Justice Hardy’s sudden impact sparks Wyomissing in rout of Elco
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Brad Hueber — LNP/Lancasteronline
MYERSTOWN — Touches in basketball often equate to scoring opportunities. The more a player touches the ball, the more he can score. On a football Friday in Myerstown, Wyomissing star Justice Hardy only touched the ball three times on offense. He ran 8, 38, and 4 yards with one touchdown.
On defense, Hardy had two interceptions, including one in the first quarter that he returned 87 yards for the opening touchdown. He would later jar a fumble loose on a hit, which allowed teammate Fabian Francisco to pick it up and rumble 13 yards for another score.
Hardy didn’t need the ball too often to impact the Spartans’ 49-14 victory over Elco in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 game at Myerstown.
Hardy’s teammate Chase Eisenhower did the heavy lifting, toting the ball eight times for 79 yards up the middle. Wyomissing (2-0, 4-10 won despite having fewer first downs, total yards, and time of possession.
For Elco (0-2, 1-4), tailback Mitchell Frederick gained 115 yards on 19 carries, many on cutbacks on sweeps.
On Elco’s opening drive, the Raiders advanced from their own 28 to the Wyomissing 15-yard line. Seven plays carried them 57 yards. Quarterback Steven Rosado accumulated 10 yards running and passing.
Tailback Mitchell Frederick rushed three times for 29 yards as the hosts tried to post an early lead. On first down from the Spartans’ 15, Rosado fired a quick out, which Hardy stepped in to grab. He raced up field and eluded Rosado, then won the final 60-yard sprint.
“They had a good 12-yard gain on the same hitch rout earlier in the game,” Hardy said. “I knew they were going to come back to it. The quarterback flipped his shoulder right away, and I just broke on the ball.”
On his hit that led to Fabian Francisco’s fumble return, Hardy connected with the quarterback and Francisco benefitted from a lucky bounce.
“It landed right in my hand and I just ran as fast as I could,” Francisco said.
Wyomissing did not throw a pass in the first half. It ran only 12 times for 173 yards to build a 35-7 lead at intermission.
Hardy’s 87-yard interception return and Fabian Francisco’s fumble return provided two of the five scores. Elco, conversely, completed 6-of-8 passes for 97 yards. Steven Rosado also ran nine times for 2 and Mitchell Frederick ran 11 times for 80 yards, yet the Raiders trailed by four touchdowns. Their 10 first downs nearly doubled Wyomissing’s first-half total (six). Elco’s 34 first-half plays nearly tripled Wyo’s total.
Wyomissing is ranked No. 4 in the state in Class 4A, two spots behind Section 4 rival Twin Valley and two spots ahead of Lampeter-Strasburg.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 21 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 49 |
| Elco | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 78 interception return (Maher kick) |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Macrina, 23 run (Maher kick) |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Francisco, 13 fumble return (Maher kick) |
| 2 | Elco | Frederick, 18 run (Goodison kick) |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Niedrowski, 3 run (Maher kick) |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 38 run (Maher kick) |
| 3 | Wyomissing | C. Eisenhower, 1 run (Maher kick) |
| 4 | Elco | Rosado, 5 run (Goodison kick) |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Armstead 81 run (Maher kick) |
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Elco | |
| First downs | 11 | 16 |
| Rushes-yards | 26-279 | 40-213 |
| Passing yards | 11 | 107 |
| Total yards | 290 | 320 |
| Passes | 1-1 | 8-11 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-36 | 1-26 |
| Penalties-yards | 0-0 | 4-20 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: Armistead 1-81, C. Eisenhower 8-79, Hardy 3-50, Niedrowski 6-27, Fleischood 2-27, Macrina 4-24, Sierra 1-(-1).
Elco: Frederick 19-115, Rosado 15-66, Trostle 1-12, Gensamer 2-8, Yesko 2-4, Yeiser 1-3, Bicher 1-0, Smucker 1-0.
PASSING
Wyomissing: White 1-1-0–11.
Elco: Rosado 8-11-2–107.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: C. Eisenhower 1-12.Elco: Smucker 3-56, Bicher 2-49, Fisher 1-17, Yesko 1-15.
Elco: Smucker 3-56, Bicher 2-49, Fisher 1-17, Yesko 1-15.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Hardy 2.
