Wilson junior blocks punt, returns it for TD in ‘Dawgs’ thrilling 20-15 win over Central

WEST LAWN – Johnny Morgan saw the crack.

And he didn’t miss it.

Wilson’s junior special teams hero came flying off the line, sprinted untouched toward Manheim Central punter Jeff Strait, blocked the boot, scooped up the fumble and returned it 12 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bulldogs the lead for good on the way to their 20-15 heart-stopping non-league win over the Barons on Friday night.

Terrific, terrific, terrific game. It was as-advertised, and more than lived up to the hype. I spent the entire game blogging live, so I couldn’t really keep up with stats and play-by-play. But it was an awesome game, full of big plays on both sides of the ball.

And it was Mogan’s big play that helped win it for Wilson.

“Amazing,” Morgan said when it was over, seconds after the Bulldogs stormed out of their post-huddle and headed for their parents and fans in the stands.

“Amazing win because they’re a good program … a really good program.”

Central had several really good chances to win this game. The Barons led 13-0 in the first half and 13-6 at the break before the Bulldogs – who had Alex Fegley’s 83-yard punt return for a TD called back in the first half – started barking.

Ahead 20-13 with 2:34 to play in regulation, Wilson QB Zach Zweizig took a safety when, back up against his own goal line on fourth down, he took the snap and ran the ball out of the back of the end zone, making it a 20-15 game.

After the free kick, Central had to go 49 yards in 2:29, and nearly pulled it off.

Central earned clutch first downs on fourth-and-10 and third-and-10 situations on its final drive – both on passes from Jeremy Knosp to Dan Trafford – but facing a fourth-and-22 at Wilson’s 28 with 59 seconds to go, Knosp’s last-gasp pass was incomplete, and Wilson held on for dear life.

Wilson’s Jordan Holbert and Colton Weaver also made huge individual stops on D in the stretch run, helping the Bulldogs improve to 2-0.

But it was Morgan’s first career blocked punt and ensuing first career varsity touchdown that put Wilson ahead for good in this topsy-turvy battle, which became an instant classic.

“They kept pushing us toward the middle, so I decided to go around the end,” Morgan said about his blocked punt.

“And I blocked it, I saw it laying there on the ground and I picked it up.”

The rest is history.

“That was a killer,” Central coach Mike Williams said in the postmortem about Morgan’s block.

“I told our kids that we made some great plays, but then we didn’t make other plays that we needed to make. What we take from this, is that this was a good, physical football game. This was no pushover game. This was a tough game. This was a battle.”