It’s another successful ‘reload’ as Wyomissing claims fifth straight championship
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Bob Boden tipped his hand in the opening minutes of Saturday’s District 3 Class 3A championship game.
With his West Perry team facing fourth-and-4 at its own 35 the Mustangs faked a punt.
On their next possession, backed even deeper in their own territory, they went for it on fourth down, too.
The Mustangs converted each but the message was clear: We’ll need to pull out all the stops to have a chance against Wyomissing.
The second-seeded Mustangs tried everything – flea flickers, onside kicks, you name it – but it all fell short. They couldn’t stop the top-seeded Spartans, who kept things basic, blasted their way between the tackles and controlled the game from start to finish, securing their fifth straight district championship 42-14 at Bob Wolfrum Field.
“It’s tough coming in here,” said Boden, whose team lost last year’s championship game on the Spartans’ home field 63-7 and saw Wyomissing put up 98 unanswered points against his team before it scored Saturday deep into the third quarter, after the mercy rule had been invoked. “They seem to reload every year.”
Senior captains Ryker Jones, Ethan Brower, Logan Hyde and Evan Blickley were eighth-graders when Wyomissing started this run in 2019.
They watched from the stands the following season when the Spartans beat Middletown for the second year in a row.
They had mostly smaller roles in 2021 when Wyomissing blasted Boiling Springs for a third straight championship.
Saturday, they all played a key part in the romp before lofting that shiny trophy above their heads and celebrating as they once dreamed they would.
“I remember being a spectator in the stands, watching the guys celebrate on the field,” said Hyde, looking back to the pulsating 24-21 win over Middletown that kicked off this run. “To be here celebrating with my teammates . . . I’m really thankful to be a part of this.”
The Spartans (11-1) made championship No. 5 look routine, scoring touchdowns on their first five possessions, but the journey to get to this point was anything but routine. They played without their top player, Jones, the first three games of the season and spent much of the season finding an identity.
They weren’t fully galvanized until a humbling Week 7 defeat at Cocalico, a loss that seemed to kick-start their championship drive. They’ve gotten better each week since and are at the top of their game as they head into the PIAA quarterfinals against District 4 champ Danville Friday at 7 at Albright’s Shirk Stadium.
“I’m just so proud of the guys to keep fighting every week,” said Brower. “We just keep getting better and better every week to get to this point.”
Jones ran for a pair of touchdowns and sophomore Chase Eisenhower returned an interception 86 yards for a TD as the Spartans remained unbeaten at home in the postseason.
West Perry quarterback Marcus Quaker gave his team an early spark when he ran out of punt formation for a first down to midfield but that was one of the few highlights for his team. A few plays later sophomore linebacker Tyler Niedrowski chased him out of the pocket and forced an errant pass which Brower picked off.
The Spartans owned the game from that moment on. They went 72 yards on their first possession with Eisenhower, the bullish sophomore fullback, running between the tackles on eight of the first 11 plays.
It looked like basic power football from the outside but what made that drive click, said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum, was some wrinkles added in for this game to counteract things West Perry’s defense did well the last time they met.
“We changed (our blocking) scheme a little bit, and it got us that first touchdown,” Wolfrum said. “People get used to what you do; you have to put some wrinkles into it.”
“We added a lot of new things this week and the guys picked it up really well,” Hyde said, “the running backs especially. They had a lot of stuff to learn this week and they did a phenomenal job of picking it up. We didn’t really make any mistakes on offense. We played a great, complete game.”
Senior Collin Niedrowski sparked the second scoring drive with a 33-yard run; senior Marvin Armistead ended Wyomissing’s third possession with a 26-yard TD run.
The Spartans played with precision and discipline, using their power running game to pile up 243 first-half yards. They went 68 yards over the final three minutes of the opening half to take a 28-0 lead when Hyde rolled out and found Justice Hardy alone in the right flat. The freshman took it 16 yards and scored with 26 seconds left in the half.
Hyde attempted three passes on that nine-play drive; he connected with Hardy on two of them. Those were his only throws all day.
Wyomissing never punted and committed just four minor penalties.
The Mustangs (11-2), on the other hand, lost their poise and grew frustrated in the second half when they were flagged for six personal fouls and saw three players ejected. One of those ejections came in the final minute with the Spartans lined up in the Victory Formation inside the 5, with backup quarterback Teddy White getting prepared to take a knee in order to run out the clock and not run up the score further.
Wyomissing became just the third team in District 3 history to win five straight titles, joining Manheim Central and Bishop McDevitt.
The championship is Wyomissing’s 12th overall, fourth-most in District 3 history behind Manheim Central (18), Steel-High (17), Bishop McDevitt (16), and Cumberland Valley (13).
Either Manheim or McDevitt will win a championship next week when they meet in the Class 4A title game.
A few months ago Wolfrum wasn’t convinced he had another championship team on hand but the Spartans continued to grow and enjoyed another golden moment on their home field.
“I’m proud of how we came together,” said Blickley, “and we’re starting to play our best football of the year.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| West Perry | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Wyomissing | 7 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Jones, 4 run (Maher kick) | 2:44 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 1 run (Maher kick) | 6:30 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Marv. Armistead, 26 run (Maher kick) | 5:04 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 16 pass from Hyde (Maher kick) | 0:26 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Jones, 48 run (Maher kick) | 11:22 |
| 3 | West Perry | Quaker, 5 run (Goodlng kick) | 5:02 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 86 interception return (Plaggenborg kick) | 2:11 |
| 4 | West Perry | Quaker, 10 run (Goodling kick) | 9:31 |
Team statistics
| West Perry | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 12 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-107 | 42-312 |
| Passing yards | 131 | 27 |
| Total yards | 238 | 339 |
| Passes | 9-16-2 | 2-3-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-36.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-82 | 4-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
West Perry: Hockenberry 15-46, Quaker 14-40, Reisinger 2-9, Hockenberry-Folk 1-9, Jutba 1-4, Goodling 1-(-1).
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 11-76, C. Niedrowski 7-59, Jones 4-47, Marv. Armistead 2-42, Hardy 4-31, Diaz 3-28, Macrina 1-14, Marc. Armistead 1-12, Reason 1-10, T. Niedrowski 2-5, Team 2-(-2), Hyde 1-(-3), Sierra 2-(-3), Arguelles 1-(-4).
PASSING
West Perry: Quaker 8-15-2–102, Brown 1-1-0–29.
Wyomissing: Hyde 2-3-0–-27.
RECEIVING
West Perry: Goodling 5-62, Smith 2-48, Hockenberry 2-11.
Wyomissing: Hardy 2-27.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Brower, Eisenhower.
