BULLDOGS BEATEN ON LAST-MINUTE TD
Stephen Katch scores the game-winning touchdown for Hempfield against Wilson with 17 seconds remaining
Leading by three points with less than eight minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, Wilson punted to the Hempfield 24yard line.
It was from that spot that the Black Knights began their march to the end zone, orchestrating a 17-play, 76-yard, gamewinning drive that lasted 7:23 and lifted Hempfield to the 2016 win over the Bulldogs in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 game on Friday at Gurski Stadium.
“Every time they needed a play, they got one,” Wilson coach Doug Dahms said of the gamewinning drive. “We had them, and we didn’t stop them.”
Hempfield’s winning touchdown was courtesy of running back Stephen Katch, who powered his way into the end zone from 2 yards out to give the Black Knights the lead with 17 seconds remaining. The ensuing extra point by Cannon Biscoe made it 20-16.
Prior to the score, the Bulldogs’ best opportunity to stop Hempfield came on a fourthand-3 at the Wilson 32-yard line with 1:57 to play. However, the Black Knights were able to move the chains, one of two successful fourth-down conversions they had in the game.
On the Bulldogs’ final drive, Hempfield intercepted quarterback Tom Hunsicker’s first pass to seal it.
With the win, Hempfield (4-0, 6-1) takes sole possession of first place in Section 1 with just three weeks remaining in the regular season. With the loss, the Bulldogs (2-1, 5-2) see their five-game winning streak end.
“Their kids wanted it more,” Dahms said. “They ran tough as nails. Their kids outplayed our kids when push came to shove.”
Wilson opened the scoring early in the first quarter when running back Cam Jones took the ball 53 yards for a touchdown on the second play from scrimmage. The senior finished with 189 rushing yards yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries.
“Cam is tough,” Dahms said. “He’s a good runner, but he can’t carry the whole team.”
Following Jones’ touchdown, the Black Knights responded with a 20-yard field goal from Biscoe. Similar to the game-winning drive, Biscoe’s kick was the last play of a 14-play series in which Hempfield moved the ball 76 yards in just over six minutes.
Wilson took a 10-3 lead late in the first half on a 25-yard field
goal from Ben Rada. The junior made 1-of-3 field goal attempts in the game, as he missed a kick midway through the second quarter and had a 33-yard field goal attempt blocked in the third quarter.
The Black Knights tied it early in the third quarter, as quarterback Jackson Landis found wide receiver Micah Gates for a 58-yard touchdown. Gates finished with four catches for 124 yards.
Landis completed 16-of26 passes for 269 yards, one touchdown and one interception. On the ground, he had one carry for 8 yards.
Jones put the Bulldogs ahead with a 48-yard touchdown run. The ensuing extra point from Rada was unsuccessful, so Wilson led 16-10 with just over three minutes remaining in the third quarter.
Biscoe made a 29-yard field goal for Hempfield three seconds into the fourth quarter to cut the Bulldogs’ lead to 16-13. After Wilson stalled on its next possession, the Black Knights got the ball back and methodically consumed more than half of the fourth quarter on their way to the end zone and game-winning touchdown.
“We can’t be complacent,” Jones said. “They caught us off guard defensively — they made some big plays — and they pushed the ball down the field the entire time.”
With 39 receiving yards to go along with his 189 rushing yards, Jones accounted for 228 of the Bulldogs’ 274 offensive yards. Wilson was just 1-for-3 on scoring opportunities in the red zone, and 2-for-7 on third down conversions.
“We didn’t finish offensively,” Dahms said. “We moved the ball down the field and we got in around the 20-yard line and stalled every time.”
The loss is Wilson’s first since falling to Roman Catholic 46-15 in Week 1. Friday also marked the most points the Bulldogs have allowed in a game since that season-opening loss.
“Defensively, we didn’t tackle well at all,” Dahms said. “We didn’t perform.”