GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Wyomissing vs. Danville
PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal
Wyomissing (12-0) vs. Danville (12-0)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Danville.
Series: Spartans lead 2-0.
Wyomissing schedule: Click here.
Danville schedule: Click here.
PIAA Class 3A bracket: Click here.
Last meeting: Zach Zechman completed 11-of-12 passes for 190 yards and three touchdowns in Wyomissing’s 44-14 victory in a 2020 PIAA Class 3A semifinal at the A-Field. The Spartans led 30-7 at halftime. Jordan Auman ran for a TD and caught a 29-yard scoring pass and Jason Gartner ran for a pair of TDs as the Spartans (9-0) piled up 451 total yards. Sophomore Carson Persing had five receptions for 229 yards, including a 79-yard TD catch, for the Ironmen (8-2).
Spartans update: Ranked No. 1 in state by PennLive.com. . . Beat West Perry 63-7 for fourth straight District 3 championship and 11th overall. . . Rushed for 626 yards against West Perry, believed to be a program record. . . Ranked No. 2 in the state among 3A teams in scoring defense, allowing 7.5 points per game. . . Ranked No. 1 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League in total defense and passing defense and No. 3 against the rush. . . Have mercy-ruled 9-of-12 opponents. . . Charlie McIntyre is averaging 13.3 yards per carry, tops among L-L backs . . Drew Eisenhower is averaging 10.5 yards per carry, third-best in L-L. . . QB Ben Zechman has the highest passing efficiency rating in the league among passers with 50 or more attempts. He has completed 71.9 percent of his passes for 803 yards and 10 TDs with 1 INT. . . No Berks starting quarterback has ever completed 70 percent of his passes over a full a season. . . LB Ryker Jones leads team with 66 tackles; LB Colin Niedrowski is next with 40. . . LB Drew Forey has 5 sacks. . . S Eisenhower leads team with 4 INTS, fourth-most in the county. . . Have won 48 of last 51 games.
Did you know? Wyomissing beat Danville 52-0 in a PIAA semifinal on the way to the Class AA championship in 2012. Alex Anzalone scored three three first-quarter touchdowns, along with a two-point conversion run.
Fun fact: Danville’s Zach Gordon has intercepted more passes (4) this season than he’s thrown (3) in 134 passing attempts.
Ironmen update: Ranked No. 2 in state by PennLive.com. . . Beat state-ranked Loyalsock 41-20 to claim third straight District 4 title. . . Beat Loyalsock 17-14 in Week 4 on way to Heartland Athletic Conference title. . . Also beat league rival Southern Columbia, 49-14. . . Have shut out eight opponents. . . Allowing 4.6 points per game, best in the state. . . Until giving up a late TD last week defense had scored more touchdowns than it had allowed. . . Have trailed just once all season, 7-0 against Loyalsock in Week 4. . . Have forced 29 turnovers; plus-20 in turnover differential. . . Have mercy-ruled 10 opponents. . . QB Zach Gordon threw five TDs last week, matching the program record of 32 in a season. . . He has thrown for 2,103 yards and is completing 74.6 percent of his passes, with 3 INTs. . . All-State WR Carson Persing has 49 catches for 1,101 yards. . . His 23 TD catches broke the District 4 record, set by Southern Columbia’s Julian Fleming, who now plays at Ohio State. . . He’s had three consecutive 1,000-yard receiving seasons. . . Army recruit Ty Brown-Stauffer has rushed for 1,140 yards this season and 3,107 in his career, third-most in program history. . . He has rushed for 100 yards six times this season and has 21 TDs. . . All-State MLB Mason Raup has team-high 136 tackles and more than 500 in his career. . . He’s also blocked two punts and one field goal. . . Mike Brennan is in his third season at Danville. He has coached 21 seasons overall with a 165-108 record, including stops at Mount Carmel, Blue Mountain and Hazleton.
Fast fact: Wyomissing did not allow a first-quarter touchdown in its first 11 games and did not trail by more than 3 points before falling behind West Perry 7-0 last week. Spartans have outscored their opponents 464-41 through three quarters.
Did you know? Charlie McIntyre and Matt Kramer can become the third set of Wyomissing backs to rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. McIntyre needs 54 yards and Kramer 81 yards. The others: Gregory Lord and Pat McDonough in 2006 and Christian Matir and Brandon Westwood in 2015.
Fast fact: Wyomissing looks to become the first Berks team to win a PIAA playoff game in three straight seasons. Overall the Spartans are 9-6 in state play, including a 2012 Class AA championship. All other Berks teams are a combined 2-13 in PIAA Tournament play.
Did you know? Danville head coach Mike Brennan has coached against Wyomissing at three of his four stops: Mount Carmel, Blue Mountain and Danville. He is 3-3 overall against the Spartans.
Up next: Winner plays either District 12 champ Neumann-Goretti (8-3) or District 11 champ Northwestern Lehigh (11-2).
