Greatest Moments: 2010-2019

What a decade for Wilson Football! Program milestones, statistical records, trophies, winning streaks, and special events were ever present over the last 10 years for the Bulldogs. Some of the marquee and exhilarating games were already discussed so here I am shifting the focus to more broader occurrences from the '10s.

#1 - The 68 League Game Win Streak

Wilson Football Goes 3,647 Days Between L-L Section 1 Losses

Wilson loses in Neffsville on 10/26/2007...
...proceeds to win 68 straight League games until 10/20/2017
Comments: It was tough to organize this "moments" section into a Top 10 because all of them (and a few more) deserve recognition. The sports mantra of "team first" is quite the cliche but is also incredibly important in high school athletics. Perhaps the only thing that can overshadow an individual team is the lager and more mythical "program". Often it's not about you but about your "band of brothers" or "the Bulldogs" as a whole, but in this case it's an even grander entity: the Wilson Football "program". Over the course of 75 years "the program" has grown - and improved, year after year. And there were many instances from Wilson's loss at Manheim Township on October 26th, 2007 through the next 3,600+ days that followed where student-athletes were told they weren't playing for themselves or even their current team but for the generations that came before them. Since the majority of this streak (and, no, this is not "THE STREAK", which refers to Wilson's consecutive seasons with a non-losing overall record, currently standing at 56 consecutive years) occurred in the 2010s, and hearkens back across generations both physically and philosophically, it slots as the best moment from 2010-2019.

Some close calls during this League game winning streak were documented on the Top 10 Greatest Games of the 2010s list.

Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#2 - Wilson Football Wins #500 

On September 20th, 2013, the Bulldogs Defeat McCaskey for 500th Program 'W' 

Comments: On Friday, September 20th, 2013, the Wilson Football program earned victory 500 with a dominating performance in Lancaster against McCaskey (also in the 500 win club). That milestone is rare not only in PA but across the country. At the start of the 2019 season, 79 PA high school football programs had reached or surpassed the mark. Wilson slotted at 39th most in the history of PA high school football (2019 not included). Most of the schools in front of them began playing in the late 1800s or early 1900s. In fact, Only 5 schools ahead of Wilson began play after 1930. (Some schools have fielded teams since 1886 and 1887, six decades before football began in West Lawn). It took the work of many men and women to ensure success following the program's humble beginnings in the mid-1940s through it's growth in the 60s and to it's successes in the 70s and 80s and finally (often outright) regional dominance of the 90s, 2000s, and 2010s. So 500 was a big one, but 600 isn't that far away. When the Bulldogs begin play in 2020, the program will be 30 wins from the next big milestone. ETA on that one would, conservatively, be the 2023 season. Currently just 21 programs in PA have eclipsed 600 wins.

Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#3 - Doug Dahms, Milestone Man

Wilson Head Coach Hits Multiple Milestones, Sets Records 

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Doug Dahms earned his 100th victory as Head Coach of the Bulldogs on Friday, October 10th, 2014.
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Doug Dahms, who began coaching at Wilson as an assistant on John Gurski's staff in 1976, got career coaching victory 400 on Friday, November 3rd, 2017. At the time he had amassed 264 wins as an assistant through 2005, and 136 as head coach since 2006.
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On the night of the 4th Greatest Game of the 2010s, Doug Dahms passed the legendary John Gurski for most wins as head coach in program history. Dahms' 152nd was a memorable one, complete with a goal line stand on the eve of the program's 75th Season celebratory Alumni Game.
Comments: Coach Dahms won't grandstand about himself or dote upon his personal achievements, as a topflight educator or coach. So let me do that for you now. Doug has coached a mind-boggling 522 games for the Wilson football program, with the last 185 coming as Head Coach. He has a record of 155-30-0 as top dog (an 83.78% win rate), and his win percentage on staff sits at 80.27% (419-101-2 overall). He is not only a member of the Wilson Athletic Hall of Fame, but also an inductee at Muhlenberg High School, Lebanon Valley College, and the Berks County Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. In addition to coaching the Bulldogs football team for 44 seasons, he is also the Head Indoor Track Coach and the Head Track & Field Coach at Wilson... and started the district's AP Bio and AP Environmental Science courses as well as the Jamaica Marine Studies Program, which he leads as its Director.

So let's celebrate Coach Dahms' personal achievements from 2010-2019: 100th win as Head Coach, 400th win on the football staff, and the new record holder for victories as Head Coach.

Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#4 - Rivalry Reinvigorated
 
Debut of the Gurski-Linn Trophy Takes Wilson-Mifflin to a New Level

Comments: Rivalries are the meat and potatoes of sports leagues around the world. No matter the level of play, when two teams that dwell near each other meet in a "friendly" competition, all bets are off. They generally make for some of the best and most discussed match-ups of the year. Red Sox-Yankees. Eagles-Cowboys. Bruins-Canadiens. Celtics-Lakers. Alabama-Auburn. Duke-North Carolina. USA-Canada. And Wilson-Mifflin.

At least for a large portion of Berks County. The game has been featured as the PA High School Football Game of the Week (in 2013 on PCN) and the rivalry game dates back to 1946, if we are counting the years the Wilson "Prexies" duked it out with the Shillington Speedboys. Wilson-Shillington debuted on Friday, October 11th, 1946 at Albright Stadium in front of 2,000 rain-soaked fans who saw the Presidents dispatch Shillington, 6-0. That game served as Wilson's first-ever League victory. At the time both teams were members of the Berks Scholastic Football Conference. The true Wilson-Mifflin rivalry came about in the fall of 1954, with a 27-0 Wilson win. The match-up was a Berks football feature every season from 1946 through 1993 and has been played 70 times in all during the last 74 seasons. Wilson holds a 42-28 edge over Mifflin/Shillington, with the Bulldogs winning 11 of the last 13 and 36 of the last 49 rivalry games.

Because of it's longevity and importance to the schools and Berks football, booster clubs from each school got together in 2011 and the spring of 2012 to jointly create the Gurski-Linn Trophy. The massive award is given to the winning school to keep until the next head-to-head match-up. The first battle for the Gurski-Linn Trophy was on Friday, August 31st, 2012, in West Lawn, and the most recent was on Friday, August 30th, 2019, in Shillington. The trophy has been fought over nine times with Wilson emerging with it on eight occasions. The Gurski-Linn Trophy currently resides in its rightful place in West Lawn.
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Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#5 - Gurski Stadium Is Renovated

Wilson Home Field Is Deconstructed & Upgraded with Turf, New Bleachers

Comments: Rumors of athletic facility movements, renovations, and upgrades started in the early 2000s with a lot of momentum towards the end of the first decade of the new millennium. It would be another few years before plans were fully approved and work got underway. (Of course, not everyone was thrilled about it). In all, the massive renovation of the aquatic facility and Gurski Stadium and surrounding areas would cost $13 million. The District solicited the community to help slightly defray the costs in a multitude of ways. The Wilson football team played their final game in the "old" Gurski Stadium on November 23rd, 2012, a District 3 4A Semifinals victory vs (checks notes, looks at #4 on this list, smiles) Governor Mifflin. The Bulldogs sent the facility out in style with a 21-14 win. Early phases of construction would begin almost immediately with a majority of it occurring in the spring of 2013. The project took more time than expected but with the Bulldogs not hosting a game until Week 3 in 2013, all was well. Wilson opened the upgraded Stadium, now sporting a nifty turf emblazoned at midfield with the bulldog logo and endzones reading WILSON and BULLDOGS, on Friday, September 13th, 2013. Coincidentally against another historic rival and Berks football foe, the Reading Red Knights. The Bulldogs won convincingly on their new field, 46-6. To date that is the final game in the Wilson-Reading gridiron series.

​Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#6 - Bulldogs Win in Baseballtown

Wilson Returns to "Municipal" Stadium for the 1st Time in Nearly 40 Years

Comments: Prior to the 2018 Baseballtown Gridiron Classic, the Bulldogs had last played a game at Municipal Stadium on Friday, September 14th, 1979. It was a fairly common occurrence for teams in the 50s, 60s, and 70s to play a game or two on the grass and dirt of the Reading Phillies' baseball diamond. A few local teams played all of their home games there for years before on campus facilities became more common. The introduction of permanent stadium lighting in the 1980s also allowed teams to host their own games, putting an end to the unique Friday night lights experience. The final game of a 31-year run of football in Baseballtown occurred in October 1982. Fast forward to February 2017 and I received word of the possibility of a one-off revival, which I would confirm with Coach Dahms that summer, off record, during his preseason Bulldog Hour interview. Finally on November 30th, 2017, the Reading Fightin Phils announce on WEEU that Reading's FirstEnergy Stadium (formerly Municipal Stadium) will once again host high school football games in September and October 2018. In all, seven games featuring 10 different Berks County teams were played with Wilson "hosting" Lancaster-Lebanon League foe Hempfield as the final act of the 2018 Gridiron Classic on Friday, October 5th. It was quite the memorable event, complete with scoreboard displays and instant replay. The Bulldogs defeated the Black Knights, 26-16, to complete the historic event.

Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#7 - 2013 & 2014 Teams Go Undefeated

Unblemished Regular Seasons for Two Doubted & Underrated Teams

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The doubted 2013 team started 10-0, claiming a 6th consecutive Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title. It was Wilson's 11th undefeated regular season.
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An overlooked 2014 Bulldogs football squad also started the season 10-0, delivering the Wilson program it's 12th undefeated regular season.
Comments: 2011 was a magical season. Sure it started poorly in Shillington but the team overcame the Week 1 setback to win 12 straight before falling by a FG against eventual State Champion Central Dauphin in the District 3 4A Championship Game. Why do I bring up that team? Because they were young, littered with a plethora of juniors playing key roles. That season the team overachieved, soaring past expectations. Wilson arrived a year early and were set up nicely for 2012. And 2012, despite an early season loss to Harrisburg, met expectations to a T. They had an uber-dominant 'D' that lead them to a 13-2 record, a 5th straight LL1 crown, and the program's fifth District 3 title by defeating the same Harrisburg squad that beat them earlier that same year. Jump ahead to 2015 and Wilson returned a load of important players, many already multi-year contributors. 2015 was THE year. The League wins and titles streak continued but that team suffered an early round playoff exit in OT, at the hands of a CD East team they had already beaten earlier that season 38-0. So unfortunately, no, expectations were sadly left unfulfilled. Do you see what I did there? I completely skipped the 2013 & 2014 seasons, much like many were doing following the departure of the insanely talented seniors from the 2012 team. 2013, and perhaps to a lesser extent, 2014, were seen as <ahem> rebuilding years. Not "reloading", but "rebuilding". Wilson returned about three players with meaningful experience in 2013 and were predicted by some to win as few as six games. SIX! A program that had reeled off five consecutive unbeaten League titles and, at the time, 36 LL1 wins in a row was predicted to struggle mightily. Upset wins at Mifflin and at Harrisburg turned that narrative around quickly and the team went a perfect 10-0 in the regular season. They fought until the final seconds of their Semifinals loss to Lower Dauphin, 17-14. A 12-1 season when many were banking on 6 or 7 wins? I'll take it. 2013: overachievers and a group of proud fighters. 2014 would start a bit differently with many media members, both professional and amateur, reverting back to the age old "pick Wilson and you will likely be proven right" way of thinking. Even if many in Berks, Lancaster, and Lebanon believe Wilson probably would win the League, they could never get through their non-League slate perfect, right? Wrong. A thrilling comeback OT win vs Mifflin, a surprisingly easy home win vs CD East, and a tough (and lucky?) road win against Central Dauphin had the Bulldogs sky high entering the League. The 2014 squad rattled off 6 relatively easy League wins, before struggling a bit in a nail-biter at Warwick (per usual). In the end though it was yet another perfect 10-0 regular season. As of the conclusion of the 2019 season, Wilson has been perfect (playoffs excluded) just 12 times in 75 years: 1967, 1969, 1978, 1981, 1989, 1995, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2010, 2013, and 2014. And those two overlooked and underappreciated years of 2013 and 2014 sandwiched between teams in 2012 and 2015 are the ones to do so in back-to-back seasons.

Select photos taken by Joe Mays can be seen in the slideshow below.

