For Ryker Jones, dressing up like a Spartan has been a real treat
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Ryker Jones wanted nothing more as a little boy than to be a Wyomissing football player.
He viewed Spartans players as larger-than-life figures, as though they were NFL stars.
Once for Christmas he asked for a Wyo football helmet.
When he was 10 he dressed up for Halloween as Wyomissing’s iconic head coach, Bob Wolfrum: Khakis, Navy blue sweatshirt, a Wyo baseball cap and a headset.
What kid does that?
“I wanted so badly to be on the high school team,” he said.
Ryker couldn’t wait to run out onto the A-Field and tackle someone; for the last three seasons he’s done that as well as any Spartan ever has.
He played with such a passion he earned a scholarship to play at Princeton.
Saturday, when the Spartans play West Perry for the District 3 Class 3A championship, he’ll run out onto what’s now Bob Wolfrum Field for the final time.
It’ll be an emotional afternoon for Jones and his senior classmates: Evan Blickley, Caleb Brewer, Ethan Brower, Collin Niedrowski, Craig Eberhart, Logan Hyde and Thomas Weller among them.
Most of them have played on that field since they were 7 and 8 years old.
“It’s (going to be) a bittersweet feeling,” said Niedrowski. “I’ve been playing at this field since I was 4-foot tall. Knowing it’s my last game, it’s kind of upsetting. At the same time, it’s a great game that we’re playing in. I have mixed emotions about it.”
If the Spartans win they’ll continue their season in a PIAA quarterfinal next week but they won’t get to play at home, even though they’ll be listed as the home team on the state bracket.
Wolfrum Field doesn’t have lights, artificial turf or a seating capacity that meets PIAA standards (as if the South Philly ‘Supersite’ did when Wyomissing played there last year).
Wyomissing will be required to choose another venue, at Albright or Gov. Mifflin or some other location.
Ryker Jones has been preparing for this moment for weeks. Before the Spartans played Octorara in their final regular season home game he took a few minutes to reflect on the time spent at his home field.
“I knew it could’ve been my last one (here),” he said of the Week 9 game. “(Before anyone else had arrived) I went out and sat in the bleachers by myself, to soak it all in.
“Playing here has been such a huge part of my life. I’ve been playing on this field since I was in first grade and I’m just so thankful for all the memories I was able to experience on that field. It’s really hard to walk away from that.”
When Wyomissing won its regular season finale at Lampeter-Strasburg and West Perry completed its schedule with a loss to Steel-High the Spartans moved into the No. 1 spot in the power rankings and secured home field advantage for the district playoffs.
That earned them an opening-week bye, a home game last week against Schuylkill Valley and now one last shot to play on a field where none of them have ever lost a varsity game.
Jones has been vital in getting the Spartans to this point. He was an All-State linebacker as a junior but missed the first three games this season recovering from a knee injury suffered in the state semifinal.
Safe to say the Spartans missed him. They didn’t lose without him but their defense wasn’t quite the same.
“He’s a leader,” said Wolfrum, “and it always help to have another leader on the field.”
Jones leads by example, for sure. When he hits people, he drives them backward. Wolfrum says he hasn’t had a hitter like that since Alex Anzalone, a future pro and the leader of the 2012 state championship team.
“(Ryker) usually (makes) one or two highlight-reel hits during games that just gets the enthusiasm up for everybody,” Wolfrum said.
The Spartans are playing their best ball right now, on offense and defense, looking more and more like the teams that preceded them and won the last four district titles.
The defense has really clicked; it hasn’t allowed a first-half score over the last three games. Last week it stoned a high-scoring Schuylkill Valley offense, limiting it to 67 total yards in a 48-0 win.
Wolfrum points to the way his team responded to its only loss, at Cocalico in Week 7, with a great effort against what was an 8-1 Lampeter-Strasburg team.
“All of a sudden, we were on another level,” Wolfrum said of that 18-13 win. “The intensity that we played with, I hadn’t seen all year, and it was exciting on the sideline. Hopefully, that’s us now.”
That win over L-S gave the Spartans the chance to play more games at home again and Jones couldn’t be more appreciative.
“I’m gonna try to enjoy (Saturday’s game) and take everything in around me and soak it all in one last time,” Jones said. “I know this is definitely it.”
