Madyx Gruber-Wilson

Over the course of a 48-minute game, mistakes will happen. The question becomes how do athletes handle adversity. Madyx Gruber passed that test with flying colors. Wilson’s senior quarterback overcame an interception in the red zone on the opening drive and led the Bulldogs to a 43-20 victory at Gov. Mifflin. Gruber tied the school record with five touchdown passes. He finished 15-of-20 for 232 yards. The basketball standout also ran for a career-high 204 yards on 19 carries. “I’m super proud of the team. We came into this game so prepared, probably more prepared than ever. I’m just so excited,” said Gruber. The (5-1) Bulldogs outgained the (3-3) Mustangs 532-to-243 in their 67th meeting. Wilson holds a (40-27) advantage in the heated rivalry. The Bulldogs racked up 300 rushing yards while averaging 7.9 yards per carry. They had 26 first downs, 15 more than Gov. Mifflin. Two of Gruber’s TD passes went to junior Jaiden Carpenter on wide receiver screens. “We seen that on film. We know that their cornerbacks like to play off a little bit. We just took what they gave us,” explained Gruber. The Mustangs’ defensive tackles, Ismael Ayala Vargas and Noah Viruet, are 335 and 345 pounds respectively. Jeremy Palm, in his 24th year as Wilson’s offensive coordinator, opted to attack the edge. “We knew that they had bigger guys up front and that we could probably get to the outside. Our game plan was outside zone a lot,” revealed Gruber. On a rainy night, Bulldogs’ punter Christo Hunsicker lost a fumble at the 12-yard line early in the second quarter. Javien Pletz’s 10-yard run up the middle gave Gov. Mifflin a 14-7 lead. Wilson responded with a 86-yard drive that included an incredible 37-yard catch by sophomore Michael Glover. The 6’3, 220-pound tight end had three receptions for 85 yards. His grab over a defender set up Gruber’s 4-yard TD pass to sophomore running back Monty Greer. After a penalty on the Mustangs during the extra point, the Bulldogs went for a 2-point conversion. Gruber found Hunsicker wide open for a 15-14 lead with four minutes left in the first half. Wilson got the ball back and drove 70 yards in only 66 seconds. Gruber connected with junior running back Correll Akings in the right corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score. The Bulldogs were in front 22-14 at the break. Akings added 58 yards on 10 carries. Gov. Mifflin pulled within 29-20 when Pletz broke free for a 45-yard touchdown run midway through the third quarter. The 2-point conversion was stuffed. Wilson replied with a 79-yard drive that was capped by Gruber’s 17-yard strike over the middle to senior tight end Brady Kline. Just 47 seconds later, Akings returned an interception 46 yards for a touchdown. Pletz ended up 1-of-7 for 24 yards. The senior quarterback ran for 82 yards on six carries. Grady Garner, a 200-pound senior fullback, rumbled for 127 yards and a score on 23 touches. The Mustangs accumulated 219 yards on the ground, but the Bulldogs held the ball for nearly 29 minutes. There were twenty total penalties, including eleven for 120 yards against Wilson. Sophomore linebacker E.J. Brownback led the Bulldogs with ten tackles and a sack. Wilson has won eleven of the past fourteen contests with Gov. Mifflin. The series began in 1954. Gruber was the main character in this chapter of the rivalry.