High school football: Wilson rolls over Penn Manor, wins fifth straight

Since their tight 30-20 loss to Nazareth in Week 3, the Wilson Bulldogs have steadily improved week by week, hoping to hit full stride in the coming weeks.

Head coach Doug Dahms was visibly frustrated after that tough defeat, which was plagued by penalties, blown coverages, and missed assignments.

“We’re slowly getting better, not as fast as I’d like,” Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms said after the win. “We’re still struggling a little on the offensive line, not because of ability, just because of communication. We have to talk there and do a good job. That’s what we got to do.”

Since then, the Bulldogs have gotten back on track, winning five straight games and outscoring their opponents 234–65.

On Friday, they extended their winning streak with a dominant 42-7 victory over Penn Manor in a Section 1 matchup at West Lawn.

“I think over these five weeks, we’ve matured a lot since that game against Nazareth,” senior quarterback Mason Young said about how the team has grown since their lone loss. “I don’t think we played as well as we could have. I could have played better in that game. And I think we just matured a lot. We have new plays in the playbook every week, and it’s the coaching job that really helps us. We have a great coaching staff, the best in the league, and we just keep getting better every week.”

In a game, the Bulldogs (4-0, 7-1) were expected to dominate; they backed it up through 48 minutes, though Dahms felt they could have gotten off to a better start.

“We were flat,” Dahms said. “We knew that was going to happen. Going to have the same issue next week (against McCaskey).”

After quarterback Mason Young threw an interception on the Bulldogs’ opening drive, the team bounced back quickly.

Correll Akings broke off a 23-yard touchdown run up the middle on their next possession, putting Wilson on the board first.

Wilson quarterback Mason Young hits Michael Glover (15), left, on a crossing route to the Penn Manor 30-yard line in a Bulldogs’ 42-7 victory over the Comets on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at John Gurski Stadium. Young scored on a 30-yard keeper two plays later. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

The Bulldogs’ defense forced a third straight punt from the Comets, setting up the offense with excellent field position in plus territory.

Defensively, we played well,” Dahms said. “We got after people. I wasn’t very happy with our tackling. We were diving instead of running through tackles and made their back (Randy Guthrie) look really, really good. He’s a good back, but we made him look better.”

Guthrie led the Comets (1-3, 2-6) with 77 rushing yards on 15 carries, including two runs of over 25 yards.

In the second quarter, Young found Elijah Dean in the back of the endzone for a 17-yard touchdown.

Dean made an impressive toe-tap to stay in bounds, extending the Bulldogs’ lead to 14–0 with 6:53 remaining in the half.

But perhaps even more significant than catching that touchdown pass was what happened on the sidelines after Young’s interception.

“I have players on this team who picked me up. Eli Dean is great at picking me up. He’s a great player on and off the field,” Young said of his top target.

“He was on the sideline after I threw a pick. I had my head down. But he’s there and he’s picking me up. It’s really good to have a friend and a great player on the sideline.”

That type of chemistry between teammates, especially while facing adversity, could be exactly what helps this Wilson team reach a Section, District, or even State title.

Just when it looked like the Bulldogs would dominate on both sides of the ball, the Comets stepped up on offense.

Penn Manor’s running backs, Randy Guthrie and Jalen Dupree, each broke off big runs of 27 and 18 yards to push the Comets into Bulldogs territory.

The drive started to stall, facing a crucial fourth-and-nine from the 14-yard line. But quarterback Connor Smeigh, who finished 11-of-20 for 82 yards, pulled off some magic.

He dropped back and launched what looked like a prayer into triple coverage, yet somehow, he perfectly placed a beautiful pass to Jay Florentino, who made the catch over three defenders.

The game seemed to be shifting momentum, and on the next possession, Dupree made his presence felt on defense again.

Wilson quarterback Mason Young puts a move on Penn Manor’s Lincoln Gansner in a Bulldogs’ 42-7 victory over the Comets on Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, at John Gurski Stadium. (BILL UHRICH/READING EAGLE)

Dupree intercepted Young for the second time that night as Young was trying to work his magic of his own, extending the play. The turnover gave the Comets plenty of momentum as they hoped to pull off an upset.

“I’m not really happy about throwing two picks in the first half,” Young said about his two early turnovers. “I can’t do that. We can’t do that to win. We can’t do that when we want to win big games.”

But the Bulldogs’ defense quickly crushed those hopes, forcing a three-and-out.

Taking over at the Comets’ 45-yard line with 1:28 left, the Bulldogs were in position to strike again.

It took just four plays for Young to throw his second touchdown pass of the game.

Young faked the play-action, rolled right, and threw a jump ball to Michael Glover, who came down with the catch for a four-yard touchdown.

The Bulldogs went into halftime leading 21–7.

Coming out of the break, both teams forced multiple three-and-outs, keeping it a two-score game with about 20 minutes left.

But they say the third time’s the charm, and the Bulldogs finally began to pull away.

Young continued to erase his early struggles, this time with his legs.

The senior kept the read-option fake, bounced to the right, and outran the Comets’ defenders on a 28-yard touchdown run.

“He’s an athlete. You can see that when he plays,” Dahms said of Young. “Tonight, he got happy feet. They got some early pressure on him, but we talked about it, and in the second half, he came out and played a lot better.”

On their very next possession, Young continued to dominate, throwing his third touchdown of the game.

Jaiden Carpenter got behind the secondary, was wide open down the left sideline, caught the pass, and dove into the end zone for six more points.

With under 10 minutes left, Wilson held a 35–7 lead and seemed to have the game wrapped up.

But their final score of the night came off a fumble on a backwards pass, which Carpenter scooped up and returned 60 yards for back-to-back touchdowns for the senior.

Young finished 13-of-21 passing for three touchdowns, adding 57 yards and another score on the ground.

Akings rushed for 61 yards, while Carpenter and Dean each hauled in 42 receiving yards. Glover contributed 40 yards through the air.

The Bulldogs’ defense forced six punts, one turnover, and a turnover on downs. Chase Herb led the team with six tackles, while EJ Brownback recorded three tackles for loss.

With two weeks left in the regular season, Wilson will take on winless McCaskey before finishing against Manheim Township (4-0, 7-1), a matchup likely to decide the Section 1 title, just like last year.

“It’s in the back of the mind. But we’re trying to take care of business first,” Dahms said, not looking too far ahead. “We have to clean up our tackling. We have to clean up our front line blocking.”

A year ago, the Bulldogs made a statement with a 34-16 victory over a favored Blue Streaks squad.

Wilson will have their sights set on repeating and bringing home another Section title to West Lawn.