Football Notes: Another dominant run by Spartans, passing marks, playoff debacle
Wyomissing cruised through the regular season with such ease that’s its easy to overlook what the Spartans accomplished.
One year after graduating five All-State players they recorded the fourth-most dominant regular season in Berks history, winning by an average of 35.2 points. Their schedule included five district playoff qualifiers.
They mercy-ruled seven opponents and trailed just twice, and never by more than three points. They were behind at half only once, in Week 4 at Berks Catholic. They responded by scoring touchdowns on their first five possessions of the second half to win 41-24.
They didn’t allow a first-quarter score all season, gave up just two first-half touchdowns and outscored their opponents 266-20 in the first half. Overall, they allowed 69 points — more than half in the fourth quarter — and 6.9 points per game, eighth-fewest in the state.
Cocalico coach Bryan Strohl called them a “juggernaut” after a 38-7 Week 7 loss and that was probably a bit of an understatement.
Only three Berks teams have had a higher regular season winning margin:
- Berks Catholic (41.3) in 2017, when it went 13-1 with a backfield that included Cooper Lutz and Brandon George.
- Wyomissing (37.0) last season, when it went 15-1 with a team that included All-State picks Aiden Mack, Amory Thompson and then-junior Jven Williams.
- Muhlenberg (35.3) in 1992, a team that went 11-1 and had a backfield of quarterback Kirk Seiders and backs Al Murray and Mel Fegely.
The Spartans occupy five of the top seven spots on the list and eight of the top 20. Only Wilson, with two spots in the Top 10 and four overall, has more than two entries on the list. Bob Wolfrum is the only coach on the list more than twice.
(The list does not include the truncated 2020 season, when Wyomissing won its five regular season games by an average of 48.9 points and Gov. Mifflin won its six games by an average of 44.8.)
Berks’ most dominant regular seasons
| Team | Year | Winning margin | Record | Head coach |
| Berks Catholic | 2017 | 41.3 | 10-0 | Rick Keeley |
| Wyomissing | 2021 | 37.0 | 10-0 | Bob Wolfrum |
| Muhlenberg | 1992 | 35.3 | 11-0 | John Yocum |
| Wyomissing | 2022 | 35.2 | 10-0 | Bob Wolfrum |
| Wyomissing | 2011 | 35.1 | 9-0 | Bob Wolfrum |
| Wyomissing | 2001 | 35.1 | 10-0 | Bob Wolfrum |
| Wyomissing | 2014 | 33.3 | 9-1 | Bob Wolfrum |
| Reading High | 2003 | 32.7 | 9-1 | Al Wolski |
| Wilson | 2008 | 324 | 10-0 | Doug Dahms |
| Wilson | 2002 | 32.4 | 10-0 | Jim Cantafio |
Panthers set for big run
Schuylkill Valley will enter the 2023 season with the best running back in Berks.
Dominic Giuffre put together a historic junior season with a Berks-leading 1,491 rushing yards and a program-record 29 touchdowns — six of them in the season finale against unbeaten, state-ranked Lancaster Catholic.
Giuffre, who transfered from Wilson after his freshman year, set a bunch of program records, including his 302 rushing yards against Hamburg in the Frost Bowl.
His 96-yard scoring run against Hamburg was second-longest in program history, behind Derek Gaul’s unbreakable record of 99 yards
Giuffre enters next season 1,504 yards away from Gaul’s career rushing mark of 3,289 yards.
Giuffre finished fourth in the Lancaster-Lebanon League in rushing.
Passing marks
There are easier way to get records than by going up against Wyomissing’s defense.
Hamburg quarterback Xander Menapace needs one touchdown pass to become the sole program single-season and career leader in those categories. He’s currently tied in each category, with 15 and 31 TDs, respectively.
The Hawks play at Wyomissing Saturday in a District 3 Class 3A semifinal.
Wyomissing has the top-ranked defense in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. It has allowed just three passing TDs all season and is yielding just 36.8 passing yards per game.
Menapace, a senior, has already set program records for completions in a season (135) and career (299), as well as passing yards in a season (1,710).
He’s also the single-season leader in completion percentage (64.6), though that figure could drop.
Phoenix rising
Annville-Cleona’s Phoenix Music joined a short list of 2,000-yard Lancaster-Lebanon League rushers last week in a District 3 playoff win over Camp Hill. He leads the league with 2,062 yards.
According to Jeff Reinhart of lancasteronline.com, Lebanon Catholic’s Tommy Long was the first L-L back to rush for 2,000 yards, in 1996. The others: Conestoga Valley’s Kevin Kelley (2,327 yards in 2009), Warwick’s Deron Thompson (2,135 yards in 2010), Lancaster Catholic’s Roman Clay (2,497 yards in 2011) and Manheim Central’s Marc Royer (2,172 yards in 2013).
The Berks record book includes three 2,000-yard rushers: David Gilmore of Central Catholic (2,403 in 1983), Nick Singleton of Gov. Mifflin (2,059 in 2021) and Tyler Emge of Fleetwood (2,000 in 2014).
Long, by the way, is the athletic director at Annville-Cleona. His son, Tommy, is one of the Dutchmen’s top players. They go for a District 3 Class 2A championship Friday against Trinity.
Postseason debacle
The PIAA may have to take a hard look at its state playoff brackets and explain why there was room for two teams which didn’t win a game this season to participate in the postseason. Obviously some changes are in order.
Unbeaten Exeter will need to win three games to return to the PIAA Class 5A Tournament. Erie Cathedral Prep has already qualified.
The Ramblers (8-2) are unchallenged in the District 6/8/10 Class 5A subregional and find themselves in the state quarterfinals without scoring a point in the postseason.
The only Class 5A football programs District 6, Hollidaysburg (2-8) and Central Mountain (0-10), opted out. So did Brashear (0-8), the only 5A team in District 8. That leaves Cathedral Prep, the only 5A from District 10, sitting around until Nov. 25 waiting to play. It will go a month without a game.
The Ramblers could claim a state championship with just 11 wins, an extraordinarily low number. Most state champs win 15 or 16 games.
The Ramblers won five state championships under Mike Mischler, who retired following last season.
Pass-catch combo leaves its mark
Elizabethtown’s Josh Rudy ended his senior season with a Lancaster-Lebanon League-leading 2,890 passing yards and a program-record 5,463 career yards, according to Jeff Reinhart of Lancasteronline.com.
He finished more than 900 yards ahead of the next quarterback, Manheim Township’s Hayden Johnson, whose team remains alive in the District 3 Tournament. Elizabethtown’s season is over.
It sure helped Rudy to be able to target the league’s best receiver, Braden Cummings, who won the L-L receiving Triple Crown. He led the league with 65 receptions, 1,563 receiving yards and 17 TD catches.
Cummings’s career totals: 101 catches, 2,279 yards and 25 TD catches.
Rudy is the grandson of former Holy Name coach Skip Rudy.
