Nothing comes easily for Spartans in Section 4 win over feisty Scouts
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Ethan Brower made his 31-yard touchdown catch look easy Saturday afternoon.
Wyomissing’s senior wide receiver faked a slant, then took his route down the right sideline on a streak pattern.
“I think the corner bit on it and I just got open,” he explained.
The Spartans’ top receiver was 6-7 yards behind any Conrad Weiser defender as he settled under Logan Hyde’s beautifully thrown pass. He was almost too wide open – so much so that he had time to think about it, which is not necessarily a good thing.
“Especially with the weather,” Brower said after the Spartans withstood a game-long rain and a determined Scouts squad for a 35-14 victory at the newly dedicated Bob Wolfrum Field. “I was really focusing on pulling the ball in.”
Not much else came easily for the Spartans on a dreary day that saw Hall of Fame, Homecoming and field dedication ceremonies dampened by non-stop rain.
The Scouts (2-3, 2-6) have had an unusually trying season, with a wave of injuries making an already difficult journey through Section 4 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League next to impossible.
Weiser didn’t get its first win until Week 5 and is still playing short-handed, but you couldn’t tell that Saturday. They seemed intent on challenging the Spartans (4-1, 7-1), and they did. They forced the league’s top rushing offense to punt following its first two possessions and unleashed hard-running Sevon Parham on them.
The powerful 5-8, 200-pound senior gouged Wyomissing’s defense for big chunks of real estate throughout the first half, when he accumulated 107 of his game-high 140 yards.
“I’m proud of these kids the way they come out every day and practice hard,” said Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “They did a heckuva job preparing (for this game), and it showed a little bit.”
Parham ran seven times on an eight-play drive that penetrated deep into Wyomissing territory late in the second quarter, his team trailing 6-0. He broke into the clear on the eighth play, with a path to the end zone, but saw the wet ball slip out of his hands as he made a move into the red zone.
Wyomissing’s Drew Forrey pounced on it.
Two plays later freshman Justice Hardy, one of the fastest players in the league, made a great cut to get free to the outside and sprinted 82 yards for a touchdown and 12-0 lead. Logan Hyde’s conversion pass to Brower made it 14-0.
The Scouts drove the field again, with Parham running 26 yards for a first down to the 6. A fourth-and-goal pass into the end zone toward Evan Rittle drew an interference call. Weiser got an untimed down to end the half and made it count as Rittle made a tremendous catch in the back corner of the end zone, extending himself over a defender to pull in a 4-yard TD toss from Donovan Gingrich.
The Scouts trailed just 14-7 at halftime against a team ranked No. 2 in the state in Class 3A; the score easily could’ve been tied.
“They were tough guys,” Brower said of the Scouts. “They were blowing up the backside of our line and getting to the running backs before they could hit the hole. They played great; they challenged our line.
“We weren’t expecting that (kind of power running attack), but we adjusted really well at halftime and came out and we played well.”
The Spartans opened the second half with a 12-play scoring drive, the last Brower’s TD grab for a 21-7 lead.
The Scouts lost their grip after that, fumbling the ball away twice, one of them setting Wyomissing up for another TD.
“I’m proud of them, the way they battled,” Moyer said of his players. “It got away from us a little bit (in the second half).”
When it was over the Spartans knew they had been in a fight – just what head coach Bob Wolfrum always hopes for.
“Their offense pounded us,” Wolfrum said. “They made us work, and for a while there they had the better of us. It’s good for us to have to deal with that.”
The victory was a costly one for Wyomissing. Late in the first half Forrey, a starting halfback and outside linebacker, went down with a lower leg injury. He was taken off the field on a gator and left in an ambulance. He is likely out for the season.
“He’s important to us on both sides of the ball,” Wolfrum said.
Forrey is an outstanding blocker, a key in the Wing-T, and at 6-4, 210 pounds, one of the most athletic and physical players on the defensive side. He scored Wyomissing first TD Saturday, on a 35-yard run, had a fumble recovery and a quarterback hurry. He’s a key when the Spartans dial up quarterback pressures.
“ ‘Sam’ linebacker is an important position for us,” Wolfrum said. “We always find one of our better guys and put him there. He was that guy. We’re really gonna miss him.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Conrad Weiser | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Wyomissing | 0 | 14 | 21 | 0 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Wyomissing | Forrey, 35 run (kick failed) | 8:06 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 82 run (Brower, pass from Hyde) | 3:02 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rittle, 4 pass from Gingrich (Gingrich kick) | 0:00 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Brower, 31 pass from Hyde (Maher kick) | 6:10 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Marv. Armistead, 15 run (Maher kick) | 3:08 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 2 run (Maher kick) | 0:42 |
| 4 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 1 run (Gingrich kick) | 3:33 |
Team statistics
| Conrad Weiser | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 11 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 42-169 | 45-293 |
| Passing yards | 4 | 62 |
| Total yards | 173 | 355 |
| Passes | 1-10-1 | 4-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-3 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-27.3 | 2-30.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-10 | 9-73 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conrad Weiser: Parham 24-140, Conde 4-21, McGarrigle 2-7, Rivera 3-2, Rittle 1-2, Gingrich 8-(-3).
Wyomissing: Hardy 7-106, Jones 9-70, Forrey 3-29, Eisenhower 7-28, Hyde 1-20, Marv. Armistead 2-19, Diaz 3-12, T. Niedrowski 2-11, C. Niedrowski 4-10, Macrina 2-7, Reason 2-2, Arguelles 1-2, White 1-0,
PASSING
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 1-10-0–4.
Wyomissing: Hyde 4-7-0–62.
RECEIVING
Conrad Weiser: Rittle 1-4.
Wyomissing: Brower 2-40, Eisenhower 1-14, Jones 1-8.
