YORK – The Wilson football players or coaches won’t do much second-guessing about their season-ending loss.

Central York scored on its first two possessions Friday night and rolled to a 42-7 victory over Wilson in a District 3 Class 6A semifinal, handing Wilson its worst district playoff loss in 28 years.

“We got our butts kicked in every way shape and form,” said Wilson coach Doug Dahms. “They’re a better football team than us.”

Legend Johnson scored on touchdown runs of 4 and 34 yards in the first seven minutes to help top-seeded Central York (11-0) avenge last year’s District 3 semifinal loss to the fourth-seeded Bulldogs. Wilson had defeated Central York in the semifinals twice in the previous four years and was undefeated in five District 3 playoff games against the Panthers.

But Friday night was a different story. Johnson finished with 171 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 16 carries. His 44-yard TD burst with 10 seconds left in the first half all but put the game away, giving Central York a 28-7 halftime lead.

“I’d rather lose like this than lose like we lost to (Manheim) Township,” Dahms said about a close season-ending loss that determined the Lancaster-League Section 1 championship. “Township you’re just going to sit back and think, ‘what if, what if, what if’ forever. This one, they were better.”

Wilson had its moments and briefly got back into the game with a 12-play, 73-yard drive that Michael Glover capped with a 3-yard touchdown run on the second play of the second quarter to make it 14-7.

But Duece Johnson scored on a 16-yard run with just under four minutes left in the second quarter before Legend Johnson tacked on his third TD.

“You’ve just got to give props to Central York,” Glover said. “They played a great game, they’re a great team.”

Glover had three catches for 44 yards and ran five times for 27 yards. Wilson racked up 294 yards on offense but was unable to sustain another drive after the second quarter.

Mason Young threw for 201 yards with Jaiden Carpenter hauling in five passes for 52 yards. Correll Akings rushed for 46 yards and had three catches for 31 yards for the Bulldogs, who had drives stall constantly near the 20-yard line.

“They took advantage of the plays, made the plays when they had to and we didn’t,” Dahms said.

Central York scored on two big plays in the second half, a 51-yard pass from Brooklyn Nace to Brendyn Smith and a 55-yard interception return by Dwayne Morgan off a Wilson trick play.

Central York, which lost to Wilson 28-20 last year in West Lawn, will advance to the District 3 6A championship game to face either defending champion Harrisburg or Manheim Township on Friday, Nov. 21.

For Wilson, it’s a short time to look back on a 50th straight winning season and take a long look ahead to the 2026 season opener in August.

“I’m so proud of these guys, especially the seniors,” said Glover, a junior. “We battled. It’s a tough way to end the season.

“Now it’s up to us underclassmen. We’ve got to put in that work for next year and come back even stronger.”