In a rematch of a regular season contest that went down to the wire, the second encounter was anything but as Wilson defeated Cedar Crest 28-3 in a District 3 Class 6A football quarterfinal Friday night at West Lawn.
The second-seeded Bulldogs (10-1) outgained the seventh-seeded Falcons 441-139 in total yards and dominated from start to finish as Cedar Crest struggled to gain any offensive momentum, while Wilson thrived in the strong winds.
In the regular season meeting between, Wilson won 14-7 on a goal line stand.
The Bulldogs advance to play third-seeded Central York, 47-14 winners over sixth-seeded Central Dauphin East on Friday, in the semifinal round at West Lawn.
“I think we felt we could get outside on them,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. “We got outside on them the last time we played them. So that was pretty much the game plan.
“(We played them) significantly better because we were so darn young and we got smarter. We still missed a couple things but we’re getting there. We just got to hope we’re good enough.”
Junior running back Correll Alkings recorded a team-high 164 rushing yards and scored three rushing touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs’ ground game that outgained the Falcons (8-4) 309 to 89 on the ground.
“Correll has been running tough for us all year now,” Dahms said.
Akings scored his touchdowns before halftime and his third rushing touchdown gave Wilson a 21-3 lead with 8:42 remaining in the second quarter.
The Falcons had a positive drive that started on their own 20 early in the second quarter with Cedar Crest trailing 14-0. The Falcons advanced to Wilson’s eight yard line before opting to kick a 25-yard field goal to get on the board at 14-3 with 9:38 to go in the first half.
The Bulldogs responded on their next possession.
On the second play of the drive from the Cedar Crest 26, Akings found a hole on the right side and ran 74 yards for the touchdown that gave Wilson a 21-3 lead with 8:42 to go in the first half.
In the first quarter, Akings scored on runs from the 14 and 1-yard line to give the Bulldogs a 14-0 lead after the opening 12 minutes. His 14-yard score completed a 6-play, 48-yard drive and his second touchdown run ended a 9-play, 59-yard drive.
“It just feels great,” Akings said of the win. “It shows our hard work we put in throughout the bye week and we made sure that we used it and took advantage of it, and just shows that we’re ready to play whoever.
“Making sure that we limit mistakes and being very dominant on the offensive side with blocking (was key). And then when they are dominant on the blocking, I’m able to find the holes.”
After the first half, Akings had 134 yards on 11 carries.
Wilson had 12 first downs in the first half while the Falcons had five. The Bulldogs also outgained Cedar Crest 274 offensive yards (168 rushing, 104 passing) to 108 (70-38) in the first half.
“The first game that we played was very close,” Akings said. “We know as a team offensively, we’re more dominant and we are able to score if we execute and just do the right thing and then it showed tonight.”
After both teams exchanged turnovers on downs in their opening drive of the second half, senior quarterback Madyx Gruber recorded his first touchdown of the night on an impressive run on Wilson’s second drive of the half.
Gruber began a run on the left side, followed his blockers and juked out a defender in the secondary on his way to a 44-yard score to make it 28-3 with 3:05 left in the third. The play capped off a 3-play, 51-yard drive.
Gruber was 9-for-10 passing in the first half with one interception and 106 yards passing. Overall in the game, Gruber was 11-for-15 passing for 132 yards. Mike Glover had a team-high 63 receiving yards on five receptions for the Bulldogs.
Wilson won the turnover battle as Cedar Crest lost two fumbles, both in the second half.
Source: Berkshire mont
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