#8 - 75th Season Alumni Game

Over 50 Former Players & Coaches Return to Celebrate the Program Milestone

Comments: This one is very special to me as the lead organizer of the event. I began preparations for Wilson football's 75th season celebrations in February 2018, 18 months before it began. I commissioned the logo and a recreation of the retro Wilson W-in-football design at that time. In August 2018 I presented my proposal for what would become the Alumni Flag Football Game, set for Saturday, October 12th, 2019. And that is exactly what happened. With help from the board and active members of the Wilson Football Tradition Club, 49 football alums registered to play in the game as well as seven more individuals to coach. Gerry Slemmer, his brother Harold, and their 1969 teammate Donn Davis would lead "Slemmer Squad" against "Team Dahms", coached by Doug Dahms, Bernie Stoppi, and former players Shane Herb and Andy Roland. The entire event would serve as a fundraiser for the football program and be the exclamation point for 2019, the 75th Season in Wilson football history. Despite some minor hiccups along the way, the game proved to be a success. Nearly $4,200 was raised for the program and the alumni had a blast. "Slemmer Squad" defeated "Team Dahms", 35-18, and was lead to victory by my cousin, Todd Mays, and his former teammate, David Diaz. Players from the 1969 Wilson team through 2014 returned to take "one more snap" at Gurski Stadium. Too many people helped me organize and run the event that I can't possibly name them all here, but thank you to my fellow organizers and volunteers.

**Sorry, the hard drive that stores my photos from 2017 through 2019 crashed. Hopefully I haven't lost them for good. If I gain access to them I will upload more photos, but professional repair will cost over $500.**

You can see the Facebook album of the event HERE.

#9 - Individual Performances

Some Star Players from the 2010s Put Up Big Numbers

Comments: We are far enough down the list now that we can focus on a few individuals that had incredible games, seasons, or careers from 2010-2019. Records were meant to be broken, as they say, and these young men rewrote the program's book during the last decade.

Iggy Reynoso - The star RB moved to Wilson in the spring of 2016 and, with two Falls remaining in his scholastic career, had the potential to make some noise. After a slow start to his junior season, he exploded by midseason and ended the year with 1,662 rushing yards, good for 6th on the Wilson single season list. He'd add another 1,549 yards in 2017 (10th all-time) for a career rushing total of 3,211, which places him 6th in all-time rushing at Wilson. Since he played as a freshman and sophomore at Hamburg, totaling 1,553 rushing yards and 26 TDs there, his cumulative career as a prep athlete in Berks County broke records. He eclipsed the career rushing record of Nate Romig (Daniel Boone) with 4,764 yards and the county TD record, previously owned by David Gilmore (Reading Central Catholic), with 78 career scores. Reynoso also tied program and District 3 records with his 6 TD rushing performance against Central York in the 2016 playoffs. Jeff Niedrowski rushed for six scores against Mifflin in 1991 to set a Wilson record & Bishop McDevitt's LeSean McCoy also had six in a playoff game to set the District 3 mark.

Jake Templin - When the QB position is mentioned at Wilson, two names come to mind: Kerry Collins & Chad Henne. Despite their impact and success after leaving West Lawn, they do not own all of Wilson's game, season, or career passing marks. Highest QB rating in a season belongs to Tony Cipolla (1999). Most passing yards in a season is owned by Zach Zweizig (2,326 yards in 2009). But most touchdown passes thrown in a season goes to Jake Templin, who tossed 30 TDs during that magical 2014 campaign. He took the title from Henne, who had thrown 23 in 2002.

Ike Schannauer - The Schannauer family played a lot of games for Wilson during the 2010s but perhaps the most exciting of the boys was Ike, who played with the varsity as a freshman in 2012 before becoming a full-time starter as a sophomore in 2013. He ranks 2nd (116 in 2013), 5th (110 in 2015), and tied for 8th (104 in 2014) on the single season tackle chart. Ike is 11th in program history for career sacks (11.5) and 3rd for career tackles for loss (34). It was ultimately his final game for the Bulldogs that earned him a #1 spot in the program record book. While he fell 5 tackles short of setting a new career tackles record (Colton Weaver's 360 remains top), his amazing 23 tackles against CD East during their OT upset of Wilson in 2015 smashed the previous record of 18 set by Joe Hannis against Lebanon in 1977.

Rodney Gillin - It feels like Wilson can always find, at a minimum, one serviceable RB every season, even if they aren't going to be a superstar. That was certainly the case throughout the 2010s with backfields featuring stellar players like Meechi Young, Jesse Poore, Jimmy Brooks, John Raifsnider, Shane Dantzler, Tommy O'Brien, Iggy Reynoso, Elijah Morales, and Avanti Lockhart. Perhaps the best of the group kickstarted the 10-year run back in 2010. Rodney Gillin was super productive during his time at Wilson and his 2010 & 2011 seasons set all-time marks along the way. Gillin sits at 6th on the program's list of career carries (430), 4th & 5th on the single season combined rushing/receiving yards list, 2nd in career combined rushing/receiving yards, and 4th on the career scoring list. He is the most successful rushing player in team history, accumulating 3,694 yards on the ground. His 2011 season sits 4th on the program list for single season rushing (1,733 yards) and is bested only by Jeff Niedrowski, Pete Gilmore, and... himself! Yes, Gillin's 2010 season is the best a RB has ever had for the Bulldogs. He gained 1,890 rushing yards as a junior & took down Gilmore's record in the 2010 playoff loss versus Cumberland Valley.

