Wilson outlasted Cedar Crest 21-13 in a penalty-laden and mistake-filled game before a capacity crowd at Earl Boltz Stadium on Friday night. 

While both teams were plagued with penalties and turnovers, it was Cedar Crest’s mistakes that head coach Rob Wildasin said cost them the game. The loss dropped the Falcons’ record to 4-1, and 1-1 in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One play. Wilson is 3-2 and 2-0 in sectional play.

“I never question our kids, their desire, their guts, their toughness, never, just never will, not this group,” said Wildasin. “Just too many little mistakes to beat a good football team. You can’t do it. We made some tonight. Obviously, they did, too, but I felt like, in moments, we had big plays that we just missed out on and you just don’t beat good football teams when you do that.”

Cedar Crest student section cheers on their team. (James Mentzer)

After Cedar Crest ran five plays to start the game on a beautiful evening under a fire-red sunset, they punted after making just one first down. Wilson took possession and marched down the field aided by two offside plays by Cedar Crest during a seven-play, 76-yard drive to take the lead, 7-0, with 5:08 to play in the first quarter.

Cedar Crest responded by driving the ball deep into Wilson’s terrority, assisted by pass interference on the Bulldogs. But that drive stalled three plays later and Cedar Crest missed a field goal.

Wilson failed to move the ball on their next possession, thanks, in part, to three penalties, including a holding call that eventually led to a punt. 

Taking over near midfield, Cedar Crest drove the ball inside the 20-yard line with an amazing 16-yard scramble by quarterback Jackson Custer. A busted pass play that should have resulted in a loss of yards turned into a gain as Custer scrambled in the backfield, deftly avoiding a sack by dodging Wilson’s defenders.

“That’s the best team I’ve seen in a long time,” said Wilson head coach Doug Dahms. “Their QB runs well, they’ve got a little bit of speed. The front – their front – played well.” 

The second consecutive Cedar Crest drive within Wilson’s 20-yard line halted two plays later, however, with an interception with 7:23 to go in the half.

Following a short Wilson possession that was marred by a holding penalty that negated a long run by senior quarterback Tommy Hunsicker, Cedar Crest took possession at midfield following a Wilson punt.  

Despite being down 7-0 with just over five minutes to go in the half, Cedar Crest demonstrated their grit with a two-play scoring drive highlighted by a Custer 46-yard bomb to wide receiver Jack Waranavage. Running back Fernando Marquez rushed three yards into the end zone to make the score, 7-6, which is where it remained after a missed Cedar Crest extra-point attempt. 

Senior running back Fernando Marquez scores for Cedar Crest on a 4-yard run in the second quarter. (James Mentzer)

Despite a false start and a face mask penalty, Wilson used several big plays to move the ball 80 yards on six plays in just over three minutes to score a touchdown and up their lead to 14-6

While it seemed Cedar Crest might run out the clock with 1:09 remaining in the half and the ball deep in their own territory, the Falcons chose to pass the ball instead on three consecutive downs, failing to convert a first down in that short-lived series. That would prove to be costly after Wilson returned the punt from just over midfield to the six-yard line. What would have been a special teams touchdown for Wilson was thwarted by a fine solo tackle by Cedar Crest defender Aiden Schomp.

It would only take Wilson two plays and a Cedar Crest offside penalty to make the score 21-6 with only 16 seconds remaining in the half. 

The only scoring in the second half came on a nine-play, 55-yard drive that saw Custer scramble up the middle, untouched, and into the end zone on a 14-yard run with 3:41 remaining in the third quarter. 

Cedar Crest’s defense stepped up big in the second half, recovering two Wilson fumbles and intercepting a pass deep inside their own 20-yard line to keep them in the game and their opponent off the scoreboard in the second half. 

Cedar Crest recovered its second fumble of the half at their own 40-yard line and it appeared momentum was in the Falcons’ favor with 9:23 to go in the game. 

But the turnover bug would bite Cedar Crest late in the fourth quarter on 4th down with a Wilson interception in Cedar Crest’s end zone. A seven-minute drive that would have cut the score to two points was marred by several penalties on Cedar Crest’s side of the ball and helped contribute to the interception late in the game.   

“We got first and 20 and we had to figure out a way to get it and we did but then we got something like first and 20 again and I was like, ‘Here we go,’” said Wildasin. “But back-to-back first and 20s are not in your favor to get those. We got one, which was awesome, but we couldn’t capitalize down there. That’s frustrating because we really had an opportunity to beat a really good football team.”

