Matt Kramer’s four TDs help Wyo stave off Berks Catholic upset bid
By Sam Cavalieri — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Wyomissing scored touchdowns on all five of its second-half drives to hold off a resolute Berks Catholic 41-24 in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener Friday night at Forino Sports Complex.
Matt Kramer had four of those touchdowns as the Spartans (1-0, 4-0) avoided an upset in the “Backyard Brawl.”
Kramer finished with 121 yards and backfield mate Drew Eisenhower had 183 yards after neither could pop a big play in the first half.
They had plenty of them in the second half as Eisenhower had 166 yards in the second half alone, including an 85-yard run that set up Kramer for a 1-yard touchdown.
Berks Catholic led 10-7 at halftime after a wild first-half conclusion. The Saints (0-1, 0-4) trailed 7-0 late in the first half and it appeared they would head to the locker room that way.
But Nafis Blythe had other ideas. Blythe was the entire Berks Catholic offense in the first half. He busted a 43-yard gain followed by another 10-yard rush that allowed Will Hess to hook up with Josiah Jordan on a perfect corner route to tie the game with five seconds left in the half.
The Saints squib-kicked deep into Wyomissing territory. It wasn’t fielded cleanly and was recovered by the Saints. Andrew Kurtas blasted a 44-yard field goal as time expired in the half for a 10-7 lead.
The Spartans finished with 406 yards of offense but their first team defense, which hadn’t yielded a touchdown, allowed 316 yards and 24 points.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 7 | 0 | 13 | 21 | 41 |
| Berks Catholic | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Jones, 11 run (Levering kick) | 8:23 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 15 pass from Hess (Kurtas kick) | 0:05 |
| 2 | Berks Catholic | Kurtas, 44 field goal | 0:00 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 7 run (Levering kick) | 4:18 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 33 run (kick failed) | 3:15 |
| 3 | Berks Catholic | Bradley, 66 pass from Hess (Kurtas kick) | 2:16 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 1 run (Levering kick) | 11:55 |
| 4 | Berks Catholic | Jordan, 63 run (Kurtas kick) | 11:10 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 2 run (Levering kick) | 6:23 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 20 run (Levering kick) | 4:03 |
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Berks Catholic | |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-398 | 41-219 |
| Passing yards | 8 | 97 |
| Total yards | 406 | 316 |
| Passes | 1-4-1 | 5-9-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-30 | 3-23 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-63 | 1-10 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 10-183, Kramer 15-121, Mcintyre 6-57, Jones 5-37, Delp 1-1, Zechman 2-0, Team Rush 2-(-1).
Berks Catholic: Blythe 12-122, Jordan 19-118, D. Garcia 4-9, Bradley 3-(-3), Team Rush 1-(-7) Hess 2-(-20).
PASSING
Wyomissing: Zechman 1-4-1-8.
Berks Catholic: Hess 5-9-0-97.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Brower 1-8.
Berks Catholic: Geddio 2-9, Bradley 1-66, Jordan 1-15, Mace 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
Berks Catholic: Jordan.
