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

Bulldogs in the NFL: 2011 Week 1

When the Week 1 games kicked off on Thursday, September 8th, 2011 in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the names of 3 former Wilson Bulldogs graced 53-man NFL rosters. Below is how they fared...

• Kerry Collins, QB, Indianapolis Colts (Class of 1990) - Not the best day of Collins' long career. Completed 16 of 31 pass attempts (51.6%) for 197 yards & 1 TD but fumbled twice in his teams 34-7 loss in Houston. Host Cleveland on Sunday at 1:00 PM. Filling in for injured Peyton Manning (neck).

• John Gilmore, TE, New Orleans Saints (Class of 1997) - Inactive for the shoot-out loss versus the Packers in the Kickoff Game. The Saints host the Bears on Sunday at 1:00 PM.

• Chad Henne, QB, Miami Dolphins (Class of 2004) - Perhaps the best game of his short career? He completed 30 of his 49 pass attempts (61.1%) for 416 yards & 2 TDs. He also led the squad in rushing, gaining 59 yards on 7 attempts plus another TD. He was efficient & balanced medium passes with short dumps & checkdowns. The Dolphins hos the Texans at 4:15 PM on Sunday afternoon.

PREVIEW: 2011 Regular Season, Game 3

READING RED KNIGHTS (1-1)

@

WILSON BULLDOGS (1-1)

Where: Gurski Stadium, West Lawn, PA

When: 7:00 PM, Friday, September 16th

HOW'D THEY GET HERE?

• After an awful start to their season with a brutal overtime loss to hated arch-rival Governor Mifflin in Week 1, the Bulldogs bounced back with a win in Manheim against the Barons. It didn't come easy, with Wilson down at the half. However, the defenses stepped up & star RB/DB Rodney Gillin made his return to the lineup a good one. The Bulldogs walked away with the hard-earned 27-13 victory on Monday. After a very short week, Wilson opens their home schedule versus crosstown rival Reading. Be ready for some speed!
• The Red Knights, under first year head coach Rob Flowers, will finally leave the "friendly" confines of Shirk Stadium after splitting their firs 2 games there. Reading got off to a nice start, defeating William Penn in Week 1, 21-7. Despite the flooding last week, Reading still played Friday night. The Red Knights eventually fell to visiting Owen J. Roberts, 23-14. Reading has incredible athletes on both offense & defense but are inconsistent along the line. A strong running game could be their undoing (read: run Gillin early & often!).

MATCH-UP HISTORY

• Friday's match-up is the 26th in the Wilson vs Reading rivalry, with most games coming in the last 15 years. Wilson has fared quite well against the Red Knights. The Bulldogs have won 20 games in the series, including last years 60-0 beatdown at Shirk Stadium. The Red Knights last win? Way back in 2003, when Chad Henne & James Bryant were knocking heads. In fact, only 2 teams have fared worse than Reading against the Bulldogs historically - Lancaster Catholic & Lebanon (minimum 25 games).

Helmet images courtesy PA Helmet Project.

RECAP: Bulldogs Earn First Victory Behind Gillin

The Bulldogs best player returned to the field on Friday Monday & eventually his presence was felt.

Just ask the Barons.

Rodney Gillin returned from his 1-game team suspension (undisclosed reason) to rush 27 times for 216 yards, including a game-clinching 80 yard TD run in the 4th quarter. He had scored twice earlier as well. Wilson left a still-wet Manheim, PA, with a 27-13 win, their first of the season.

The game was played at 5:00 PM Monday, September 9th instead of the original time of 7:00 PM on Friday, September 12th due to massive flooding in the Lancaster-Lebanon area. The region received over a foot of rain in less than a week.

The loss was Manheim Central's first of the season & for most of the game it didn't appear that would happen. Then the 4th quarter began & the wheels fell off. Central was stopped inside the 5-yard line twice during the game, resulting in 2 field goals by their highly touted placekicker. Wilson's defense was impressive throughout, stepping up at key moments & forcing turnovers. They held the Barons to just 12 yards rushing, including -1 in the second half. The Bulldogs also made 13 tackles behind the line of scrimmage, led by strong games from Domonic Moyer & Junior Joseph.

It's a good thing that Gillin made a triumphant return because for the second straight week Wilson QB Seth Klein struggled. He was just 6 of 12 for 96 yards with 1 TD & 2 INTs. He has thrown 4 INTs already. If the Bulldogs hope to extend their league-record winning streak, Klein will need to imrpove. Quickly.

Wilson opens their home schedule this Friday at 7pm with their final non-league game versus rival Reading.

