Wilson has Dominated L-L League, says Reading Eagle

And it's true. Since 1975, when the Bulldogs were invited to join the Lancaster-Lebanaon League, Wilson has won 19 Section 1 titles, which is 6 more than the rest of the Section has won combined. The Reading Eagle has all the info., a lot of which people won't want to hear. Hey, the truth hurts.

The directors of the Lancaster-Lebanon League likely had no idea about the monster they were inviting into their home when they swung the doors open for Wilson in 1975.

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The Bulldogs' dominance has become even more profound in recent years. They enter this season with three straight titles and a league-record 22-game winning streak.

Their winning margin of 37.7 points per game in 2008 was the greatest in league history; last year's margin of 34.6 was second-highest.

Tradition never graduates.

Reading Eagle's 2011 Team Capsule

From the Reading Eagles Lancaster-Lebanon League, Section 1 season preview, published on August 31st, 2011:

Wilson Bulldogs

Classification: District 3-AAAA

Last season: 7-0 league, 11-1 overall

Head coach: Doug Dahms, sixth season, 56-10

Top offensive players: All-league RB Rodney Gillin, QB Seth Klein, WR Jake Morgan, WR Colin Harrop, G Austin Noss, T Clayton Schannauer.

Top defensive players: All-league CB Rodney Gillin, all-league second-team DE Matt Rothrock, DE Junior Joseph, LB Madison Miller, S Colin Harrop.

The skinny: The Bulldogs should score plenty of points, with the return of the league’s top weapon in Rodney Gillin and with Seth Klein running the offense. Klein filled in more than adequately for four games when Zach Zweizig was injured last season, and he’ll add a running element to the position the Bulldogs have rarely enjoyed. The concerns come on defense, where just two starters return. There is talent there but it could take some game action for that side of the ball to come together.

At the wire: Still out in front.

See the entire league preview at the Reading Eagle.

Reading Eagle Has the Bulldogs Covered

Two-a-days have been underway for just three days but the Reading Eagles has Berks County high school football covered. Featuring prominently in articles over the first few days this week are none other than your Wilson Bulldogs.

Up first was 10 Things to Watch in Berks Football in 2011. Written by the venerable Mike Drago, the list mentions the Bulldogs twice.

2. Dog days
The Lancaster-Lebanon League's 40th season figures to be much like its first 39, with the Wilson Bulldogs out in front in Section 1.

The Bulldogs have won a record 19 Section 1 titles, more than twice won by any other team. They own a Section 1-record 23-game league winning streak and have gone through the league unbeaten three straight years. No team had ever done that.

They haven't lost in Section 1 play since 2007; in Doug Dahms' five seasons as head coach, the Bulldogs are 33-2 in the league.

Dahms has only a handful of returning starters back, but tailback Rodney Gillin is one of them, and that gives the Bulldogs a dynamic weapon no other team has. Gillin raced for a school-record 1,829 yards and scored 28 touchdowns as a junior.

Point #7 also brings up Wilson & again focuses on returning senior RB/DB Gillin.

7. Grand return
After setting Wilson's single-season rushing record, Rodney Gillin is within 1,610 yards of Jake Stopper's career mark (3,510). 

After a Wilson football story hiatus on Tuesday, Drago came back to the presses about the Bulldogs on Wednesday. The topic this time around? Why Gillin, of course! Bulldogs Count on Gillin to Lead the Way to Title goes into detail about the terrific season Rodney had in 2010 & recounts how special it really was.

Gillin scored a touchdown in every game until the District 3-AAAA quarterfinal loss to Cumberland Valley, averaged a school-record 10.1 yards per carry and raced past big numbers produced by star Wilson tailbacks such as Pete Gilmore, Jeff Niedrowski, Zacc Groff and Jami Sands.

It's a great read & really hammers home how special a talent Gillin is at this level. Definitely give it a look.

Rodney Gillin, who set the single-season Wilson record for rushing as a junior in 2010, returns to the Bulldogs this fall for his final high school season. (Photo: Reading Eagle)

Also published by the Reading Eagle on Wednesday was a list of the Top 10 Season Rushing Leaders in Wilson history. They beat me to the punch! I will have that & many more statistics published to this site in the coming weeks. Check the pages up above, just below the Bulldog banner. The list reemphasizes Gillin's outstanding 2010, where he rushed for 1,829 yards, besting Pete Gilmore's old record of 1,810 set in the magical 1999 season, as mentioned here last year.

So the Reading Eagle is off to an awfully good start when it comes to Bulldogs football coverage. Let's hope that keeps up well into the fall!