Logan’s run with Wyomissing has yet to hit full stride
(Last of a seven-part series.)
Three sports aren’t enough to quench Logan Hyde’s thirst for activity and competition. He may add a fourth.
He’s eyeing a spot on Wyomissing’s 4×400 relay team next spring.
That may seem to be a bit much, considering he’ll be one of the best, if not the best, lacrosse player in Berks County during the spring. Still, he think he can successfully pull off the double.
“That wouldn’t surprise me at all,” Spartans lacrosse coach Bern Donahue said of seeing Hyde running track. “He wants any opportunity to win something.”
Hyde will get plenty of chances to win this fall when he takes over as Wyomissing’s quarterback; the Spartans figure to chase a fourth straight District 3 Class 3A championship and Hyde will be critical in that pursuit.
He should win a bunch more next basketball season, too. The Spartans enjoyed only eight victories last season but most of their top weapons return and Hyde figures to be in the middle of things, running the court, distributing passes, disrupting things on defense.
With wing man Chase Maggs at his side, Hyde and the Spartans figure to be a factor in the lacrosse playoffs next season, too. Those two – each a starter since their freshmen year — combined for 126 goals as juniors. No returning duo in Berks comes close.
Hyde would be considered one of the top returning athletes in Berks next year based solely on his vast lacrosse skills. He earned All-Berks honors after setting program records with 92 points and 78 ground balls. He fires the ball toward the net at over 90 mph. He plays for one of the elite club teams in the state, Big 4 HHH, with and against the top high scholastic in the Northeast.
Donahue believes that if not for Ty Yonas, Exeter’s relentless goal-scoring machine, Hyde would’ve been Berks Player of the Year as a junior.
“We had really high expectations for him coming into this season and, honestly, he blew them away,” Donahue said. “He commands the field. He’s developed into a dominant ballhandler. Most of our plays are surrounded around getting him the ball or setting (him) up for a score.
“That’s where he changes a game: He can get himself open with his speed, and then use that speed to beat a defender. When the game’s on the line he demands the ball and he wants that type of responsibility.”
Hyde plans to play lacrosse in college. He’s considering scholarship offers from Wagner and NJIT, each of which competes on the Division I level.
The 6-foot, 185-pound Hyde has yet to enjoy the same kind of notoriety on the football field. He was a starting safety on the top-ranked defense in the Lancaster-Lebanon League last season, one that helped the Spartans finish 13-1. Still, he was overshadowed by All-State teammates such as Drew Eisenhower, Matt Kramer, and Jven Williams.
People will know his name this season once he steps behind center. In addition to his football experience and leadership skills he’ll bring a different dimension to the position: running ability.
Bob Wolfrum dusted off a few plays from the Wing-T playbook after seeing the cuts, spins and dashes Hyde makes on the lacrosse field. The long-time Spartans coach believes he can do the same with a football tucked under his arm.
Hyde could develop as the most effective running quarterback the Spartans have seen in more than a decade.
“The coaches have me doing a lot of things that quarterbacks in the past haven’t done,” Hyde said. “I’m excited to go. To be the guy this year is going to be a lot of fun.”
Hyde attempted just one pass last season but Wolfrum has confidence he can handle the position. He has played quarterback all the way through the Wyo system, and the time spent on the field last season – even though most of it was on defense – has prepared him for the game speed he’ll face.
“I always like having an older kid at quarterback,” Wolfrum said. “They just don’t make as many mistakes. Our safeties have to be smart, make a lot of calls. He did that very well.”
Playing quarterback is all about decision-making and Hyde is adept at that no matter what uniform he’s wearing.
“Lacrosse is such a fast-moving sport,” Donahue said, “you’re making decisions right away.
“The smart kid he is, he can carry that over into football and it can elevate his play as a quarterback.”
Hyde is smart, and not just on the field. He carries a 4.3 GPA.
Some casual fans view the Wing-T as pretty basic, especially for quarterbacks since they’re not often required to pick up blitzes or read pass coverages.
Share that opinion within earshot of Wolfrum at your own risk.
“Our offense is not a simple offense (to execute),” he said. “Our quarterbacks have a lot of footwork (to master).
“With all that ballhandling, every step they take makes a difference. It’s not that easy.”
Wolfrum says the experience and success Hyde has known in lacrosse will be a plus, too. He calls the sport a “great carryover” for football.
Hyde agrees. He says each sport has enhanced his play in the other.
“Lacrosse really helps my football game,” he said, “the footwork, dodging and making moves, rolling back around the crease. The stamina and explosion of lacrosse helps with football, too.
“(And) football gets me a lot stronger (for lacrosse). I’ll lose 10 pounds (throughout) a lacrosse season. (Training for) football, I really work out and eat a lot. I don’t get thrown around in lacrosse.”
Hyde could be a five-sport athlete. He was an accomplished defender in soccer and played in the FC Revolution development system until giving it up in junior high in order to concentrate on football.
He’ll stick to three sports – well, maybe four – for the time being.
Hyde had considered dropping basketball from his hectic schedule in order to do more strength training in the winter and prepare more for lacrosse season. Then summer league basketball began and that thought vanished.
“After a couple of these games,” he said the other night, after playing in the West Reading Summer League, “I can’t (stop). It’s too fun.”
This time of year Hyde bounces from one workout to another: Football in the morning, a lacrosse throw-around after that, basketball or a trip to Philly to practice with his club team in the evenings.
“I just want to be the best at what I do,” he said. “I’m a competitor. That’s why I stay with it.”
