Spartans excited to get another shot at Central Valley

The Wyomissing Spartans knew that if they navigated their way back to the PIAA Class 3A championship game Central Valley would be waiting for them.

The Warriors beat the Spartans 35-21 in last year’s title game, earning their first championship. They extended their winning streak to 26 games Friday with a 35-21 win over Central Martinsburg in a state semifinal.

The Spartans had a much easier time of it, dispatching Neumann Goretti 42-6. That victory made Wyomissing just the second team in Berks history to reach 15-0 and the first to make it to back-to-back state title games.

It’s quite an achievement considering that the Spartans entered this season with just five return starters.

“At the start of the season not a lot of people thought we would make it this far again, losing seven All-State players last year, and not returning many seniors ” said Amory Thompson, a senior and three-year starter at cornerback. “It feels great coming this far and going back to the state championship.”

This is Wyomissing’s third championship appearance. The Spartans completed the only 16-0 season in Berks history in 2012. The only other Berks team to play for a state championship is Wilson, in 1989, when future pro Kerry Collins was the quarterback.

Thompson rushed for 114 yards against Neumann Goretti and broke the game open with a 57-yard TD run in the third quarter. The Spartans bounced back from an early 6-0 deficit and responded with six unanswered touchdowns. They out-gained the Saints 235-57 in the second half.

The Warriors (14-0), the top-ranked team in the state all season, had a little tougher time punching their ticket to Hersheypark Stadium. They trailed 7-0 at the outset and were on their heels in the fourth quarter, leading just 28-21 when the Scarlet Dragons drove to the 2.

Central Valley got a fourth-down stop there, then turned it over to All-State running back Landon Alexander, who broke off a 98-yard scoring run to provide a comfortable working margin and send the Warriors back to the state championship game for the third straight season.

Alexander is just part of a star-studded Central Valley cast that includes Pittsburgh Panthers recruit Sean Fitzsimmons and 10 other all-league players.

Alexander rushed for 120 yards and scored a pair of second-half touchdowns to help the Warriors pull free in last year’s championship game. Wyomissing led 14-7 at the half and was within 28-21 in the fourth quarter after Jordan Auman’s 77-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.

The 6-3, 274-pound Fitzsimmons was a monster in that game and helped disrupt Wyomissing’s running game, which was limited to 126 yards on 46 carries.

He was an All-State pick as a junior and has had an ever better senior season, with at least 46 tackles for loss. He had four sacks in Friday’s win. He was named Defensive Player of the Year, Defensive Lineman of the Year and Offensive Lineman of the Year in the Northwestern Six Conference.

Central linebacker Matt Merritt has Division I offers from Army, Navy, air Force, Lehigh and Robert Morris. Alexander, who has rushed for over 2,000 yards this season, has an offer from Massachusetts. Junior defensive back Jayvin Thompson leads the team with 11 interceptions, including four in Week 14 against North Catholic.

Central Valley is on quite a roll. It has gone 39-2 over the past three seasons. It’s last loss came in the 2019 PIAA championship game to Wyoming Valley, 21-14.

The Spartans are on an unprecedented roll as well. They have gone 25-1 the past two seasons and 37-2 over three seasons.

In its five playoff games Wyomissing has outscored its opponents 211-37. It led Middletown just 7-0 at the half in the District 3 semifinals and was up only 14-6 on Neumann Goretti before pulling away in the second half.

Wyomissing has trailed just once all season, 6-0 to Goretti.

Wyomissing proved itself early in the season, knocking off state-ranked opponents on the road at Pottsville and Southern Columbia. Now it gets another shot at the No. 1 team.

“Our senior year, going back to the state championship, that’s a perfect season,” said tight end Aiden Mack. “All we’ve got to do now is finish it off.”