The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson’s home opener against Sunny Hills on Friday night was a tale of two halves. The Bruins took a one-score lead on the final play of a 35-point first half, before nearly shutting out the Lancers and outscoring them by 21 points in the final 24 minutes en route to a dominant 49-21 win.
“We’re better,” Raudric Curtis said of the win. “We were better in the quarter than when we started, and that’s the goal every time we take the field is to be a better football team. So we fixed some things after the first couple of drives and at halftime and they came out and executed. The coaches and the players deserve all the credit.”
The Bruins leaned on a balanced attack during their offensive outpour including 167 rushing yards and two touchdowns from running back Kori Scott. Senior quarterback Mack Cooper led the passing attack with over 200 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air.
“We just have great trust between our coaches and when they give me that freedom I’m ready to go,” said the Prairie View A&M commit after the game. “I’m ready for anything. I’ll throw any ball and I feel comfortable reading the defense.”
The Lancers started the scoring on a short four-play opening drive that ended in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Mikeal Khan to Kruz Sandle. The Bruins responded with a four-play opening drive of their own ending in a 25-yard touchdown pass on a screen play to Thomas Jones.
Wilson took its first lead of the game on its second drive, a five-play drive ending in yet another touchdown pass to Jones. Jones finished his night with just four catches—three of them for touchdowns.
“It means a lot and it hasn’t come instantly. We’ve built this over the last four years together so it means a lot,” Jones said of his performance. “And it’s not just me. My receivers are getting open so I can and we have weapons all around. I know if I’m covered someone else is going to make a play.”
Sunny Hills hung with the Bruins in the first quarter and regained the lead on a touchdown pass from Kahn to running back George Shelledy. After forcing a punt, Wilson responded on the final play of the half with an 80-yard catch-and-run from Cooper to Kyle Harris as time expired. The Bruins took a 28-14 lead into the break.
Despite the two-score lead, Curtis said he had plenty to talk about with his team at halftime — and it seemed to work.
“There were a lot of bleeps in the locker room,” Curtis said with a laugh. “This was our first home game. The band and the atmosphere really had our attention, so at halftime we really focused on the little details that would allow us to execute.”
The Bruins caught fire coming out of the break and kept their momentum going with another five-yard score from Scott. Cooper followed with his final two touchdowns of the night, including a 22-yard screen pass to Harris. He later connected with Jones for his third touchdown to give Wilson its biggest lead of the game, 48-14.
The Lancers found a late score at the end of the fourth quarter on an Austin Knight touchdown with Wilson’s starters on the sideline. It was their first of the half, as they had been practically shut out since the break. The Bruins also came up with the game’s only two turnovers, interceptions by Dylan Sula and Cahmarr Davis.
“We just have a lot of trust in each other,” said Wilson defensive lineman Jagger Kohagura, who had a handful of tackles for loss and sacks. “We knew as long as we trusted the guys around us that we’d be able to execute at a high level. It’s a great feeling, there’s nothing like it.”
For Sunny Hills, Khan threw for nearly 200 yards and a score while Shelledy had over 100 all-purpose yards and a touchdown.
Wilson is now 3-0 for the first time since 2021, and they’ll put that undefeated record on the line when they host Dana Hills.