SOME NOTEWORTHY WILSON STATS

TEAM 

OFFENSE

First Downs: 15

Rushing Attempts / Yards / TDs: 41 / 212 / 3

Passing Attempts / Yards / TDs: 12 / 97 / 1

Total Yards: 309

Penalties / Yards: 7 / 69

DEFENSE

First Downs Allowed: 11

Rushing Attempts / Yards / TDs Allowed: 27 / 12 / 1

Passing Attempts / Yards / TDs Allowed: 23 / 150 / 1

Total Yards Allowed: 162

INDIVIDUAL

OFFENSE

Passing: Klein - 6 of 12, 97 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs

Rushing: Gillin - 27 carries, 216 yards, 3 TDs, 0 fumbles

Receiving: Morgan - 4 catches, 66 yards, 1 TD

DEFENSE

Tackles: Moyer - 11

Interceptions: Harrop - 1

 

Bulldogs 'D' shuts down Barons [READING EAGLE]

Statistics [BERKS GAMEDAY]

CONFIRMED: Game @ Manheim Central Rescheduled for Monday, Sept. 12th

UPDATE 2 [1:10pm]: Official word from the school is that the game will be played at 5:00pm on Monday, September 12th.

UPDATE 1 [12:25pm]: The Wilson School District website has confirmed that the game has been rescheduled for Monday, September 12th. However, the time is yet to be determined.

No official word from either school yet but HighSchoolSports.net - which many school districts are utilizing as athletic home pages - has the previously scheduled Wilson Bulldogs @ Manheim Central Barons football game set for Monday, September 12th at 7:00 PM. Please note two things: 1st - Again, this is not offical; 2nd - This is mentioned ONLY on the Manheim Central page & not on the Wilson page at HighSchoolSports.net. I hope to verify the change ASAP.

Looks like there will be short weeks for both teams. Week 3 has the Barons traveling to Selinsgrove while Wilson will host their first 2011 regular season game when cross town rival Reading comes to Gurski Stdaium in West Lawn.

More as it becomes available.

Game 2 Postponed Due to Flooding in Manheim, PA

Intense rainfall over the last week has left much of Pennsylvania - especially the eastern half - with flooding problems. The image shows precipitation over the last 7 days (in inches).

BREAKING: The Wilson Bulldogs football game versus the Manheim Central Barons, originally scheduled for 7:00 PM tonight at Barons Stadium in Manheim, PA, has been postponed due to flooding. As of 9:30 AM the game has not been rescheduled. When I am made aware of a new date & time I will pass the information along. Stay tuned to the blog & facebook or twitter pages for updates.

PREVIEW: 2011 Regular Season, Game 2

WILSON BULLDOGS (0-1)

@

MANHEIM CENTRAL BARONS (1-0)

Where: Barons Stadium, Manheim, PA

When: 7:00 PM, Friday, September 9th, 2011 POSTPONED (flooding)

HOW'D THEY GET HERE?

• The Bulldogs could not overcome 1st half mistakes & miscues, falling in OT to the rival Governor Mifflin Mustangs last Friday, 34-28. Wilson mounted a thrilling comeback in the 4th quarter, finally evening the game at 28 with just over 2 mins. left. However, Mifflin stopped the Bulldogs on their overtime possession & then waltzed into the end-zone on their 1st OT play, ending the game. Wilson committed many turnovers & penalties, as well as being without star RB Rodney Gillin (team suspension). No word on whether or not Gillin will play in this game. However, expect the team to be more "Wilson-esque" for the tough match-up versus the Barons in Manheim.
• The Manheim Central team has been through a lot over the last 13 months. In August 2010 football player Evan Heiser passed away in a car accident. Then on January 16th, 2011, four more Barons were lost in another car accident. The four players - DeVaughn Lee, John Griffith, Nick Bryson & Cody Hollinger - are being honored by Manheim Central by the number 129, which is the total of the four boys jersey numbers. The Wilson team is showing their support by wearing a maroon "MC" decal on the back of their helmets. On the field the Barons were victorious in Week 1, besting Lower Dauphin, 28-12. Manheim Central relied on a strong, 3-headed rushing attack to defeat the Falcons.

MATCH-UP HISTORY

• This will be the 9th meeting of this relatively new rivalry. In the previous 8 match-ups the Bulldogs hold a slim 5-3 lead. Wilson's last victory occurred just last season in West Lawn, where the Bulldogs came from behind to clip the Barons in Week 2, 25-22. The script was similar in Manheim Central's last victory over Wilson, in Week 2 of 2009. In that contest the Barons sprinted to a 26-7 lead before a unbelievable comeback by the Bulldogs. It fell just short however as the Barons escaped with a 29-27 victory.

Helmet images courtesy PA Helmet Project.