Spartans just hitting stride on defense as they head to championship game
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Wyomissing’s defensive coaching staff spends hours each week developing a unique game plan for each opponent.
Ryker Jones studies the information, then boils it down to its simplest form.
“The idea every week is just pin your ears back and go get that football,” said the senior linebacker. “Go get the quarterback, put him under pressure and good things happen, like we saw.”
The second time Schuylkill Valley quarterback Logan Nawrocki dropped back to pass Saturday Jones shot through a gap and lunged at him. Nawrocki spun quickly and fired the ball to his left – and right into the arms of linebacker Colin Niedrowski.
Niedrowski took a couple steps into the end zone for what may have been the shortest Pick-Six in program history and the top-seeded Spartans were on their way to another rout, drubbing the Panthers 48-0 in a District 3 Class 3A semifinal at Wolfrum Field.
They will go for their fifth straight District 3 championship next Saturday back at Wolfrum Field against third-seeded West Perry (10-1). They clobbered the Mustangs 63-7 in last year’s championship game.
The Spartans (10-1) set the tone right away Saturday. They dropped the fourth-seeded Panthers (9-3) for losses on three of their first four plays and never let them up for air.
They held Schuylkill Valley to a season-low 67 total yards, just 9 on the ground. All-State running back Dominic Giuffre was held to 16 yards on six carries before leaving the game in the second quarter with a leg injury. He did not return.
“There was nowhere for him to go,” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum. “He never had a chance.”
Wyomissing’s defense wasn’t as rock-solid earlier this season. Trinity gouged it for 294 yards. Cocalico ran free against it at times. In recent weeks the Spartans have tightened things up. Right now they’re playing their best ball of the season.
“We’re playing a lot faster now than we did earlier,” said Wolfrum. “We’re closing things down that maybe we didn’t close down early in the year. I thought we were really good against L-S, and really good today.”
Wyomissing’s defense has 10 takeaways and has allowed five touchdowns in the four games since its only loss, at Cocalico.
“It’s the intensity,” said Jones, who will play linebacker at Princeton next season. “We saw a glimpse of it in the Trinity game, in the fourth quarter (of a 35-34 comeback). We saw it against Lampeter-Strasburg (in an 18-13 win). And we saw it today. When we come out intense we play a lot better.”
The Spartans were close to perfect against a Schuylkill Valley team that shared the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 title, set a program record for victories, and ripped through Littlestown last week in its district opener.
They didn’t turn the ball over and they reached the end zone on each of their first six possessions. Six different guys scored touchdowns on offense, including Justice Hardy, who pulled in a 37-yard touchdown pass from Logan Hyde in a cleanly executed four-play, 85-yard drive out of their two-minute offense just before the half. That made it 34-0.
The Spartans were even better on defense, smothering a Schuylkill Valley team that has a 2,000-yard passer, one of the league’s most dangerous receivers in Kowen Gerner and Giuffre, who set a program rushing record as a junior.
The Panthers barely moved the chains. Eleven of their 45 plays went for losses. Only one play went for over 20 yards, a second-quarter pass to Luke Spotts, which he fumbled away when Ethan Brower hit him.
It’s hard to say who played better: The Spartans’ defensive backs or their defensive linemen. Cornerback Marvin Armistead set the tone on the second play from scrimmage when he met Gerner head on after a catch and dropped him for a 1-yard loss.
“Huge hit,” said Jones.
Nawrocki, pressured all afternoon, completed just 7-of-21 passes. Gerner, needing only 57 yards to become only the program’s second 1,000-yard receiver, was held to 33 on four catches.
Jones, Wayne Reason and Fox Peters each had a sack. Caleb Brewer had a couple of hurries. Niedrowski, Armistead, Brewer, Jeremiah Diaz and Max Tipton each recorded a tackle for loss; Jordan Gwyn had two.
Even in the second half, when Wyomissing’s second-string defense went the entire way, Schuylkill Valley could not move the ball. It had 4 total yards after intermission and just one first down.
“They’re a great team, I’ll give them all the credit that they deserve,” Niedrowski said of the Panthers, “but I think we did an amazing job defensively.
“Our defense has come a long way. From the beginning of the year to now, we’ve definitely progressed and become a lot better as a whole. I’m really excited to see how we go deeper in the playoffs.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Schuylkill Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyomissing | 20 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 48 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 10 run (Maher kick) | 7:20 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 7 interception return (Maher kick) | 6:24 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Jones, 30 run (kick failed) | 1:57 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | C. Niedrowski, 8 run (Maher kick) | 5:48 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Hardy, 37 pass from Hyde (Maher kick) | 1:28 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Armistead, 18 run (Plaggenborg kick) | 7:02 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Reason, 5 run (Plaggenborn kick) | 10:23 |
Team statistics
| Schuylkill Valley | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 6 | 19 |
| Rushes-yards | 24-9 | 42-316 |
| Passing yards | 58 | 113 |
| Total yards | 67 | 429 |
| Passes | 7-21-1 | 4-5-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-29.2 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-25 | 4-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 6-16, Pyle 5-12, Cammauf 9-7, Nawrocki 4-(-24).
Wyomissing: Diaz 2-51, Jones 3-49, Arguelles 1-41, Reason 6-25, Marc. Armistead 4-24, T. Niedrowski 5-22, Marv. Armistead 2-21, C. Niedrowski 3-19, Hardy 1-13, Macrina 3-10, Sierra 2-(-2), Lopez-Sanchez 1-(-2).
PASSING
Schuylkill Valley: Nawrocki 7-21-1–58.
Wyomissing: Hyde 4-5-0–113
RECEIVING
Schuylkill Valley: Gerner 4-33, Sports 2-28, Martinez 1-(-3).
Wyomissing: Brower 2-36, Hardy 1-37, Eisenhower 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Niedrowski.
