Despite being pushed around up front for much of the game, Wilson had three opportunities to pull out a win over Central Dauphin on Friday night in the Bulldogs’ home opener.
After getting a rare defensive stop in the final minute of the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs missed a potential game-winning field goal on the final play of regulation. In overtime, Central Dauphin converted a fourth down into a touchdown and made a 2-point conversion to defeat Wilson 36-35 in a non-league game at Gurski Stadium.
“We had an opportunity on fourth (down) to stop them, we didn’t, and we had an opportunity on the 2-point conversion to stop them,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “If we stop them on either one of those it’s our game.”
Instead, Wilson is off to an 0-2 start for the first time under Dahms, who is in his 18th season as head coach.
The Bulldogs used the spectacular play of quarterback Tommy Hunsicker to match the Rams blow for blow.
Hunsicker threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, including a highlight reel 77-yard touchdown pass to Jackson Wagner. After Hunsicker scrambled away from several Rams defenders, he heaved the ball 50 yards downfield to a wide-open Wagner.
Hunsicker also kept drives alive with his legs, rushing for 57 yards that included an 8-yard touchdown run that gave Wilson a 35-28 lead in overtime.
“He’s running well, he’s scrambling, he’s smart (and) he made some good throws,” Dahms said about Hunsicker. “We’re going to ride him for quite a while.
“He just has a much better grasp of the game, he’s more physical. He sees the field much better.”
Hunsicker also threw a pair of touchdown passes to Brady Kline, and Nick Fiorini scored on a 2-yard run to tie it 28-28 with 4:29 left.
Central Dauphin used its size up front to move the ball in a much more methodical fashion. The Rams rushed 61 times for 288 yards and had the ball for a little more than 30 minutes of the 48 minutes of regulation.
“We’ve got to get more physical,” Dahms said. “They’re 285 (pounds) across the board. That’s a lot of beef.”
Especially against a Wilson defense that graduated nine starters from last year’s team. Central Dauphins’ Miles Cooper ran for 116 yards and a touchdown and caught one of two touchdown passes thrown by Keyron Plummer.
“We were asking our kids to do some things and they weren’t executing them,” Dahms said. “We’re young defensively, it’s going to take us a while to get to where we want to get to.”
Still, Wilson was in a position to win the game three times. Ben Rada, who was 5-for-5 in extra points, missed a 36-yard field goal attempt as time expired in regulation.
After Wilson scored on its overtime possession, Central Dauphin faced a fourth-and-goal from the 4-yard line and converted when Plummer found Jett Franz in the back of the end zone. The two teamed up again on a do-or-die 2-point conversion that ended the game.
“It’s a tough non-league schedule,” Dahms said. “I told them it’s a brutal first two games. We’ve got to learn from it, grow from it.”
Source: Berkshire mont
Be First to Comment