Game of the Week: Wyomissing (4-0) vs. Elco (4-0)
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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Wyomissing (4-0) vs. Elco (4-0)
Kick: Saturday, 1:30, at Bob Wolfrum Field.
Section 4 records: Spartans 1-0, Raiders 1-0.
Series: Spartans lead 2-0.
Last year: The Spartans recorded their third shutout in five weeks, holding the Raiders to 79 total yards in a 42-0 victory at Myerstown. Elco’s Jake Williams entered leading Section 4 with 771 rushing yards but was limited to 49 yards on nine carries.
Fast fact: Wyomissing’s first meeting with Elco came in the 2001 District 3 Class 2A championship game, a 28-0 win for the Spartans.
Spartans update: Extended Berks-record regular season winning streak to 39 games last week with 35-7 win over Berks Catholic. . . Have won 18 straight September games and gone 33-1 in August/September over the past 7 seasons. . . Freshman Justice Hardy scored 3 TDs last week, one in each phase of the game, including a 23-yard interception return. . . Ethan Brower returned a punt 67 yards for a TD, the longest punt return in Berks this season. . . Game marked return of All-State LB Ryker Jones, who recorded team-high 11 tackles in first game back following knee surgery. . . Soph Chase Eisenhower leads team with 409 yards rushing and 5 TDs; he’s averaging 8.5 yards per carry. . . Drew Forrey is averaging 9.2 yards per carry and Collin Niedrowski 8.3. . . QB Logan Hyde has attempted just 23 passes but has thrown for 287 yards; he would be the top-ranked passer in Berks if he had enough attempts to qualify for the leaderboard. . . Ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 3A.
Raiders update: Opened 3-0 last season before losing to Conrad Weiser 22-21 on late two-pointer, then getting shut out by Wyomissing. . . Finished 4-6 overall with just one win in Section 4. . . Senior Jake Williams leads the Lancaster-Lebanon League in rushing and scoring with 1,141 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s averaging 16.9 yards per carry. . . According to maxpreps.com he’s the first player in the state to top 1,000 rushing yards. . . He went for 320 yards and 5 TDs in Week 2 vs. Annville-Cleona and 358 yards and 5 TDs in Week 3 against Columbia. . . Finished with a season-low 229 and 2 TDs on 23 carries last week in a 28-21 win over Conrad Weiser. . . Williams has 68 rushing attempts; the rest of the team has 69. . . Williams rushed for 1,824 yards in 10 games last season, with 17 TDs; he went for 100 yards eight times. . . He was named the Outstanding Back in Section 4. . . Only other returning all-league pick is TE Elliot Kreider, a second-team selection. . . They are among 11 returning starters from 2022. . . Team has attempted just 12 passes in 4 games. . . One of six unbeaten teams in District 3 Class 4A along with Twin Valley and Section 4 rival Lampeter-Strasburg.
Did you know? The smallest player on the field Saturday will be Elco wide receiver Sara Miller, a 5-4, 115-pound senior. Her father is Raiders head coach Bob Miller. Sara is in the Raiders receiver rotation and is tied for second on the team with one reception, for 30 yards. She wears No. 16.
Quotable: “He’s really good. You’ve gotta tackle him. This kid runs out of a lot of tackles. A lot of his touchdown runs are not the kind where he never gets touched. He breaks tackles, he runs out of tackles. He’s impressive.” – Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum on Elco running back Jake Williams.
