The 7th-seeded Cumberland Valley Eagles came to West Lawn for a District 3 AAAA playoff matchup and they left Gurski Stadium with a victory. For the 2nd straight year. The Eagles beat the Bulldogs, 28-14, thanks in large part to two huge plays in the second quarter.
With the score tied 0-0, Wilson punted and pinned Cumberland Valley at their own 4 yard line. After a play they faced a 2nd & 9 from their own 5 when RB Kevin Snyder broke a 95-yard TD run along the Bulldogs sideline. This gave Cumberland Valley a lead they would never relinquish. On their next offensive series the Eagles scored on another big play with Snyder again, this time on a HB pass which went for a 59-yard score. Suddenly it was 14-0 in favor of the visiting team as the teams headed to the locker rooms at halftime.
There were missed opportunities aplenty for the Bulldogs. Multiple times they were inside the Eagles 30 yard line and never capitalized until the game was out of hand. Cumberland Valley stretched their lead to 21-0 in the 3rd quarter and finally 28-0 in the 4th after a Zach Zweizig INT. Zweizig's final game as a Wilson Bulldog was a forgettable one. Despite a stat. line of 23 for 41 (56%) for 284 yards, 2 TDs, and 1 INT, Zweizig's play was inconsistent. He missed open receivers numerous times, occasionally bouncing balls to them. Zach's great Wilson career comes to a quiet end.
Wilson was able to score twice in the final few minutes of the 4th quarter on two passes from Zweizig, one to Julian Carabello and another to Connor Mathias. It was too little, too late.
Like much of the season the Bulldogs rode junior RB Rodney Gillin, who became Wilson's all-time single season rushing leader. Gillin accumulated another 125 yards on the ground for a season total of 1,829 yards in 12 games. He surpasses Pete Gilmore's old record of 1,810 yards set in 1999, in 13 games. Gillin is the big star in Wilson's returning underclassmen for the 2011 season.
Congratulations go out to the Cumberland Valley Eagles, who played a solid game and look forward to a rematch with League rival Central Dauphin in the District 3 AAAA semifinals. That game's winner will play the other semifinal winner between Daniel Boone and Red Lion. Those four teams were seed 7th, 6th, 5th, and 8th, respectively. After a 1st round with no upsets, all the perceived underdogs won in round two.
Congratulations must be sent out to Wilson as well. The players and coaches did a phenomenal job again this season, going undefeated in League play as well as setting a record for most consecutive League wins. They came up short of a few team goals but their season was anything but a failure. I'm sure Coach Dahms and his staff are itching for offseason activities to begin. Here's to a great 2010 and the hope for an even better 2011! Thank you, Bulldogs!
I'll have an end of the season write-up, early 2011 preview, as well as District 3 AAAA playoff coverage over the next few weeks. Stay tuned.
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