Reinhart Rundown: Week 4 Info

I've praised the work of Jeff Reinhart at Lancaster-Lebanon League News before in this space & I've decided to make it a weekly feature. See, Jeff publishes so much awesome material that it would be overkill to highlight each of his articles with a post about it. From now on I will gather it all in one post, summarize his items, and direct you to them. Let's get started with all his stuff on L-L Week 4...

First, Jeff's weekly live chat. While I missed it this week (held Wednesday at 7:00 PM) I did read the archive & found a few Wilson questions which were answered by Jeff. First commenter "Doug Boas" asked a simple question - Who else beats Wilson?

Jeff doesn't seem to think it'll happen. However, he has warned of McCaskey (this weeks foe) and one other team. Commenter "Steve" figured out who that "other team" is...

 

As I mentioned previously, Jeff likes Manheim Township as a prime Section 1 challenger for the Bulldogs. He reiterates that here.

Certainly tune in to Jeff's weekly live chats & ask Wilson-related questions. They usually occur on Wednesday evenings. Moving on...

On Monday's Jeff publishes his L-L rankings, which combines all 3 sections into one big list of the Top 5. Following week 3's dismantling of Reading, Wilson lands at #2 just behind Lancaster Catholic.

Jeff's other weekly posts include a video preview & individual game capsules. Here's what he had to say about this week's match-up with McCaskey...

ABOUT WILSON: Bulldogs have 11 takeaways – tops in the L-L League. And plus-5 turnover ratio is tied for No. 2 in the league. … No. 1 defense in the league, yielding 183.0 yards per game. And tops in the league in rushing defense with just 231 yards against on the ground. … Two non-offensive TD in win over Reading: Rodney Gillin returned a punt 68 yards for a score and LB Junior Joseph took a fumble 52 yards to the house. … Putting a bow on the Wilson-Reading series: Bulldogs now have four Mercy Rule wins in a row over the Red Knights, and have outscored Reading 101-0 in the last two games and 162-19 in the last three games.

See Jeff's full preview of the game here.

Jeff Reinhart's At it Again

Which is the norm, really. Jeff's a busy dude, especially during high school football season. Every week he has recaps of the previous weeks games plus previews for the upcoming contests. Stats, information, previews, predictions, videos & even live chats, such as the one he held on Wednesday evening. I stopped by & asked him a couple Wilson-related questions.

First up was what he thought about Week 1's Wilson/Mifflin match-up had star RB Rodney Gillin played. His answer was simple & straightforward.

My first question to llleaguesports.com's Jeff Reinhart gets an answer.

"Simple: Wilson wins."

And there you have it.

A few moments later I got another question to pop up, this time about the upcoming L-L Section 1 play. Has Jeff changed his mind on who he thought might challenge the Bulldogs in league play? Or is McCaskey still at the top of the list?

Jeff answers my second question.

Jeff believes McCaskey will still be the Bulldogs biggest challenge, despite the Tornadoes rough start. They're currently 0-2 & play at Lancaster Catholic tonight. However they're an improving squad & have the talent to topple any team, especially at home, where Wilson will travel next week. However, he also now mentions Manheim Township too. Be on the lookout for them.

On to my third - and final - question: Does he think that Reading will be much of a challenge for the Bulldogs?

My third question had to do with the game tonight.

If I'm reading between the lines correctly I'd say that he still thinks Wilson wins - and possibly big - but not by 40, 50, 60 points like the last few years. Jeff believes Coach Flowers has them playing spirited ball & they could be amped for this rival game. However, Wilson has the better football talent & home edge. Basically, Reading is improving but shouldn't beat Wilson. Not this year, at least. We shall see.

OTHER THINGS FROM JEFF THIS WEEK

Seriously, the dude is a machine. Don't miss any of his other awesome stuff from the week...

• Manheim Central game recap
• Week 3 L-L Section 1 video preview
• Week 3 Reading @ Wilson game capsule
• Reading @ Wilson prediction

Season Previews Galore by Reinhart

Jeff Reinhart has been a busy man. He's been powering through league, section & team previews left & right on his Lancaster-Lebanon League News site. The previews are very deep & insightful for all teams but naturally we're going to focus on the Bulldogs. I won't rip off Jeff's excellent work so below are just a few Wilson excerpts from his previews. I strongly encourage you to check out each article as you'll find not only more Bulldogs notes but also how the league, sections & teams stack up against Wilson.

