Trinity’s Messiah Mickens, a Penn State recruit, will have Wyo’s full attention
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Messiah Mickens entered last year’s game against Wyomissing with a lot of hype for a freshman playing just his third varsity game.
The running back already had an offer from Texas A&M and was the focus of attention for Trinity’s opponents. Well, most of them.
Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum and his standout defense treated Mickens like any other running back, and he pretty much was: He was limited to eight carries and 52 yards in the Shamrocks’ 35-14 loss at the A-Field.
A year later Mickens, now a Penn State recruit, has everyone’s attention, including Wolfrum’s. He has grown to 5-10, 200 pounds, and has gouged Trinity’s first two opponents for 426 rushing yards and seven touchdowns.
“You can tell he must be on a (dedicated) workout regimen,” Wolfrum said of Mickens. “He’s pretty thick. He not only has great speed and moves but he doesn’t go down easy, either.”
The Spartans have faced a lot of top running backs over the years . . . and generally have contained them. Opposing backs rarely make headlines against Wyomissing.
The Spartans’ rebuilt defense, which had to replace five all-league picks, and which has not had the services of injured All-State linebacker Ryker Jones, has shut down its first two opponents, Kennard-Dale and Pottsville.
Those teams combined to rush for 210 yards on 60 carries, an average of 3.5 yards. They turned the ball over five times and reached the end zone just twice, one in the final minutes after the Spartans were leading 41-0.
Trinity and Mickens will be a different story. It is a program on the rise under second-year coach Jordan Hill, a former defensive lineman at Penn State who played with the Seattle Seahawks. The ’Rocks went 10-5 last year and reached the PIAA Class 2A semifinals before running into eventual champ Southern Columbia.
Following his freshman season Mickens was offered by Alabama, Iowa State, Duke, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Tennessee but chose to stay home, much to the delight of his head coach.
“He is a dynamic runner,” Hill told PennLive.com. “He could be 220 (pounds) as a senior, which is kind of unheard of for a high school back. The kid clocked a 4.51, 40 at (a camp at) Penn State, and it was one of those deals where they were like: ‘Look at what he just ran!’ ”
Mickens is the top-rated sophomore in Pennsylvania according to 247Sports.com, which ranks him No. 30 in the nation among 10th-graders.
The Spartans have won so often – a Berks-record 37 straight regular season victories – and so easily at times that it makes it difficult to get up for every game. That won’t be the case Friday in Camp Hill: Trinity is ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 2A.
“It’s good that our kids understand that this is definitely a team that can beat ’em just because of the running back,” Wolfrum said. “When we played Imhotep (in the 2012 PIAA semifinals), we knew that (South Carolina recruit and future NFL running back) David Williams could beat us by himself if we let him break the line of scrimmage.”
Williams didn’t. He had one touchdown in his final high school game, a 35-13 Wyomissing win.
“That kind of thing’s a great challenge to your kids,” Wolfrum said of facing Mickens. “Our kids know they can’t screw up. Defensively, they’ve gotta be where they need to be, or he’ll find a seam. Our chances of catching him if he gets into the secondary are not good. If he gets going . . . nobody’s tackled him yet, let’s put it that way.”
Trinity has more than just Mickens.
Quarterback Caleb Wray returns after throwing for 1,057 yards and 13 TDs; so do most of his top receivers. Seven starters return on defense, including Mickens and cornerback Amil Way, who led the Mid-Penn Conference with eight interceptions as a junior.
Wyomissing has an outstanding freshman who a year from now could be generating the kind of attention Mickens has.
Justice Hardy scored two TDs in the season-opener against Kennard-Dale, on runs of 35 and 20 yards, and finished with 82 yards on five carries; he also had a reception that covered 66 yards. Last week at Pottsville he had an interception.
Hardy, likely the fastest player on the Wyomissing roster, is seeing time at halfback, cornerback and safety, as well as in the return game.
“He’s a play-maker,” Wolfrum said. “Our offense and defense can be complicated (for) a new kid coming in; there’s a lot of stuff to learn. (But) he’s not struggling (with it). He’s got a lot on his plate, and he’s doing a nice with it for a freshman.”
Wyomissing led Trinity 21-0 at halftime last season and 35-0 entering the fourth quarter. The Shamrocks didn’t get on the board until the final five minutes, against the second-team defense. Mickens scored on a 4-yard run with 3:07 left.
