One of the biggest surprises in the region through the midpoint of the high school football season is the Wilson Warriors.

After finishing 2-3 in an abbreviated 2020 season, the Warriors have gone through five games without a blemish this season, downing most of their opponents by a rather comfortable margin.

Over the past two seasons, Wilson has won just seven games. But this week it finds itself not only preparing for a matchup of unbeatens against Northwestern Lehigh on Saturday afternoon, but also provides the Warriors with a bit of an opportunity to think about what might have been last season.

With 2020 having an expanded district playoff system, the Warriors were scheduled to play the Tigers in the second round, but a wave of COVID-19 issues at Wilson caused them to forfeit the game. Now, they get a chance at a Northwestern Lehigh team that is also undefeated through five games.

One of the biggest reasons for the improvement in the Wilson team has been based on two players who have dominated on offense: senior quarterback Cayden Stem and junior running back Damian Simpson.

“They were starting to play better late last season, and it would have been an interesting game had we played them last postseason,” said Tigers coach Josh Snyder. “They have some returning guys who are very good and give them experience, and they’ve shown that they can beat some tough teams, so we have to be ready to go Saturday, especially on their home field.”

Stem has already thrown for over 1,000 yards to go with 16 passing touchdowns on the season, while tossing up just one interception. Twice this season, Stem has flirted with the 300-yard mark, throwing for 293 yards and four touchdowns against Palisades early in the season, and then torching Southern Lehigh for 298 yards and three TDs last week.

On the ground, it’s all about Simpson, who has three 100-yard rushing games to his credit this year and has rushed for six touchdowns. Simpson has also caught five touchdown passes for 346 receiving yards.

“They’ve got a lot of experience at skill positions, and a quarterback who is very accurate and doesn’t turn the ball over a lot,” said Snyder. “They do a lot of things well, and they don’t hurt themselves with a lot of turnovers and mistakes, so you have to be ready to make them earn everything that they get.”

The combination of a strong offense and a tough defense has led Wilson to outscore its opponents 201-71 through five games this season, similar to the 212-96 advantage that Northwestern Lehigh has amassed.

With the Saturday afternoon game, the Tigers have an extra day of practice, allowing the coaching staff to apply some wrinkles to the game plan.

“When we have that extra day, we like to use it. It’s given us time to work on some new things, and touch up on some things that we were a little concerned about,” Snyder explained. “Of course, the turnaround is that next week, you have a shorter week, so it’s a give and take.