Ben Zechman fitting comfortably into QB role as Spartans ease past Bears
If his coach happens to call him by his brother’s name every now and then, Ben Zechman understands; he knows it’s meant as a compliment.
That’s bound to happen when you step into the same role your older brother played, and excelled at.
Zach Zechman was Berks’ top-rated passer a season ago, led Wyomissing to the state championship game and earned All-State honors as a defensive back. He was certain to cast a large show.
Ben, a junior and two years young, is perfectly comfortable with that and motivated to carve out his own niche.
“Hopefully I can become my own self, and not just (always be) Zach’s younger brother,” Ben Zechman said Saturday after quarterbacking the Spartans to a 35-7 non-league victory over Boyertown at the sun-splashed A-Field. “Hopefully one day he can be Ben’s older brother.”
Ben Zechman was efficient in his role, completing 8-of-11 passing for 109 yards. He made the right reads in the pocket, didn’t put the ball on the ground and delivered the ball on target.
That’s all Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum needs, and expects, from his quarterback, especially a first-year starter.
“Most of our quarterbacks have been guys that just want to play and just want to win,” Wolfrum said, “they’re not worried about their stats. They know we’re not gonna throw 25 a game.
“We knew (Ben) could step in and manage the game,” Wolfrum said. “He was poised enough to do that.”
Zechman found tight end Aiden Mack on a 48-yard catch-and-run on the game’s opening series, setting up Amory Thompson’s 12-yard TD run three minutes in.
He connected on passes of 17 yards to Rory Filoon and 15 yards to Nevin Carter to set up Charlie McIntyre’s 8-yard second-quarter TD run and push the lead to 21-0.
Zechman made a nice throw on a waggle down at the goal line in the final minute of the first half but Thompson couldn’t control the ball before going out of bounds. Tommy Grabowski ran it in from the 4 on the next play, his second of three touchdowns and one that put the Spartans up 28-7 at the half.
“It was awesome,” Zechman said of Saturday’s game. “Our line blocked really well on the passes, Nevin ran good patterns, Aiden had one, Rory had one; it was pretty awesome.”
Awesome was not a word Wolfrum used to describe his team’s play. In fact,he was disappointed by the execution on offense. He didn’t think the Spartans (3-0) played nearly as crisply as they did last week in blasting state-ranked Pottsville.
“I thought they played harder than we did,” Wolfrum said of the Bears (1-2). “We played really well last week. We blocked really well. There were plays (today) where I thought we were set up to go for a long gain and we don’t block anybody. Some of those were them just playing harder than us.”
Boyertown’s only score came on Leo Egbe’s 51-yard run in the second quarter.
The Bears were prepared defensively for what the Spartans had to offer. They were in position and limited the big plays. Other than Mack’s catch the Spartans didn’t have another play that went 25 yards or longer.
“They did a very nice job, and their kids didn’t get down when we got a play,” Wolfrum said. “They were right back up playing again. We’re a lot more experienced than they are, and we have a lot more talent, but you wouldn’t know it by the way the game went.”
“We all know the coaches are a little disappointed in us,” Zechman said, “because they know our true potential and how well we can play, and they know that we can play better than we did today.”
Zechman fully understands his role in the Wing-T. He’s played that spot since Mighty Mites and has literally grown up in the program. He father, Todd, was a kicker for the Spartans and later coached kickers at Wyo. And he always had Zach to study, and look up to.
Role models don’t come much better.
“It was awesome to get to play those last two years with him, and to play behind him and Jordan (Auman) both, and learn so much from them,” Zechman said. “It’s awesome to play with your brother on the football team; there’s not much better than that.
“(Zach) just taught me so many small tricks and tips to run this offense. It’s pretty awesome to be able to sit behind him and learn how well a quarterback he was and how (good) I can hopefully become.”
He’s still being tutored by his brother. Zach is a freshman at Richmond but still watches Wyomissing game video and offers critiques and suggestions for Ben.
“My biggest takeaway (from Zach) is how much of a leader he was, and how he carried himself on and off the field,” Ben Zechman said. “I want to fill that role for our team, and be a leader and carry our us to another state championship.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Boyertown | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Wyomissing | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Wyomissing | Thompson | 12 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 9 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | McIntyre | 8 run | Levering | kick | |
| Boyertown | Egbe | 51 run | Foskey | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 4 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 3 run | Levering | kick | |
Team statistics
| Boyertown | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 7 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 36-114 | 39-229 |
| Passing yards | 35 | 109 |
| Total yards | 149 | 338 |
| Passes | 3-8-0 | 8-11-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-25.8 | 2-47.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-50 | 7-70 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Boyertown: Egbe 20-74, Panarello 7-20, Marinello 1-18, Oakes 3-11, Yescavage 2-5, Gehris 3-(-14).
Wyomissing: Grabowski 14-72, McIntyre 9-63, Thompson 5-56, Eisenhower 3-12, Niedrowski 2-11, A. Delp 1-6, Jackson 1-4, W. Delp 1-2, Kramer 1-2, Jones 2-1.
PASSING
Boyertown: Panarello 2-7-0–23, Gehris 1-1-0-12.
Wyomissing: Zechman 8-11-0–109.
RECEIVING
Boyertown: Marinello 2-29, Egbe 1-6.
Wyomissing: Carter 5-43, Filoon 2-18, Mack 1-48.