New-look Spartans hardly miss a beat in rushing past Blazers
By Sean McBryan — Correspondent for MikeDragoSports.com.
Drew Eisenhower understands what it takes for individual and team success. It’d be hard for him not to after following in the footsteps of the Spartan stalwarts who came before him. He might not have been a starter but he was a part of the Wyomissing teams that won back-to-back District 3 Class 3A championships.
“I just try to do the same thing the guys before me did and get us back to where we’ve been the past couple years,” Eisenhower said after scoring a pair of touchdowns in a season-opening 41-14 non-league victory at Daniel Boone. “Watching guys like Max Hurleman, Darren (Brunner), Zach (Zechman), Jordan (Auman) and all of those guys before me has helped me learn a lot.”
If Saturday night was any indication Wyomissing’s stable has been reloaded with a talented group looking to make its own mark.
Eisenhower had 52 rushing yards, Amory Thompson 87 rushing yards and a touchdown, Tommy Grabowski 54 rushing yards and a touchdown, Charlie McIntyre 77 all-purpose yards and a touchdown and William Delp scored on a 43-yard dash.
The game was postponed Friday due to thunderstorms. After an arduous 2020 season marred by a pandemic, the players were finally able to get back onto the field in a somewhat normal setting 24 hours later.
“It feels great knowing that everyone can come into the stands now,” Eisenhower said. “It makes the whole atmosphere better. The team’s happy about that. We were hyped to see everyone, our classmates and families in the stands when we ran out onto the field.”
The Spartans did a lot of running on the field. Overall, they compiled 298 rushing yards, with Eisenhower (10 carries), Grabowski (10 carries), Thompson (seven carries) and McIntyre (five carries) splitting the load. The offensive line, which Wyomissing head coach Bob Wolfrum said would be good this season, was impactful.
“First of all, they’re really big,” Eisenhower said with a smile when asked about the O-line. “They’re getting it going. They’re really good, really athletic, fast, powerful. They have everything.”
Wyomissing scored on its first possession when Eisenhower’s 5-yard run capped a 62-yard drive with 4:30 left in the first quarter.
After the Blazers were stopped on their next drive Jackson Miller got a hand on the punt and the Spartans took over at the Daniel Boone 31. Eisenhower ran for 19; Grabowski finished off the drive with a 12-yard score to make it 14-0 with 33.9 seconds left in the first.
Daniel Boone sophomore quarterback Dean Rotter was thrown into action on the next drive after senior Carter Speyerer was knocked out with a lower leg injury. A heavy dose of AJ Hofer and some timely plays by Rotter put the Blazers in the end zone on a 6-yard run by Hofer with 7:15 left before the half. Wyomissing had a chance at a field goal before halftime but time ran out and it was 14-7 at the break.
The Spartans pulled away in the third quarter. Thompson scored on a 50-yard run with 9:51 left, quarterback Ben Zechman hit McIntyre for a 6-yard touchdown with 4:33 left and Eisenhower scored his second touchdown on a 7-yard run with 2:22 left. All of a sudden the Spartans were up 35-7.
“We did not like the way we played in the first half,” Eisenhower said. “We knew we had to flip a switch. So that was just said in the locker room (at halftime) and it happened in the second half.”
William Delp bursted for a 43-yard touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter to make it 41-7 ; Rotter hit Draven Klick for a 14-yard score to make it 41-14 with 52.4 seconds left for the Blazers.
When asked if he feels any pressure filling the shoes of those that have led the Spartans to back-to-back district titles Eisenhower replied: “I mean a little bit. But not much. Honestly, I just like going out and playing with my team.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 14 | 0 | 21 | 7 | 41 |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Wyomissing | Eisenhower | 5 run | Levering kick | ||
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 12 run | Levering kick | ||
| Daniel Boone | Hofer | 6 run | Millard kick | ||
| Wyomissing | Thompson | 50 run | Levering kick | ||
| Wyomissing | McIntyre | 6 pass | Zechman | Levering kick | |
| Wyomissing | Eisenhower | 7 run | Levering kick | ||
| Wyomissing | Delp | 43 run | Kick failed | ||
| Daniel Boone | Klick | 14 pass | Rotter | Millard kick | |
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Daniel Boone | |
| First downs | 15 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-298 | 24-94 |
| Passing yards | 92 | 74 |
| Total yards | 375 | 155 |
| Passes | 4-6-92-1 | 9-22-74-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-42 | 6-36.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-30 | 7-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: Thompson 7-87, Grabowski 10-54, Eisenhower 10-52, McIntyre 5-51, W. Delp 1-43, Jackson 3-6, Jones 1-3, Forrey 1-2, Niedrowski 1-2, Ambarian 2-(-2).
Daniel Boone: Hofer 16-60, Speyerer 2-16, Hogan 4-7, Rotter 1-7, Klick 1-4.
PASSING
Wyomissing: Zechman 3-5-83-1 TD, Hyde 1-1-9.
Daniel Boone: Rotter 9-20-74-1 TD, Speyerer 0-2-0.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Mack 1-57, McIntyre 2-26, A. Delp 1-9.
Daniel Boone: Vassallo 5-48, Klick 1-14, Hall 1-11, Hirshman 1-1, Brady 1-0.