Central York quarterback Brandon Baker is taken down by a pack of Wilson defenders during Friday's District 3 Class AAAA quarterfinal game. The Panthers saw their season come to an end with a 34-7 loss to the No. 2 seeded Bulldogs. (Daily Record/Sunday News - Kate Penn)
WEST LAWN -- Brad Livingston had seen first-hand the type of quarterback his Central York football team would be up against in its District 3 quarterfinal contest Friday night. A week earlier, the Panthers coach had sat in the stands at John Gurski Stadium and watched Wilson's Zach Zweizig key a dismantling of William Penn.

"We were here last week, and we saw him make those throws," Livingston lamented after seventh-seeded Central's 34-7, season-ending defeat to the No. 2 Bulldogs.

None of the forewarning seemed to matter much Friday, as time and again Zweizig burned the blitz-happy Panthers defense.

One glance at Zweizig's numbers said it all. The 6-foot-4 junior completed 18-of-26 passes -- including 13 in a row at one point -- for 309 yards and three second-quarter touchdowns. Those three scoring strikes -- capped by a back-breaking, 59-yard hook-and-lateral on the final play of the first half -- provided plenty of cushion for the defending District 3, Class AAAA champions.

They also dealt a decisive blow to the Panthers (8-4) and a talented senior class that featured tailback Charles Anderson and Penn State-bound linebacker Kyle Baublitz.

"They were obviously a good team," said Anderson, who rushed for 73 yards to bring his season total to a league-best 1,863. "They played physical and you could tell they watch film and whatever formation they were in they knew what was coming. We got outplayed."

That was true almost from the opening snap. The Bulldogs (11-1) were well-prepared for Central's chaotic defense, which came into the game allowing 10.7 points per game this season. Wilson's game plan was simple: Pass early and pass often.

"They bought seven guys almost every time," Wilson coach Doug Dahms said. "When a team's going to do that, they have to play man coverage."

That played into the hands of Zweizig, who hit five passes of 30 yards or more in the first half. He had 296 passing yards by halftime.

"All week we had our JV running their defense," Zweizig said. "We were very well prepared."

Wilson's 34 points was the most Central has allowed this season.

Meanwhile, Central's offense didn't get into the red zone until late in the fourth quarter, when backup quarterback Zach Sprenkle added a cosmetic, 16-yard touchdown run.

The Panthers played the final few minutes without starter Brandon Baker, who suffered a right arm injury in the fourth quarter.

But Central York's fate was sealed long before that by a disastrous 1:35 stretch late in the first half.

First, Zweizig floated a 30-yard touchdown pass to receiver Calvin Panghulan to make it 17-0.Then came the sucker punch. On the final play of the half, Zweizig tight end Tyler Beck on a short drag pattern. Beck pitched the ball to Hannibal-Nixon, who burst into open space and outran the Panthers defense for a touchdown.

"I thought it was a huge play," Livingston said. "Twenty-four points was a long way back."

It was all hard to swallow for Central's seniors, who for the second year in a row lost the District quarterfinals.

"I know that it's going to be really difficult to take those pads off for the last time," Livingston said. "I don't think you could have asked any more out of any of them."
 

Central  0    0    0    7 --   7
Wilson  3  21    0  10 -- 34

First Quarter
   Wil -- Shane Witmyer 22 FG, 9:15
Second Quarter
   Wil -- Johnny Morgan 39 pass from Zach Zweizig (Witmyer kick), 9:29
   Wil -- Calvin Panghulan 30 pass from Zweizig (Witmyer kick), 1:35
   Wil -- Sheldon Hannibal-Nixon 51 run with lateral from Tyler Beck (Witmyer kick), :00
Fourth Quarter
   Wil -- Witmyer 23 FG, 9:02
   Wil -- Beck 43 blocked punt return (Witmyer kick), 6:24
   CY -- Zach Sprenkle 16 run (Aaron Goodyear kick), 1:30
 
-- CY -- Wil
First downs -- 11 -- 11
Rushes-yards -- 31-129 -- 18-83
Passing -- 8-24-1 -- 18-26-0
Passing yards -- 89 -- 309
Total yards -- 218 -- 392
Punts -- 7-27.4 -- 5-28.0
Fumbles-lost -- 0-0 -- 1-0
Penalties-yards -- 5-32 -- 11-80

 
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
   Rushing -- Central York, Charles Anderson 20-73, Zach Sprenkle 2-26, Chris Englar 3-15, Brandon Baker 5-10, Parrish Fells 1-5; Wilson, Kriss Brown 7-42, Rodney Gillen 2-38, Nick Greth 4-15, Matt Stopper 1-0, Calvin Panghulan 1-(-2), Zach Zweizig 3-(-10).
   Passing -- Central York, Brandon Baker 6-20-0-76, Zach Sprenkle 2-4-1-13; Wilson, Zach Zweizig 18-26-0-309.
   Receiving -- Central York, Charles Anderson 2-24, Justin Burke 2-23, Kyle Baublitz 2-13, Karl Rice 1-16, Parrish Fells 1-13; Wilson, Tyler Beck 4-82, Patrick O'Brien 4-47, Johnny Morgan 3-83, Nick Greth 2-(-5), Sheldon Hannibal-Nixon 1-57, Calvin Panghulan 1-30, Brad Ohlinger 1-8, Julian Carabello 1-4, Kriss Brown 1-3.