Spartans leave lasting impression on Crimson Tide with 41-7 victory
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matt Gaffney — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
POTTSVILLE — Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum is disappointed that his Spartans team won’t be making his favorite trip north to face Pottsville for at least the next couple of years. The long-time series between the teams is headed for a hiatus in 2024 and 2025.
After watching the Spartans dismantle their Crimson Tide 41-7 at Veterans Memorial Stadium Friday it’s safe to say the Pottsville faithful won’t be shedding any tears with Wyomissing leaving the schedule.
The Spartans (2-0) have won 10 of the 14 meetings between the schools; the most recent matchups have been one-sided. The last three meetings between the two teams have seen Wyomissing outscore Pottsville 132-21.
The domination continued Friday behind Wyomissing’s vaunted Wing-T rushing attack. The Spartans may not have played their cleanest game overall, but their running game was rolling. One week after 15 different ball carriers ran the ball, it was more of the same song against Pottsville (0-2) as 10 Spartans toted the rock to the tune of 335 yards.
Sophomore running back Chase Eisenhower led the way with 111 yards and two touchdowns. Eisenhower set the tone early as he ran the ball five times for 43 yards on the opening drive, which he capped off with a 4-yard run.
Pottsville put up a battle early, forcing the Spartans to work for every yard. Late in the first quarter the Crimson Tide forced a fumble by Wyomissing quarterback Logan Hyde, which created a frantic scramble for the ball that Pottsville eventually recovered at the Spartans’ 28.
From there, the Tide was able to drive to the 1, but on fourth-and-goal the Wyomissing defense came up with a big stop.
Moments later, following a Spartans recovery of a muffed punt, Wyomissing faced fourth-and-1 from the Pottsville 42-yard line. A stop by the defense would have made a statement, but Eisenhower was not to be denied as he broke through the line into the open field. He was off to the races for his second touchdown.
“The offensive line blocked really well, phenomenally well,” said Eisenhower. “I don’t know how many backs touched the ball, but everyone who touched it, they ran hard and ran well.”
Backfield mate Drew Forrey added two touchdowns, including a 59-yard catch-and-run on a beautifully thrown ball by Hyde that gave the Spartans a commanding 21-0 lead at the half. Forrey had 40 rushing yards and Jeremiah Diaz had a 50-yard touchdown burst on his only carry.
The depth of the Wyomissing backfield is scary; the Spartans can beat teams with a physical, punishing inside running game with the likes of Eisenhower, Forrey and Collin Niedrowski or with speed on the edge from burners such asDiaz and Berks Catholic transfer Marvin Armistead (three rushes, 45 yards).
Wolfrum is pleased with what he has seen from his stable of backs.
“We can put a lot of running backs in there and it seems like all of the substitute running backs have really good speed,” said Wolfrum. “We have some young backs who don’t know all of the plays yet so we have to watch when we put them in. But we have some good young ones and as the year progresses, I think they’ll be getting more playing time.”
Even Hyde got in on the running game action as he made a spectacular escape from the pocket on a fourth-and-5 from the Crimson Tide 34 that had to be seen to be believed. Hyde turned his Houdini-like effort into a 15-yard gain.
It left his Eisenhower impressed.
“That was phenomenal,” Eisenhower said. “I was super-excited and jumping around. I thought it was amazing, especially since it kept the drive going.”
The play by Hyde energized his teammates and took the wind out of Pottsville’s sails. Five plays later, Forrey took it in from 3 yards out and the game was all but over as Wyomissing extended the lead to 28-0 with 6:12 left in the third quarter.
Wyomissing’s defense was stingy, holding the Crimson Tide to 46 yards in the first half and 189 yards for the game, the bulk of the yardage coming from running back Parrish McFarland. He rushed for 108 yards and Pottsville’s only touchdown.
Next Friday, Wyomissing travels to Camp Hill to face Trinity and running back Messiah Mickens, a Penn State commit. It will be the third consecutive road game for the Spartans to start the season before returning home to face Berks Catholic in the “Backyard Brawl.”
Wolfrum expects a tough game next week and he knows his team will need to be more consistent and disciplined.
“Trinity’s got some guys so it’s going to be a rough one for us,” he said. “We’ve come out both weeks and moved the ball on the first drive, but then we started letting them run right through our blocks. We’re not disciplined enough or consistent enough and our pass blocking was non-existent. So, we have to fix a lot of that stuff.”
Eisenhower agrees with his coach about the work that needs to be done for next week’s matchup.
“Trinity’s a good team,” he said. “We need to work harder and pick things up at practice and hopefully we can go out and play even better than we did tonight.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 7 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 41 |
| Pottsville | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 3 run (Maher kick) | 8:49 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 42 run (Maher kick) | 4:14 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Forrey, 59 pass from Hyde (Maher kick) | 1:08 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Forrey, 3 run (Maher kick) | 6:12 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Diaz, 50 run (Maher kick) | 2:26 |
| 4 | Pottsville | McFarland, 3 run (Alvarez kick) | 11:25 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | T. Niedrowski, 4 run (kick failed) | 5:57 |
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Pottsville | |
| First downs | 19 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 46-335 | 28-141 |
| Passing yards | 62 | 48 |
| Total yards | 392 | 189 |
| Passes | 2-5-0 | 7-13-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-12 | 3-23 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-25 | 1-5 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 14-111, Diaz 1-50, Marv. Armistead 3-45, Forrey 7-40, C. Niedrowski 5-32, Macrina 5-27, Noey 2-23, T. Niedrowski 3-10, Hardy 2-4, Team 1-4, Hyde 3-(-11).
Pottsville: McFarland 15-108, Becker 9-18, Bainbridge 3-18, Herndon 1-(-3).
PASSING
Wyomissing: Hyde 1-4-0—59. White 1-1-0—3.
Pottsville: Becker 6-10-1—38. Herndon 1-3-0—10.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Forrey 1-59, Marv. Armistead 1-3.
Pottsville: Montone 2-22, Zelwalk 2-6, Bainbridge 1-10, Curry 1-3, McFarland 1-2..
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Hardy.
