Spartans take the fifth with another dominant title game performance
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later today with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Wyomissing scored touchdowns on its first five possessions and cruised to a fifth straight District 3 Class 3A championship Saturday, beating West Perry 42-14 at Bob Wolfrum Field.
The top-seeded Spartans (11-1) became just the third team in District 3 history to win five straight titles, joining blue bloods Manheim Central and Bishop McDevitt.
Last year the Spartans became the first Berks team to win four consecutive district championships.
Senior Ryker Jones ran for a pair of touchdowns and sophomore Chase Eisenhower returned an interception 86 yards for a touchdown as the Spartans remained unbeaten at home in the postseason, improving to 17-0.
Wyomissing advances to a PIAA quarterfinal against District 4 champ Danville. They’ll meet Friday at 7 at Albright’s Shirk Stadium.
The win was the second straight over West Perry in a district final. While it didn’t look as overwhelming as last year’s record-setting 63-7 win the Spartans were thoroughly dominant.
They put the clamps on the Mustangs’ high-powered offense, limiting it to 73 first-half yards, and started a running clock less than a minute into the second half when Jones broke free for a 48-yard score.
That gave Wyomissing 98 unanswered points against West Perry, dating back to the first quarter of last year’s championship game.
The Spartans played with precision and discipline, using their power running game to pile up 243 first-half yards. They went 68 yards over the final three minutes to take a 28-0 lead on Logan Hyde’s 16-yard swing pass to Hardy, who scored with 26 seconds left in the half.
Wyomissing never punted and committed just four minor penalties.
The Mustangs (11-2), on the other hand, lost their poise and grew frustrated in the second half when they were flagged for six personal fouls and saw three players ejected.
One of those ejections came in the final minute with the Spartans lined up in the Victory Formation inside the 5, with backup quarterback Teddy White getting prepared to take a knee in order to run out the clock and not run up the score further.
Wyomissing beat Middletown in the 2019 and 2020 in the championship games, and Boiling Springs in 2021. Four of the five championships have come on their home field, with the Spartans as the No. 1 seed.
The championship is Wyomissing’s 12th overall, fourth-most in District 3 history behind Manheim Central (18), Steel-High (17), Bishop McDevitt (16), and Cumberland Valley (13).
Either Manheim or McDevitt will win a championship next week when they meet in the Class 4A title game.
Wyomissing has won 33 consecutive home games but won’t play at Wolfrum Field again this season.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| West Perry | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Wyomissing | 7 | 21 | 14 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Jones, 4 run (Maher kick) | 2:44 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 1 run (Maher kick) | 6:30 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Marv. Armistead, 26 run (Maher kick) | 5:04 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 16 pass from Hyde (Maher kick) | 0:26 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Jones, 48 run (Maher kick) | 11:22 |
| 3 | West Perry | Quaker, 5 run (Goodlng kick) | 5:02 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 86 interception return (Plaggenborg kick) | 2:11 |
| 4 | West Perry | Quaker, 10 run (Goodling kick) | 9:31 |
Team statistics
| West Perry | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 12 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-107 | 42-312 |
| Passing yards | 131 | 27 |
| Total yards | 238 | 339 |
| Passes | 9-16-2 | 2-3-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-36.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-82 | 4-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
West Perry: Hockenberry 15-46, Quaker 14-40, Reisinger 2-9, Hockenberry-Folk 1-9, Jutba 1-4, Goodling 1-(-1).
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 11-76, C. Niedrowski 7-59, Jones 4-47, Marv. Armistead 2-42, Hardy 4-31, Diaz 3-28, Macrina 1-14, Marc. Armistead 1-12, Reason 1-10, T. Niedrowski 2-5, Team 2-(-2), Hyde 1-(-3), Sierra 2-(-3), Arguelles 1-(-4).
PASSING
West Perry: Quaker 8-15-2–102, Brown 1-1-0–29.
Wyomissing: Hyde 2-3-0–-27.
RECEIVING
West Perry: Goodling 5-62, Smith 2-48, Hockenberry 2-11.
Wyomissing: Hardy 2-27.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Brower, Eisenhower.