2023 Cedar Crest Falcons

Read all our coverage of the Falcons here.

Roster

Head coach: Rob Wildasin

Assistant coaches: Nick Lambros, Brandon Kirsch, Brian Powers, Tom Gerhart, Shawn Rambler, Tom Waranavage, Logan Horn, Jona Padilla, Nevin Pagan, Bob Peebles, Bob Griffiths, Gary Wildasin

Jersey NumberNameGradePosition(s)
0Alex Abreu12RB/DB
1Leo Tirado Jr.12WR/DB
2Owen Chernich12WR/DB
3Asher Ford12WR/DB
4Jack Waranavage11WR/DB
5Cristhian Viveros11WR/DB
6Cameron Tirado10WR/DB
7Kayden Tirado11RB/LB
8Jackson Custer11QB/DB
9Seth Warren11TE/DL
10Fernando Marquez12RB/LB
11Logan Oriel12WR/LB
12Lucas Nolan11WR/DB
13Diego Yanez10WR/LB
14Connor McCracken10TE/DE
15Cameron Hansell10QB/DB
16Malachi Victor11WR/LB
17Kaeleb Fees11WR/DB
18Travis Kemberling10WR/DB
19Dillon Hoffman11WR/DB
20Yadi Rosario10WR/DB
21Caleb Dorshimer12TE/LB
22Kenyon Figueroa12WR/DB
23Josh Tricoche11RB/DB
24Preston Barton12WR/DB
25Noah Miller10RB/LB
26Richie Hernandez12FB/LB
27Landen Weaber10WR/LB
28Landyn Kline10RB/LB
29Liam Setcavage10WR/DB
30Justin Moreno10WR/DB
31Alex Thies11WR/DB
32Samantha Fink10K
33Kai Speaks9WR/LB
34Antonio Tirado9WR/DB
35Eli Beard9RB/DB
36Ethan Bowman11K
37Dominic Roth12RB/LB
38Isaiah Zimmerman9RB/LB
39Tre Wamsher11WR/DB
40Joe Arnt11RB/LB
41Jordan Eisenhauer12WR/DB
42Anthony Lantz11WR/DB
43Garrett Starry9TE/LB
44Skyler Sherman9WR/DB
45Conner Rowe11WR/DB
46Jackson Chernich9TE/DE
47Terrance Wilson9WR/DB
48Calvin Dash9WR/DB
49Gavin Berkheimer9OL/DL
50Aidan Arnold11OL/DE
51Keenon Hopple9OL/DL
52Caden Wolfe9OL/DL
53Nicholas Lambros12OL/DT
54Paxton Thomas10OL/DL
55Cameron Simone12OL/DE
56Christian Weaber12OL/DL
57Tyler Toscano10OL/DL
58Alex Kissinger11OL/DL
59Christian Simpson10OL/DL
60Wyatt Fox10OL/DL
61Jordan Cullen11OL/DL
62Brady Shobe10OL/DT
63Austin Brubaker11OL/DL
64Jayden Storm10OL/DL
65Evan Pierce11OL/DL
66Landen Gross10OL/DE
67Damarius Galarza10OL/DE
68Carter Eisenhauer11OL/DL
69Jimmy Trump10OL/DL
70Tristan Long11OL/DL
71Pal Bhavsar12OL/DL
72Carter Ober10OL/DL
73Ahmed Mohamed11OL/DL
74Isaiah Sepulveda12OL/DL
75Connor Shanaman10OL/DL
76Michael Rivera12OL/DL
77Nathanael Harbaugh11OL/DL
78Bruce Gonzalez10OL/DL
79Alex Contreras11OL/DL
80Ben Custer9TE/DE
81Jayden Marley10WR/DB
82Chase Warren9TE/DE
83Luke Oriel10QB/DB
84Cole Shanaman9OL/DL
85Cole Stevenson11OL/DL
86Nolan Brubaker9TE/LB
87Aiden Schomp12TE/DE
88Grayson Frankenstein11TE/DE
91Bryan Duffy10RB/LB
99Dylan Fuhrman11TE/DE

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James Mentzer is a freelance writer and lifelong resident of Pennsylvania. He has spent his professional career writing about agriculture, economic development, manufacturing and the energy and real estate industries, and is the county reporter and a features writer for LebTown. James is an outdoor...

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