First up? Jeff's lengthy Wilson team preview (bottom of the page). He has the basics (coaches, classification, last year's result), the 2011 schedule, a game to "circle", plus his take on the schedule itself. Then he continues with last season's stats & this year's returning starters while listing every single player lost & his postseason awards. Yeah, Jeff's good. Naturally next up is the list of the returning players & what schemes Wilson runs on offense & defense. Jeff continues with "good" & "bad" about the 2011 squad plus a player to watch. Finally Jeff states his take on the season.

REINHART’S TAKE: I know 16 starters are gone. But I’m quite sure Wilson’s staff has the next 16 spitting fire and ready to go. It’s called a program. Team to beat until someone knocks them off the perch. Any takers?

Absolutely excellent stuff; I really encourage you to read the entire preview.

We're just a quarter of the way through Reinhart's preseason posts.

Up next are his preseason rankings. Now remember, Jeff covers all of the L-L. This list takes into account every team in all three sections in the league. Wilson comes in high, but doesn't top the preseason list. Who does? Well, a familiar face leads the team... Lancaster Catholic, with Bruce Harbach at the helm. Wilson will have to settle for 2nd.

2. Wilson (11-1 overall last season; Section 1 champs) – Bowed out to eventual champ Cumberland Valley in the District 3 Quad-A quarterfinals, and then lost a bunch of kids to graduation, including the entire starting o-line, some ball-hawker LBs and some key secondary pieces. And a DI quarterback. So things might look a little different at the outset this season in West Lawn. But this is still Wilson. And Section 1 is the Bulldogs’ to lose until someone knocks them off the top of the dog house.

FIRST GAME: Friday @ Governor Mifflin, 7 p.m. No love lost when those Berks County backyard rivals square off.

So if the Bulldogs are ranked 2nd across all sections, that means they have to be #1 in Section 1, right? Of course! Jeff has this to say...

1. Wilson – Shooting for an unprecedented fourth undefeated Section 1 championship in a row; Bulldogs have won 22 league games in a row and own 19 Section 1 crowns in all. Silly, silly numbers. But that’s how terrific this program is. Could be some (gulp) growing pains with 16 new full-time starters in the mix. Methinks somebody will even trip up the Bulldogs early in the season. But this is Wilson. Remember what I said about programs? Bulldogs’ section to lose until somebody bites them and knocks them down a peg. Good luck.

OK, so that's three links down. One more to go...

Games start Friday so Reinhart has your Week 1 primer all ready to go.

BACKYARD BRAWLS: Wilson @ Governor Mifflin (will probably hear those pads cracking in Lancaster County)

.......

WEEK 2 SNEAK PEEK: Wilson @ Manheim Central

Excellent work, Jeff! Can't wait to follow L-L football with him this fall.

If you want a Wilson question answered or just want to read some info. on L-L football, Jeff is hosting a live chat tomorrow (Thursday 9/1) at 7pm on the site.

Reinhart Previews the 2011 Season

Jeff Reinhart's Lancaster-Lebanon League News covers all things sports, not just football. However, with kickoff just 10 days away the main focus is on the young men on the gridiron. Reinhart's primer has predictions for players of the year, teams of interest & a full preseason All-Star squad. Naturally Wilson makes an appearance or two but they don't dominate the field as one may expect. Perhaps this year will be where the whole is greater than the sum of the parts? Regardless of individual honors - which go only to Rodney Gillin (as a RB & DB) - the Bulldogs are Reinhart's "Team to Beat" in Section 1.

TEAM TO BEAT – Wilson. If this sounds like a broken record, well, it is. The Bulldogs have won 23 Section 1 games in a row and 19 Section 1 championships overall, including the last four in a row. Here’s one of my favorite L-L League football stats: In Section 1 games, Wilson coach Doug Dahms is 33-2. The Bulldogs’ last section loss: At Manheim Township. In 2007. In a driving rainstorm. Tradition never rests.

Tradition never rests.

Couldn't have said it better myself.