Jacob Morgan - Gillin wasn't the only dynamic offensive player on the 2010 & 2011 teams. If a team tried to stack the box to stop Gillin, QBs Zweizig or Klein could toss it to the big man... and he usually caught it. He's fifth all-time for career receptions with 89 for 1,436 yards and tied for 6th place (with Jon Fox) for career receiving TDs (15). It was his senior season of 2011 that puts him on this list. He caught 11 passes during the playoff victory at Cumberland Valley in 2011, fourth most in a single game in program history. Those 11 receptions were just part of his grander season, where he hauled in footballs 69 times - the most all-time. Ditto for his 2011 receiving yardage, which tops Wilson's list at 1,121 - surpassing Andy Lehatto's 1,104 in 2002.

Austin Rosa - A senior on the 2014 team, Rosa started to make a big impact as a junior in 2013. He set the single season Wilson record for sacks with 13 that year, surpassing Tyler Beck's 11.5 in 2008. Then as a senior he added another 10.5 - 3rd on the Bulldogs single season list - for a career mark of 23.5. Rodney Hill was the previous record holder with 18 in his Bulldogs career. Rosa is tied for 38th for career tackles (129) and actually places 15th (tied) on the "longest scoring plays in Wilson history" list with his 94-yard pick-six vs Lancaster McCaskey in 2014.

**Sorry, the hard drive that stores my photos from 2017 through 2019 crashed. Hopefully I haven't lost them for good. If I gain access to them I will upload more photos, but professional repair will cost over $500.**

#10 - Wilson Plays 700th & 800th Games

Milestones Occurred on October 7th, 2011 & November 2nd, 2018

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Wilson participated in their 700th game on Friday, October 7th, 2011, defeating Hempfield in Landisville, 36-3.
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Game #800 in Wilson football program history occurred in West Lawn on Friday, November 2nd, 2018. The Bulldogs won their District 3 6A Quarterfinals match-up vs Red Lion, 36-0.
Comments: Playoffs are a relatively new creation in PA high school football. District play began in 1982 (Wilson's first appearance was in Fall 1984, a 10-9 loss to Cumberland Valley) & State playoffs started six seasons later in Fall 1988 (the Bulldogs first PIAA Tournament appearance would be the next season, in 1989, starting with a win over Coatesville and ending with a Title game loss to Upper St. Clair). Up until the "second season" started play, most teams played 9 to 11 regular season games and that was it. Essentially, to accumulate games played just took time; you couldn't pad it by being successful. Playoffs changed that. And now program milestones can be achieved at a slightly more rapid pace. It took 11.5 seasons to play Wilson's 100th game, the fourth of the 1956 season. To go from 700 to 800, like in the 2010s, took a little over seven years. Thank you playoffs - and the Bulldogs continued streak of greatness. From 2010-2019, with only 100 regular season contests guaranteed, Wilson played over 3 years worth of "extra" games; 31 to be precise. In fact, with a decade record of 110 wins to just 21 losses their seasonal average W-L mark of 11-2 shows how incredible the 2010s were in West Lawn; the Bulldogs AVERAGED MORE WINS per season than guaranteed games per year. Think about that. The Bulldogs played game 700 on October 7th, 2011, and Game 800 on November 2nd, 2018, both Wilson wins. Game 900 is far off on the horizon, with 87 to go until that mark. Wilson will hit it in the roaring 2020s, it's just a question of how soon? My guess would be early 2027.

I was not at the game at Hempfield in 2011 and my photos for the 800th game were on my hard drive that crashed, so no slideshow. But you can see pics from the 11/2/2018 milestone HERE.

Be sure to check out list #1 posted on 12/9/2019 about the greatest games of the last decade. Just click the first button below. Coming next week will be Wilson's All-Decade team, focusing on 50+ of the greatest Bulldogs from 2010-2019. Questions? Comments? Requests? Want to tell me why your list is better? Email me or find me on Twitter - @CoachJoeMays!