Spartans sweep away Scranton Prep, head to PIAA semifinals
Drew Eisenhower realized right away Saturday what kind of day it was going to be. On his first carry, a sweep around the left side, he got to the edge, then saw a Scranton Prep defender waiting for him.
“Next thing you know he’s on the ground and Jven’s standing right over him,” Eisenhower said of his Wyomissing teammate, hulking lineman Jven Williams. “(Our linemen) were quick getting to the outside and putting people on their butts.”
The unbeaten Cavaliers have some big linemen of their own but they were no match for the Spartans’ offensive front, which played this PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal on its terms and set the tone for Wyomissing’s 35-14 win over Scranton Prep Saturday afternoon at Mifflin Stadium.
The Spartans (14-0) reached the end zone the first three times they had the ball and were practically never stopped by a team ranked No. 3 in the state, one spot behind them.
“We were getting outside really well today, and being able to turn it up there, get 5, 10 yards a pop,” said Eisenhower, who rushed for a team-high 133 yards on 14 carries, with a pair of touchdowns. “Our offense was just clicking on everything.”
The Spartans were so efficient they didn’t throw a pass, except for on a two-point conversion in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 28-7.
They advance to the PIAA semifinals and will play District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti, which defeated Danville 28-0. Time and site for that game has not been announced.
The District 2 champion Cavaliers (11-1) were thrown a curve in the early minutes when their star tailback, London Montgomery, was injured and left the game. He carried the ball on the first three plays of the game, then left after being stuffed on a third-and-2 by Ja-Mhi Jackson and Julian DiMaio. He was taken to a local hospital for x-rays.
That was obviously a severe blow. Montgomery, who’s been collecting Division I offers, had rushed for over 2,300 yards and scored 36 touchdowns. He accounts for about 70 percent of Prep’s offense. Without him the Cavs were scrambling, especially against a defense as good as Wyomissing’s.
They managed just 92 first-half yards, 40 of it off a fake punt that set up their only first-half score. They had just four first downs at the half.
“It changes the dynamic of the game for us,” Prep coach Terry Gallagher said of losing Montgomery.
Montgomery may have been able to keep the Cavaliers in it, or at least make the Spartans work harder for the win. He would’ve needed to score a bunch of touchdowns, though, because Wyomissing’s offense was at its efficient best. The Spartans punted once on four first-half possession and opened the second half with a pair of long scoring drives to go up 35-7.
They held the ball for 6 1/2 minutes at the outset of the third quarter and for 15 1/2 of the first 18 minutes of the second half. Prep couldn’t stop them.
“They came out and did what they do, and they did it very well,” Gallagher said. “We just couldn’t slow them down. They do a good job of just chewing up yards: 4 or 5 yards, 4 or 5 yards, and then 6, and then 8. We were on the field defensively the whole game.”
The Spartans relied on fullback Tommy Grabowski the last two weeks to carry the load with the inside power game. Facing a bulkier defensive front this time Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum decided to attack the edges, and Williams and all-league guard Jack Miller were out in front of everything. They cleared the way for Eisenhower and Amory Thompson, who rushed for 64 yards and a TD on 12 carries. Grabowski had a pair of TDs, and 61 rushing yards.
“Jven was over here on the sideline, making blocks within the last 2, 3 yards (of the carry),” Wolfrum said. “They strung ’em out and we kept going and we were blocking all the way to edge. We were really getting pretty physical with them. You could hear some good licks being laid out there.”
Gallagher said his team has faced Wing-T offenses this season but none that run it as seamlessly as Wyomissing.
“All credit goes to them, because I think they’re a really, really good football team,” he said. “They move really well, they run to the ball really well (on defense). They run the Wing-T the way it’s supposed to be run.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Scranton Prep | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Wyomissing | 14 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 2 run (Levering kick) | 8:19 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 7 run (Levering kick) | 6:09 |
| 2 | Scranton Prep | Barrett, 1 run (Rinaldi kick) | 11:14 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 9 run (kick blocked) | 8:43 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 2 run (Thompson, pass from Zechman) | 5:34 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Thompson, 18 run (Levering kick) | 11:41 |
| 4 | Scranton Prep | Rossi, 11 pass from Monahan (Rinaldi kick) | 2:04 |
Team statistics
| Scranton Prep | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 9 | 19 |
| Rushes-yards | 29-130 | 57-318 |
| Passing yards | 34 | 0 |
| Total yards | 164 | 318 |
| Passes | 4-10-0 | 0-0-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 4-28.0 | 1-27.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-20 | 3-33 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Scranton Prep: Barrett 13-69, Roque 5-9, Montgomery 3-7, Golay 1-5, Monahan 6-0.
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 14-133, Thompson 12-64, Grabowski 15-61, McIntrye 5-29, Jackson 5-27, Jones 2-4, W. Delp 1-1, Niedrowski 1-1, A. Delp 1-(-1).
PASSING
Scranton Prep: Monahan 4-10-0–34.
RECEIVING
Scranton Prep: Rossi 4-34.