass to his left. Carpenter split a pair of defenders, made two others miss and raced down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown.
“I caught the ball and just saw people running,” Carpenter said. “I don’t even know what happened. I just stepped back and was gone.”
On the ensuing Plymouth Whitemarsh (0-2) possession, EJ Brownback grabbed an interception on 3rd-and-long and took it 40 yards to the end zone to give the Bulldogs a 13-0 lead.
The Colonials ended the half with a drive that lasted more than eight minutes and came away with zero points. When Wilson received the kickoff to start the third quarter, it was just its third possession of the game.
The seven-play drive – keyed by a fake punt conversion from Chase Herb to Ethan Harding – ended with Young found Michael Glover for a 28-yard touchdown.
The Bulldogs defense forced a turnover on downs before the offense needed just four plays to score another touchdown. Akings scored from 43 yards away to give Wilson a 27-0 lead midway through the third quarter.
“When we came out in the second half,” Carpenter said, “we knew our gameplan, so we just executed from there.”
Plymouth Whitemarsh got on the board early in the fourth quarter. Michael Giangiulio, who ran for a game-high 130 yards, leaped across the goal line on 4th-and-goal to end the shutout. The junior running back was a bright spot for PW on a game otherwise dominated by the Wilson defense.
“At practice we just had this gameplan to lock all the options down,” Carpenter said. “That’s what we did.”
“They’re fast, they’re physical,” Chang said of Wilson’s defense, “and they do a great job of taking away what you want to do. Hats off to them, they played tough.”
Wilson puts its undefeated record on the line next Friday night at home against Nazareth. Plymouth Whitemarsh looks for its first win when it visits Interboro.
Wilson 27, Plymouth Whitemarsh 7
Wilson 0 13 14 0 – 27
Plymouth Whitemarsh 0 0 0 7 – 7
Scoring
Second Quarter
W – Jaiden Carpenter 45-yard reception from Mason Young (kick failed) 9:18
W – EJ Brownback 40-yard interception return (kick good) 8:09
Third Quarter
W – Michael Glover 28-yard reception from Mason Young (kick good) 8:56
W – Correll Akings 43-yard run (kick good) 5:03
Fourth Quarter
PW – Michael Giangiulio 1-yard run (kick good) 11:29
TEAM STATISTICS
W PW
First downs 13 11
Rushes-Yards 20-112 38-183
Passing yards 174 29
Total yards 286 212
Passing 11-17-1 4-9-1
Punts 1 2
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-55 4-25
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING
W: Mason Young 5-5; Correll Akings 14-96, TD; Damian Greer 1-11.
PW: James Cain 4-16; Cole Reilly 8-4; Michael Giangiulio 17-130, TD; Michael Bongard 9-33.
PASSING
W: Mason Young 10-16-158-2-1; Chase Herb 1-1-16-0-0.
PW: Cole Reilly 4-9-29-0-1.
RECEIVING
W: Elijah Dean 3-28; Jaiden Carpenter 2-55, TD; Ethan Harding 2-23; Michael Glover 1-28, TD; Damian Greer 2-28; Correll Akings 1-12.
PW: Chase Felgoise 2-27; Michael Giangiulio 2-2.
INTERCEPTIONS
W: EJ Brownback.
PW: Michael Bongard.
Source: Berkshire mont