Season preview: Wyomissing Spartans
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
Classification: Class 4A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 4.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 6-1 Section 4, 12-2 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2023.
Head coach: Bob Wolfrum, 38th season, 362-89-1.
Key losses: QB Logan Hyde, FB/LB Collin Niedrowski, RB and Linebacker of the Year Ryker Jones, RB/LB Drew Forrey, all-league WR Ethan Brower, TE Evan Blickley, Offensive and Defensive Lineman of the Year Caleb Brewer, G CJ Eberhart, G Thomas Weller, CB Marvin Armistead.
Top offensive players: QB Teddy White, QB Brady Eisenhower, second-team all-league FB Chase Eisenhower (1,092 rushing yards, 18 TDs), RB/WR Justice Hardy, RB Derek Macrina, RB Marcus Armistead, RB Wayne Reason, TE Andrew Bresnahan, C Francisco Fabian, G Max Tipton, G/C Ayden Jimenez, G Darion Quintana, T Caleb Beane, T Keaton Piacine, T Fox Peters, PK Keegan Maher.
Top defensive players: Second-team all-league E Max Tipton, E Keaton Piacine, NG Jordan Gwynn, T Ayden Jimenez, LB Chase Eisenhower, LB Tyler Niedrowski, LB Andrew Bresnahan, LB Darion Quintana, S Derek Macrina, S Teddy White, S Brady Eisenhower, all-league second-team CB Justice Hardy, CB Marcus Armistead, CB Wayne Reason, P Nicholas Plaggenborg.
Did you know? The Spartans enter the season with a 33-game home winning streak. Their last home loss came in 2018 to Berks Catholic. Ten wins during the current streak have come in the postseason, including one in the PIAA Tournament vs. Danville.
For the record: The Spartans have gone 40-4 over the past three seasons, the best three-year stretch in Berks history. That eclipsed the record of 39-4 by Wilson from 2012-14.
On schedule: Wyomissing meets defending PIAA Class 2A champ Southern Columbia in the season-opener at Wolfrum Field. The Spartans ended the Tigers’ 65-game winning streak in 2021, at the time the longest in the nation.
Quotable: “Of course, everyone’s talking about that first game (against Southern Columbia) but as of now we’ve got to get through camp first. We’re looking forward to building as a team and not (listening) to the outside noise.” – senior lineman Caleb Beane.
Outlook: Even after being forced to move up a level to Class 4A due to the PIAA’s “Success Formula” the Spartans have the goods to challenge for a sixth straight District 3 championship, though they likely won’t be as strong overall as their last several teams.
There’s plenty of depth and strength along the lines but they’ll have an untested quarterback – either a sophomore or freshman – and will be relatively thin elsewhere.
The front-line skills guys are plenty good. Junior Chase Eisenhower is a prototypical Wing-T fullback and the first sophomore in program history to rush for 1,000 yards. Derek Macrina started in the secondary as a junior and saw plenty of reps at halfback; he’ll touch the ball more this season.
Justice Hardy was a rare full-time freshman starter last season, at cornerback, and showed flashes at halfback, where he was second on the team with 488 rushing yards and averaged 8.5 yards per carry.
He was second on the team with 12 TDs, two of them on Pick-6’s. The track sprinter has big-time breakout potential on offense and could see time at WR as well as in the backfield.
There isn’t a ton of experience or depth behind those three; building that area will be a priority for head coach Bob Wolfrum, who likes to see his top backs split time on offense in order to keep them fresh for defense.
Depth and experience won’t be a problem up front; neither will size. Max Tipton, a 275-pounder leads the way after a big junior season. Even at that size he moves well enough to move to guard, a pivotal spot in the Wing-T.
Caleb Beane, a 6-3, 250-pound senior, split time at C last season; he’ll be a full-time tackle now. Keaton Piacine, a 6-4, 250-pounder, will see full-time duty after backing up at OT and TE last season.
The defense has similar strengths and concerns, with many of the same names. There’s plenty of depth and size up front, plenty of speed and talent in the backfield, though not much depth.
The Spartans will be in good hands at linebacker with the return of Eisenhower, a three-year starter there; sophomore Tyler Niedrowski, who moved into a starting role last year at midseason; and 6-3, 210-pound Andrew Bresnahan, who could emerge as an impact player on both sides of the ball.
Special teams, always a strength, will again be solid with the return of both kickers, Keegan Maher and Nicholas Plaggenborg. Hardy could be a game-changer in the return game – should anyone decide to kick in his direction.
A fourth straight 10-win season would not be a surprise, though it’ll be a challenge, what with perennial state champ Southern Columbia as the opener and a potential powerhouse in Twin Valley in Week 8.
At the wire: Chasing Twin Valley in both Section 4 and for the District 3 Class 4A crown.