Wyomissing eager for another challenge from Pottsville
Tom McGeoy didn’t need to watch Wyomissing’s season-opener to get an idea of what his Pottsville football team is in store for Friday.
The Crimson Tide head coach remembers the last meeting against the Spartans, an overtime classic in 2019, and the one before that, and the one before that.
He knows they’ll look and play pretty much the same.
“One of the things that makes them great is they’re really good at what they do,” said McGeoy. “A lot of things look the same. I know they have personnel changes, different sizes, different guys, different experience levels (than last year).
“But they’ve been doing what they do for a long time, and they’re really good at it. This year’s team is no different. They don’t have the experience that last year’s team had but they’ve got guys stepping in who probably would’ve started on any other team.”
Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said pretty much the same thing before and after a season-opening 41-14 win over Daniel Boone. He said this team is similar to the one two years ago that edged the Crimson Tide 21-20 in two overtimes, then went on to win the first of back-to-back District 3 Class 3A championships: Young but talented.
The Crimson Tide are back at that high level, too. They went 11-3 in 2019 and won the District 11 Class 4A championship.
They return 15 starters from a team that finished 6-2 and reached the District 11 playoffs, including dual-threat quarterback Jazce Carabello-Snowell and most of his play-makers. They’re ranked No. 10 in the state in Class 4A by PennLive.com; Wyomissing is No. 3 in Class 3A.
“They have some athletes, some linebackers and backs that can really run,” Wolfrum said. “The quarterback can really run. That’s gonna be a tough game for us.”
It figures to make for another outstanding match-up, as many in this series have been. Five of the 11 games have been decided by a touchdown or less. In 2017 the Spartans trailed 7-0 entering the fourth quarter before pulling out a 14-7 victory.
The Spartans’ 21-20 victory in 2019 was transformational. One week after losing starting quarterback Zach Zechman for the season with an injury Wolfrum switched Evan Niedrowski from guard to fullback. ‘Nitro’ scored the decisive TD in the second OT and the Spartans went on to have a perfect regular season.
Wolfrum made the move because the Crimson Tide has been a tough nut to crack. They defend the Wing-T extremely well.
“We beat ’em in overtime and I don’t know how we did it,” Wolfrum said. “We didn’t move the ball the whole game long.
“It’s become (like) that the last (few) times we played ’em. They defend us pretty well. We really have to work to move the ball on ’em. They understand what’s coming at ’em, they’re disciplined with our misdirection stuff.
“The right people stay home and don’t chase the ball. They make us work harder (than most teams). Some of the teams we play, we run misdirection and we get gaping holes; that’s not the case with these guys.”
McGeoy was on the Crimson Tide staff when they ran the Wing-T, under former head coach Kevin Keating, and understands the mental discipline it takes to defend it.
“Anytime you play the Wing-T, especially (the way) Wyomissing (runs it), you can’t look for the football,” McGeoy said, “you’ve gotta read your keys in front of you and believe what you’re seeing in front of you.
“If you’re just trying to find the football your head’s going to be spinning because they do a great job with their counter and double-handoff stuff. They get you flowing one way and come back with something else. You’ve gotta see the things that lead you to the football; if you can do that, that’s half the battle.”
The Spartans rolled out a mostly new backfield but didn’t miss a beat, rushing for 298 yards against Boone. Junior Ben Zechman performed well in his first start at quarterback, senior Amory Thompson ran for 87 yards and junior Drew Eisenhower ran for a pair of TDs.
The Spartans will again be without 6-3, 255-pound junior guard Pacen Ziegler, who is sidelined with a foot injury.
Series results: Wyomissing leads 7-4
| 2019 | Wyomissing | 21-20 (2 OT) |
| 2018 | Pottsville | 21-7 |
| 2017 | Wyomissing | 14-7 |
| 2016 | Pottsville | 32-7 |
| 2015 | Wyomissing | 35-7 |
| 2014 | Wyomissing | 41-0 |
| 2011 | Wyomissing | 28-21 |
| 2010 | Pottsville | 28-25 |
| 2009 | Wyomissing | 28-13 |
| 2008 | Pottsville | 16-0 |
| 2007 | Wyomissing | 24-20 |
“They’re Wyomissing,” McGeoy said. “You’ve got be perfect on defense; if you make a mistake they make you hurt. And on offense you’ve got to grind it out and make the big plays. You’re not gonna have many opportunities.”
Wyo’s defense will face a bigger challenge this week; Boone played most of last week’s game without quarterback and leader Carter Speyerer, who was lost to an injury in the first quarter.
Carabello-Snowell, a 6-3, 205-pound senior, passed for 889 yards and seven TDs in eight games last year. He also ran for 509 yards and six TDs.
He has improved his quarterback skills dramatically since then, McGeoy said.
“He’ a big-time player,” McGeoy said. “He’s really turned himself into quarterback who can run. Last year he was an athlete playing quarterback.”
He’s joined by Travis Davis, who rushed for 515 yards last season, and has both his top receivers, Raeff DiCello and Amari Dunn, back in the fold. DiCello had 21 receptions for 400 yards and four scores in 2020.
Wolfrum is looking for a challenge; that’s why he likes to have Pottsville at the front of his schedule every year (and why he’s willing to play on the road at Veterans Memorial Stadium every season).
“We’ll play tough teams early,” he said. “We’re not afraid to lose. It’s just better playing good competition.”
Even with Wyomissing headed to the Lancaster-Lebanon League next season and Pottsville in its first season in the newly formed Schuylkill/Colonial League, both sides plan to continue the series.
“I love it, too,” McGeoy said. “It’s a real good test for both teams, see where we’re at early in the season. You can really build off of it and learn and be ready to get into your league schedule after that.”
- Mitch Ruppert (@Mitch_Rupert) will be covering this game for MikeDragoSports.com. Check back late Friday night for his report.