Thomas KendzioraYork Dispatch
Show Caption
Eight York-Adams League senior football players competed in the Pennsylvania East/West all-star games on Sunday afternoon, but only Hanover’s Joey Wilkinson took the field for the Small School contest. He made it a day to remember.
Wilkinson caught the game-winning touchdown from a yard out with five seconds left to lift the West All-Stars to a 27-24 victory in the opener of Sunday’s doubleheader at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field in Mechanicsburg. He finished with three receptions for 52 yards in the thrilling triumph.
The East later won the Large School game, 15-14, against a West team that included stars from Central York, New Oxford, South Western and Northern York.
Wilkinson capped a memorable afternoon with a contested catch in the front corner of the end zone off a pass from Loyalsock quarterback Tyler Gee. The Hanover star also had a 48-yard catch and run in the second quarter, a 3-yard reception in the third period and a 35-yard kick return in the opening frame.
Sunday’s heroics followed Wilkinson’s incredibly productive senior season. He caught 59 passes for 1,054 yards and 14 touchdowns with the Nighthawks, surpassing 100 receiving yards five times. He was named to the PIAA Class 3A all-state team at season’s end. Wilkinson also tallied 54 receptions, 971 yards and 14 TDs as a junior in 2022. He will play Division II college football at East Stroudsburg.
Living Large: Another local wide receiver, New Oxford’s Brennan Holmes, helped lead the West team in the Large School showcase. Holmes hauled in a 28-yard touchdown pass from North Allegheny’s Logan Kushner to give the West a 7-0 lead at the 11:28 mark of the second quarter. The Y-A Division II Offensive Player of the Year and IUP signee finished with three catches for 45 yards and a score.
It was a banner weekend for Holmes, who on Saturday won a gold medal in the District 3 Class 3A boys’ 400-meter dash with a time of 48.39 seconds at Shippensburg University. He will race in the state meet at Shippensburg this Friday and Saturday.
Idriz Ahmetovic, Holmes’ teammate at New Oxford, made the West roster as a cornerback but entered on offense to throw a 16-yard pass to Kushner at the start of the second quarter. Ahmetovic starred at quarterback for the Colonials in 2023 and was also named a divisional all-star at cornerback and kicker. He’ll play defense for Bloomsburg in college.
New Oxford head coach Jason Warner served as an assistant on the West squad under Cumberland Valley’s Josh Oswalt (who previously coached at Central York). Colonials defensive tackle Micah Smith and South Western defensive tackle Ayden Wysocki were both late additions to the roster. Central York was represented by linebacker Kyle Groman, cornerback Ethan Carlos and wide receiver Preston Fink; Panthers corner Carter Vaughn was an initial selection before backing out due to injury.
Northern York running back Cole Bartram also contributed for the West, rushing four times for 17 yards during a second-half drive that culminated in Kushner’s 34-yard rushing touchdown with 11:12 remaining in the contest. The East answered with a touchdown and 2-point conversion at the 7:27 mark and held on for the victory.
Big finish: While most of Sunday’s competitors have played their final high school football game, Ahmetovic has one showcase remaining. He was promoted earlier this month to the Pennsylvania roster for the Big 33 Classic, which will also feature an all-star team from Maryland. Both the Big 33 and the East/West games are run by the Pennsylvania Scholastic Football Coaches Association (PSFCA).
Spring Grove offensive lineman Michael Hershey is also on the Big 33 squad after being named to the original roster in February. The showcase, long dubbed “The Super Bowl of High School Football,” will kick off its 67th edition at Cumberland Valley at 7 p.m. this coming Sunday.
Local standouts Kenny Johnson (Dallastown) and Mikey Bentivegna (York Suburban) helped lead Pennsylvania to a 31-27 triumph over Maryland in 2023. Johnson, now at Pitt, was named that game’s MVP after catching nine passes for 161 yards and scoring the game-winning, 31-yard touchdown with 1:15 remaining.
MORE: Central York's Greg Guidinger named Mr. PA Basketball
MORE: Spring Grove's Campbell, Bahn lead local gold medalists at District 3 track meet
MORE: Red Lion girls' lacrosse routs South Western for first-ever district playoff win
