GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week? Of course it’s Wyomissing vs. Central Valley
GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
PIAA Class 3A championship
Wyomissing (15-0) vs. Central Valley (14-0)
Kick: Saturday, 12, at Hersheypark Stadium.
Series: Central Valley leads 1-0.
Last meeting: The Warriors beat the Spartans 35-21 in last year’s PIAA championship game. Wyomissing led 14-7 at the half. Central Valley dominated in the second half, scoring the first three TDs to lead 28-14. It out-gained Wyo 247-68 in the second half. The Spartans excelled on special teams, with a pair of Aidan Cirulli field goals, a blocked punt by Jordan Auman and Auman’s 77-yard kickoff return, which pulled them within 28-21.
PIAA Class 3A bracket: Click here.
Spartans update: Recorded 10th mercy-rule victory and third in five playoff games with 42-6 win over Neumann Goretti in semifinals. . . Trailed for first time all season, 6-0 after opening drive. . . Amory Thompson and Tommy Grabowski each rushed for over 100 yards. . . Grabowski has rushed for 1,362 yards, third-highest in program history; Kevin Dice has the record with 1,611. . . Grabowski has 26 TDs, four behind the program record set by Gregory Lord and matched by Alex Anzalone. . . Andrew Eisenhower has 19 TDs and Thompson 17. . . Ranked No. 1 in Berks in total defense, allowing 135 yards per game. . . Ranked No. 1 in rushing defense, passing defense and scoring defense (8.4). . . Opposing passers are completing 41.7 percent of their passes, with a 58.6 efficiency rating. . . In five postseason games they have allowed a total of 11 completions. . . LB Jack Miller leads team with 72 tackles. . . Grabowski, an ILB, has 69 tackles. . . LB Matt Kramer has 4 sacks. . . Have combined to block five punts.
Did you know? Central Valley is the highest-scoring Class 3A team in the state, at 47.5 points. . . Wyomissing is No. 2, at 44.7 points. . . Each team is allowing 8.4 points per game, tied for lowest among all Class 3A schools.
Warriors update: Used a fourth-quarter goal-line stand, forcing a turnover on downs at the 2, to hold off Central Martinsburg 35-21 in the semifinal. . . Landon Alexander went 98 yards for a TD after that to clinch it. . . Alexander is one of two returning All-State players, along with DL Sean Fitzsimmons. . . Fitzsimmons, a Pittsburgh recruit, is a Pennsylvania Player of the Year candidate. The 6-3, 274-pound senior has 40 tackles for loss and last week had four sacks. . . He was a two-way all-league pick, and one of 12 picked for the Northwestern Six Conference team. . . Fitzsimmons was both Offensive and Defensive Lineman of the Year. . . Alexander was Offensive Player of the Year. . . He has rushed for 2,166 yards and scored 32 TDs. . . Antwon Johnson sees the majority of time at QB; he has passed for 1,242 yards and 19 TDs with 6 INTs. . . Top receiver Jayvin Thompson is averaging 26.8 yards on his 28 receptions. . . He also has 11 interceptions. . . Alexander has an offer from the University of Massachusetts. . . LB Matt Meritt has offers from Navy, Army, Air Force and Lehigh.
Fast fact: Wyomissing is the first Berks team to reach the state title game in back-to-back seasons. Only two other Berks teams reached the championship game: Wilson, in Class AAAA in 1989 and Wyomissing in Class AA in 2012.
Did you know? Wyomissing last week became only the second Berks team to reach 15-0. The first was the Spartans, who finished 16-0 in 2012, when they won the PIAA Class AA championship.
Fast fact: Central Valley is 39-2 over the past three seasons. . . Wyomissing is 36-2.
Quotable: “That No. 50 just killed us.” — Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum, after Central Valley defensive lineman Sean Fitzsimmons had three sacks and disrupted the running game in last year’s championship.
Fast fact: Central Valley has won 26 consecutive games. Its last loss came in the 2019 PIAA championship game, 21-14 to Wyoming.
