District 3 championship preview: West Perry vs. Wyomissing
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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District 3 Class 3A championship
No. 3 West Perry (11-1) vs. No. 1 Wyomissing (10-1)
Kick: Saturday, 1, at Bob Wolfrum Field.
Common opponents: Trinity. West Perry beat Shamrocks 19-16 in Week 4; Wyomissing beat Shamrocks 35-34 in Week 3.
Coaches: West Perry – Bob Boden, eighth season, 49-37. Wyomissing – Bob Wolfrum, 37th season, 360-88-1.
West Perry schedule: Click here.
Wyomissing schedule: Click here.
Series: Wyomissing leads 1-0.
Last meeting — 2022: Matt Kramer ran for 155 yards and 3 first-half touchdowns and Charlie McIntyre ran for 165 yards in Wyomissing’s 63-7 win. The Mustangs scored on their first possession before McIntyre answered with a 72-yard TD run less than a minute later, the first of 9 straight Wyomissing scores. The Spartans rushed for 626 of their total 641 yards in nailing down their 11th district title.
Mustangs update: Back in championship game for third time and second straight season. . . Finished second in Mid-Penn Colonial Division behind unbeaten Steel-High. . . Lone loss came in Week 10 to the Rollers. . . Matched program record with 11 wins, set last year. . . Built 21-0 lead in beating Lancaster Catholic 49-20 in District 3 Class 3A semifinals. . . . QB Marcus Quaker ran for 188 yards and 3 TDs and passed for another. . . Brad Hockenberry rushed for 186 of team’s 425 total yards. . . Quaker has completed 69 percent of his passes for 1,587 yards and 13 TDs, with 7 INTs. . . He also leads the team in rushing, with 1,260 yards. He’s averaging 8.9 yards per carry and has a team-leading 19 TDs. . . Quaker, a starter since his freshman season, has passed for more than 5,300 yards. . . Hockenberry has rushed for 1,149 yards and 13 TDs. . . Senior Ian Goodling leads team with 46 receptions for 792 yards, with 7 TDs. . . Goodling has 17.5 TFL and a team-best 4 INTs. . . Goodling is also the team’s kicker, with 10 touchbacks, 7 field goals and 54-of-58 PATs. . . This is just the program’s third championship game appearance; lost to Manheim Central in 1993 Class AAA title game and last year to Wyomissing. . . Ranked No. 10 in the state; dropped 5 spots after loss to Steel-High.
Did you know? West Perry’s most well-known player is RB Musa Smith, who set the Mustangs’ record with 4,117 rushing yards from 1997-99 and went on to play at Georgia and then with the Baltimore Ravens and New York Jets. He rushed for 2,042 yards as a senior with the Mustangs and for over 2,200 yards at Georgia, including 145 yards in a 2003 Sugar Bowl win over Florida State.
Spartans update: Advanced to fifth straight championship game with 48-0 win over Schuylkill Valley, their fourth straight win since a 34-14 loss at Cocalico. . . Scored 3 first-quarter TDs and were up 34-0 at the half. . . Lock-down defense allowed just 6 first downs and 67 total yards – that’s with the second-team defensive unit playing the entire second half. . . Collin Niedrowski had an early Pick-Six to set the tone. . . Shutout was just 2nd of the season. . . Entered district tournament as the No. 1 seed for the third straight year and fourth time in five seasons. . . Have won 11 straight district playoff games. . . Last playoff loss came to Middletown in a 2018 semifinal. . . Are 13-0 in district playoffs at Wolfrum Field and 16-0 there in postseason games, including two Eastern Conference games and one PIAA Tournament game. . . Overall, have won 32 consecutive games at home; last loss was in 2018. . . Have gone 59-5 over the past 5 seasons. . . Ranked No. 1 in the state in Class 3A by PennLive.com.
Fast fact: With its 63-7 win over West Perry last year Wyomissing became the first Berks program to win four consecutive district football titles. The 63 points are the most ever scored in a District 3 Class 3A championship game. The 56-point margin-of-victory was the largest ever in a 3A title game.
| District 3 | Class 3A championships | ||
| 2022 | Wyomissing 63, West Perry 7 | ||
| 2021 | Wyomissing 55, Boiling Springs 13 | ||
| 2020 | Wyomissing 38, Middletown 16 | ||
| 2019 | Wyomissing 24, Middletown 21 | ||
| 2018 | Middletown 42, Bermudian Springs 20 | ||
| 2017 | Middletown 49, Wyomissing 0 | ||
| 2016 | Middletown 48, Wyomissing 20 | ||
| 2015 | Bishop McDevitt 33, Susquehanna Twp. 19 | ||
| 2014 | Bishop McDevitt 41, Cocalico 0 |
Quotable: “Last year we beat Cocalico pretty easily, and they had the same kids on the field this year and they kicked our butt. Last year has nothing to do with anything. Quite frankly, we weren’t 63-7 better than them last year, it’s just one of those games that got out of hand. They’re good; I’m really impressed. The whole team’s scrappy. They’re not big but they’re physical and they’ll come to play, that’s for sure.” — Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum, on his team being overconfident against West Perry.
Up next: Winner advances to PIAA quarterfinal against the District 4 champion, either Danville (11-1) or Loyalsock (9-3). If West Perry wins, it will play at home. If Wyomissing wins, the game will be played at a neutral site but not at Wolfrum Field, due to PIAA stadium selection policy.
