Football Notes: Wyomissing goes for the record; scoring spree; Caleb Brewer on college recruiting radar
Rick Keeley doesn’t think Wyomissing’s going to lose a game anytime soon.
He’s not alone in that opinion.
The top-ranked Spartans look every bit as good as they have the last two years, seasons that ended with District 3 championships and in the PIAA Class 3A championship game.
“They’re just steam-rolling everybody running the ball,” said Keeley. “They’ve picked up right where they left off (last year). Nobody’s gonna knock them off.”
The Saints came as close as anyone this season. They led 10-7 at halftime in their Week 4 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener. That obviously lit a fuse in the Spartans, who reached the end zone on each of their five second-half possessions against Berks Catholic to claim the “Backyard Brawl” 41-24.
| Regular season win streaks | Streak | Years | Head coach |
| Wyomissing | 30 | 2019- | Bob Wolfrum |
| Wilson | 30 | 2012-15 | Doug Dahms |
| Berks Catholic | 29 | 2013-15 | Rick Keeley |
| Wilson | 24 | 1994-96 | Gerry Slemmer |
| Muhlenberg | 23 | 1991-93 | John Yocum |
| Wyomissing High | 23 | 1958-61 | Charlie Gebensleben |
| Gov. Mifflin | 21 | 2019-21 | Jeff Lang |
| Wilson | 22 | 1980-81 | John Gurski |
| Wilson | 22 | 1977-79 | John Gurski |
| Wilson | 21 | 1988-90 | Gerry Slemmer |
A week later the Spartans scored touchdowns on each of their first six possessions in a 42-0 rout of Elco. Wyomissing’s seventh and final possession of the game lasted most of the final quarter, covered over 80 yards and ended deep in the red zone before the clock expired.
It could be more the same Friday when the Spartans (5-0) go for history and a 31st straight regular season win in a Section 4 game at Donegal (1-4).
Wyomissing tied Wilson’s Berks record, set from 2012-15, with last week’s win. Friday it can have the top spot all to itself.
The Spartans figure to keep extending the record and could record a fourth straight perfect regular season. Their toughest challenge figures to come in the regular season finale against Lampeter-Strasburg (4-1), which is ranked No. 2 in the District 3 Class 4A power rankings.
The Spartans are ranked No. 1 in Class 3A, as well as No. 1 in the state.
Brewer in the mix
Just about a year after Wyomissing’s Jven Williams made a splash on the college recruiting scene, picking up eight Division I offers in a single week, teammate Caleb Brewer is getting big-time attention.
The 6-5, 275-pound junior received his first Division I offer Tuesday, from the University of Maryland.
Thursday he announced on Twitter three more offers: Boston College, Houston and Toledo.
Brewer played offensive tackle last season. Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum, who saw the kind of impact Richmond tight end recruit Aiden Mack made on the edge last season as a blocker, moved Brewer to that spot.
“He did well there in the 7-on-7’s,” Wolfrum said before the season. “He’ll be an excellent blocker for us there. I told him not to get too excited — we’re not putting him out there to catch a lot of passes.”
Brewer has just one reception through five games but teamming with the 6-5, 295-pound Williams and 6-4, 275-pound Pacen Ziegler he and Spartans have been pushing people around and running the ball at will this season.
Eagles score a quick six
Exeter made quick work of Lebanon last week, scoring six first-quarter touchdowns in a six-minute span as part of the highest-scoring game in program history.
The Eagles led 42-0 in the first quarter.
It ended up 69-22, the combined 91 points the most ever scored in an Exeter game.
That topped the mark of 88, in Exeter’s 55-33 win over Conrad Weiser in 2017.
The Eagles’ 69 points are their second-most ever. The record came in a 77-7 win over winless Muhlenberg last season.
Amazingly, the Eagles ran just 35 offensive plays.
Raiders getting offensive
Twin Valley certainly wasn’t lacking for offense in its Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 showdown against Elizabethtown last week.
The Raiders pierced the end zone six times, cranked out 19 first down and piled up nearly 400 total yards.
They just couldn’t stop the Bears, who went for over 500 total yards in the 47-42 shootout victory.
It made for an entertaining game and nearly a Twin Valley record for most combined points in a game.
The 89 points was one shy of the 90 in the Raiders’ 68-22 win over Kutztown last season.
Quite a catch
Lost in the fine print of Wyomissing’s 42-0 win over Elco last week was this:
Sara Miller, a 5-4, 105-pound junior wide receiver, caught a 5-yard pass for the Raiders.
Girls occasionally show up on high school football rosters; their on-field time generally comes as a placekicker.
Miller played quarterback and safety on Elco’s freshman team.
Her dad is the Raiders’ head coach.
“I know it’s a unique situation,” Bob Miller told Lebanon Sports Buzz. “But to me, her, the guys on the team and the coaches, it’s not. She’s been around our locker room for years. It feels normal to us. Maybe a lot of parents don’t want their kids playing football, but to me, it’s normal.”
Things going south at Southern
Southern Columbia, which saw its 65-game winning streak ended by Wyomissing last season, is having trouble putting a streak together this season.
The Tigers fell to 3-2 last week with a 49-14 loss at Danville. Two weeks earlier they lost at home to Loyalsock, 27-10.
The Tigers beat the Ironmen by 52 points last season.
Danville is unbeaten and ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 3A, behind Wyomissing.
“I think it means a lot that we have the confidence to know that we can win a big game,” Danville coach Mike Brennan told The Daily Item of Shamokin following the game.
Southern rebounded from its only loss last season to win 10 straight, including a 62-25 win over Serra Catholic in the PIAA Class 2A championship game.