‘Small adjustment’ all Spartans need to stop Ironmen, reach another PIAA semifinal
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Danville’s Madden Patrick has been winging the ball around all season, throwing for over 3,000 yards and 46 touchdowns.
Most of his throws Friday against Wyomissing were under coverage, and to the sidelines; he rarely challenged the Spartans deep.
Just before halftime Wyomissing defensive coach Andy Siggins had a hunch; he called linebacker Collin Niedrowski over and told him to lay back on coverage and look for something on the sideline.
Niedrowski followed orders and it helped turn a closely contested PIAA Class 3A quarterfinal into a rout. His interception and 35-yard return to the 5 set up the go-ahead touchdown in the final seconds of the half and the Spartans went on to a resounding 48-27 victory.
They head to the semifinals for the fourth straight year and will meet unbeaten Northwestern Lehigh, a 27-6 winner over Scranton Prep. Time and location of the game have not been announced.
The Spartans (12-1) were close to falling behind late in the opening half when they turned the ball over three times in four possessions. That’s more turnovers than they’ve had in the last month and more than in any game this season.
“We were struggling at that point,” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum.
“We knew they had a great offense (and) were going to break a couple plays,” Niedrowski said of Danville (12-2), “but I think we really kept our composure and didn’t let it get to our heads, and we just did a great job overall as a team.”
Siggins told Niedrowski to drop back and disguise his coverage as Danville faced a second-and-3 from its 38 with under a minute left.
Patrick was flushed from the pocket, rolled right, then lofted a lazy pass toward the sideline. He never saw Niedrowski’s No. 30 jersey.
“We just made a small adjustment and it worked perfectly,” Niedrowski said.
Chase Eisenhower plowed into the end zone from the 5 on the next play and followed with a two-point conversion run for a 27-19 led 20 seconds before intermission.
“That changed the complexion of the game,” Wolfrum said of the interception.
“We knew if they scored going into halftime it was going to be a huge backbreaker,” Niedrowski said, “so the interception was a huge turnaround going into the next half.”
Wyomissing’s defense got enough stops to keep the Ironmen in check, holding them 16 points below their scoring average and 50 yards below their average. They forced four punts and three turnovers and a got a turnover on downs.
After a wild first quarter which saw the team combine for nearly 400 yards and the Ironmen reach the end zone twice Wyomissing allowed just 148 total yards.
Not bad against a guy with a big arm like Patrick’s.
“(At first) I thought: ‘This is gonna be a nightmare,’ ” Wolfrum said. “(Then) we did get some stops. We didn’t get beat deep at all. They were just chipping away. We made more plays than their defense did, let’s put it that way.”
Danville’s defense didn’t make many. The Spartans essentially ran at will. They had five runs of 20 or more yards and five others of 10 or more.
Junior Derek Macrina busted off a 60-yard run on the Spartans’ first snap. Ryker Jones went for a 79-yard TD to open their second possession. Wyomissing rushed for 466 yards on 46 carries.
“The reason I was able to get out in open space was because of our line,” said Jones, who finished with a season-high 153 yards on just nine carries. “They did a great job the entire night. The holes were huge to run through all night long. I really appreciate them.”
Eisenhower went over 1,000 yards for the season and scored on touchdown runs of 2, 5, 1 and 15; he finished with 93 yards. Marcina ran for 92.
The Spartans took their first two-possession lead in the final minute of the third quarter when Jones scored on a 4-yard run. That capped a 16-play, 91-yard drive that ate up some eight minutes.
The key play came on a fourth-and-7 pass from Logan Hyde to freshman Justice Hardy that went for 12 yards to the 18.
When the Spartans came up with a fourth-down defensive stop on Danville’s next drive it was pretty much over.
Patrick completed 19 first-half passes and 24-of-36 overall for 220 yards. A dozen of those completions went to Aaron Johnson, who turned the first of them into a 50-yard touchdown – his state-record 28th of the season. He had only one other catch of over 10 yards the rest of the night.
The Spartans made enough defensive plays to prevent the Ironmen from turning it into a track meet. They forced a pair of fumbles and also blocked a pair of PATs, one by Jones, one by Eisenhower.
“Props to Danville,” said Jones. “They’re a really good team. They kept us on the run. Those guys are really fast, really athletic.”
The victory made Wyomissing the first Berks team to win 40 games over a three-year span. They are 40-3 since 2021.
It also gives them a chance to reach a PIAA championship game for the third time in four years.
“It’s a blessing,” said Jones, a senior who will play next season at Princeton. “I appreciate being part of this. Now we’re just gonna work to get that state championship.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Danville | 13 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 28 |
| Wyomissing | 13 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 48 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Danville | Johnson, 50 pass from Patrick (kick blocked) | 10:24 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 2 run (kick failed) | 7:10 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Jones, 79 run (Maher kick) | 6:00 |
| 1 | Danville | Sheptock, 2 run (Hoffman kick) | 2:12 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 7 run (pass failed) | 10:45 |
| 2 | Danville | Sheptock, 2 run (kick blocked) | 8:10 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 5 run (Eisenhower run) | 0:20 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Jones, 4 run (Maher kick) | 0:11 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 1 run (Maher kick) | 6:15 |
| 4 | Danville | Kiersch, 15 pass from Patrick (Patrick run) | 4:28 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 15 run (Maher kick) | 3:31 |
Team statistics
| Danville | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 15 | 21 |
| Rushes-yards | 21-94 | 58-467 |
| Passing yards | 220 | 21 |
| Total yards | 314 | 488 |
| Passes | 24-36-1 | 2-4-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-2 | 4-2 |
| Punts-average | 4-34.5 | 2-20 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-30 | 2-25 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Danville: Sheptock 16-93, Shultz 1-2, Patrick 3-0, Team 1-(-1).
Wyomissing: Jones 9-153, Eisenhower 17-93, Macrina 10-92, C. Niedrowski 9-53, Hardy 6-34, Diaz 2-26, Marv. Armistead 3-15, Sierra 1-0, Team 1-(-1).
PASSING
Danville: Patrick 24-36-1–220.
Wyomissing: Hyde 2-4-1–21.
RECEIVING
Danville: Johnson 12-105, Raup 6-32, Duffy 3-48, Kiersch 3-36.
Wyomissing: Hardy 1-12, Jones 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
Danville: Duffy.
Wyomissing: C. Niedrowski.
