Unbeaten Northwestern Lehigh believes it’s ready for what Wyomissing is set to bring
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Josh Snyder saw immediate success as a head coach at Northwestern Lehigh. In his third season the Tigers won 11 games and a District 11 Class 2A championship.
When the PIAA added a sixth classification the following year Northwestern was bumped up to Class 4A, and it struggled.
“Playing those teams, it was eye-opening,” said Snyder, who saw his team eliminated in districts three straight years by perennial power Allentown Central Catholic.
Those bumps and bruised eventually healed and the experience, Snyder said, made both his players better and the program stronger. When Northwestern dropped to Class 3A for the current cycle it was better prepared for the postseason.
“We feel we’re ready for bigger schools and bigger kids now,” Snyder said.
The Tigers (14-0) will see that Friday when they line up against District 3 champ Wyomissing (12-1) at Kutztown University at 7 in a battle for a spot in next week’s state championship game.
The winner will play either Belle Vernon (11-1) or Hickory (11-2) in the championship Dec. 9 at 1 at Cumberland Valley’s Chapman Field.
Being in the Final Four is a new experience for Northwestern; its 27-6 quarterfinal win over Scranton Prep last week was its first state tournament victory in 21 years, since Snyder was playing linebacker for the Tigers.
For the Spartans this is a well-traveled road: They are in their fourth straight state semifinal and looking for a third trip to the championship game in four years.
Wyomissing lost to Central Valley in the PIAA finale in both 2020 and 2021; it lost last year in the semifinals to Neumann-Goretti on a last-second touchdown.
The Spartans have been on an incredible roll in recent seasons: They’re 40-3 over the last three years – best ever by a Berks team — and 61-5 over the past five. In each of their past four seasons their first loss didn’t come until December; this season they lost in Week 7 at Cocalico, which is playing Friday in a PIAA Class 5A semifinal.
Northwestern Lehigh’s schedule and results
Wyomissing’s schedule and results
“It’s pretty neat playing this late in the season every year,” said Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum. “We always like to get that Thanksgiving (morning) practice in, with the little kids in the community (attending), and (to) win a bunch a games. You can have a real good year and not make it (this) deep into the calendar.
“And it’s always neat to win, and we’ve been doing a lot of it. It’s hard to explain, but I think our kids and our coaching staff both expect to win now.”
One of Wyomissing’s advantages this time of year has been its execution of the Wing-T, an offense Wolfrum has been running for decades and one the Spartans’ local rivals are usually familiar with. It’s a difficult offense to stop when it’s run as well as the Spartans run it and when you haven’t faced it much.
That’s the case for Northwestern: Not one of its Colonial-Schuylkill League opponents, nor any of the teams it has faced in the playoffs, runs the Wing-T.
Snyder and some of his coaches played in that offense when they were at Northwestern and that should help somewhat. Snyder knows if the Tigers’ defenders don’t correctly follow their keys or if they bite on the many fakes and misdirection plays the Wing-T is known for they’ll find themselves be out of position and vulnerable to big plays.
“To replicate it (in practice) and (prepare for) it in one short week, that’s the tough part,” Snyder said. “They use a lot of different backs and they’re all disciplined: They stick behind their blockers, they set up the blocks perfectly. That’s gonna definitely be a challenge for our defense.”
Wyomissing’s defense will be challenged by an offense that has produced more points than all but one team in the state.
Running back Dalton Clymer, one of his team’s 11 all-league picks, has run for over 1,700 yards and scored a program-record 29 rushing TDs.
Most of the starters from a team that went 11-3 and won a district title last season returned. Snyder’s biggest question coming into camp was at quarterback. Sophomores Shane Leh and Mason Bollinger shared the spot the first month of the season before Snyder settled on Leh.
Leh took to the position quickly and has handled all the play-action and multiple formations the Tigers like to utilize. If anything, his throwing ability has given the offense an added dimension it didn’t have last season.
“Shane really came into his own down the stretch,” Snyder said of Leh, who has thrown for 1,589 yards and 22 TDs, with just six interceptions. “Our offense took a huge step forward (with him).”
Wyomissing’s defense, led by Section 4 Linebacker of the Year Ryker Jones and Defensive Lineman of the Year Caleb Brewer, has played extremely well, especially in recent weeks. They were touched for a couple of early scores last week against high-powered Danville but eventually solved the Ironmen and held them scoreless for more than 26 minutes in pulling away for a 41-19 victory.
Wolfrum knows his team will be challenged.
“They run the ball very well,” he said of Northwestern. “They’re a little bit like Middletown was when (current Twin Valley coach) Brett (Myers) was there. Our guys have an idea of how to stop it. It comes down to: ‘Can we do it?’ ”
