This Wilson football season has already been one for the history books, and now the Bruins have their sights set on the first CIF Southern Section championship in school history.
Wilson (9-1, 5-1) is No. 2 in Division 7 and will host Fullerton on Friday at 7 p.m.
“We’ve scored on our first drive in nine of our 10 games and that’s what we need to do again,” Wilson coach Mark Ziegenhagen said. “We need to play a great game a send a message to the rest of the division and show who we are.”
Wilson’s offensive success has come behind an experienced and impressive offensive line. Right tackle Jakob Belton, right guard Justin Navarro, center Terren Monette, left guard Jaylen Ferrera and left tackle Adrian Tejada have helped the Bruins running backs average over 175 yards per game.
Quarterback Ryan Pettway has also been impressive in his third year behind center, and the senior is statistically the best quarterback in school history. He has 2,105 yards passing with 30 touchdowns and only two interceptions this season, and has racked up 5,011 yards and 54 touchdowns in his career.
Pettway has also spread the ball around efficiently to junior receivers Michael Bruner (24 rec, 703 yards, 11 TD), Nick Timko (23 rec, 509 yards, 7 TD) and Tyrie Robinson (28 rec, 499 yards, 3 TD) this year.
Pettway, Bruner Connection Is Right Change For Wilson Football
Ziegenhagen said the energy and focus was better at practice this week.
“We’re simplifying everything like our coverage and keeping everyone in front of us and don’t get beat deep,” he said.
Fullerton (6-4, 3-2) started the season on a winning streak and then one two of its last three games to stay above .500 in the Freeway League. Senior Arthur Shaw is the key to the Fullerton offense with 1,328 yards rushing and 20 total touchdowns.
The Wilson defense will try to corral Shaw with its aggressive senior linebackers Ethan Moxley, Brett Dowgiewicz and Logan Ziegenhagen. They’ve combined for 200 tackles and 24 tackles for loss.
With a win, the Bruins would face the winner of West Ranch and Quartz Hill in the quarterfinals, and Wilson won’t have to see another top four team until potentially facing Temecula Valley in the semi finals. 10-0 Serrano received the No. 1 seed in the Division 7 bracket.
