Spartans snap the streak, knock off four-time defending state champion Tigers
By Mitch Rupert — MikeDragoSports special correspondent
CATAWISSA – On two wobbly legs, Amory Thompson walked some 15 yards behind the line of scrimmage to take his place as the deep man in Wyomissing’s Victory Formation.
As quarterback Ben Zechman accepted the snap and dropped to a knee to run off the final seconds of the Spartans’ 41-21 win over Southern Columbia, Thompson bent over at the waist and stayed in his position.
Zechman walked back to his incendiary running back, who put the Spartans ahead with 139 yards worth of first-quarter touchdowns, and tapped him on both sides of the helmet. Thompson couldn’t budge. The emotional high he created with those two touchdowns never waned Friday night for Wyomissing.
The Spartans (6-0) rode it to a victory in the GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week, a game which will send shockwaves throughout the Commonwealth.
Wyomissing didn’t just defeat the four-time defending PIAA Class AA state champions on their own field — it dominated.
On top of that, the Spartans snapped Southern’s 65-game winning streak, which was the longest active winning streak in the country and one short of tying Clairton’s state record of 66 in a row.
It also snapped the Tigers’ 93-game regular-season winning streak.
In a big picture context, this was just one of 10 games the Spartans will play this regular season. In the short term, it meant so much more, even to head coach Bob Wolfrum, who has seen and done it all in 35 years at the helm.
But even he had to admit Friday’s win meant just a little more.
Southern Columbia (5-1) lost a game for the first time since dropping the 2016 state final, 49-7, to Steel Valley. The Tigers last lost in the regular season 22-21 to Mount Carmel on Oct. 28, 2011.
Wyomissing did it by controlling both lines of scrimmage, running for 336 yards and forcing five turnovers.
“These kids are going to remember this game for the rest of their lives,” Wolfrum said. “There’s a whole lot of guys in Pennsylvania who never get to play in a game like that, win or lose. That’s special.”
“We knew we had to play at a high level for four quarters to have a shot, and we didn’t do that,” said Southern Columbia head coach Jim Roth, the state’s career wins leader. “(Wyomissing) obviously had a lot to do with that.”
Southern Columbia made mistakes it hasn’t made during its winning streaks. The five turnovers included four interceptions by quarterback Blake Wise, starting in place of injured starter Liam Klebon. It also included a second-quarter fumble by Wise when he was hammered off the edge by Matt Kramer.
Drew Eisenhower scooped up the fumble and returned it 66 yards for a touchdown with only 13 seconds left in the first half.
Wyomissing rode a never-wavering emotional high for 48 minutes. Any time it felt like Southern Columbia was cutting into that energy, the Spartans found a way to respond.
When the Tigers answered with a touchdown drive following Thompson’s 41-yard run to open the scoring, Thompson answered with a program-record 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
When Gavin Garcia went 61 yards off tackle for a touchdown on the first play of the second half, Charlie McIntyre responded with an 82-yard touchdown run of his own somer 70 seconds later.
Every time there was a potential to take the wind from the sail powering Wyomissing momentum, the Spartans had an answer like so few teams have had against a Southern Columbia program which has won a state-record 11 PIAA titles.
After watching the Tigers come back from a 17-point, third-quarter deficit against Wyoming Area two weeks ago to keep its winning streak alive, the Spartans knew there was no opportunity to relax. It’s why they didn’t miss any opportunity to score points.
They didn’t miss any opportunity to stop a Southern Columbia drive when it presented itself. And when the Tigers gave them a turnover, the Spartans turned them into 17 points.
“We knew they were going to bounce back at some point,” Eisenhower said. “We knew we had to make a play whenever they made a play, and we did.”
“Wyoming Area was up three scores at halftime and lost,” Wyomissing lineman Jven Williams said. “We emphasized that we can’t let that happen to us. We took this game personally.”
The Spartans played like it was personal. The offensive line of Williams, Aiden Mack, Preston Aikman, Jack Gartner and Jack Miller opened holes on the edge big enough for a tanker ship to pass easily. Williams dished out more pancakes than IHOP.
Three Wyomissing running backs gained at least 85 yards. McIntyre finished with a team-high 97 and a touchdown. Eisenhower finished with 94 yards and a touchdown. Thompson had 85 yards and a touchdown. And for good measure, leading rusher Tommy Grabowski ran for 51 hard yards in the middle of the field.
But the Spartans did most of their damage on the edge. They attacked Southern Columbia Division I defensive end recruit Derek Berlitz with the running game and didn’t let him get in the way of chunk plays. Defensive backs attempting to set the edge often found themselves on the wrong side of a runaway train which was any of Wyomissing’s pulling linemen.
“They’re some big boys who are athletic and fast,” Eisenhower said of the offensive line. “I love running behind them.”
“What we did, they didn’t adjust to very quickly,” Wolfrum said. “We overloaded one side and our kids did a good job blocking on the edge and the backs made some real nice cuts off those blocks.”
Southern Columbia didn’t really find an answer until it was too late. Wyomissing broke out to a 24-6 lead when Eisenhower scored his touchdown on a 9-yard run 4:24 into the second quarter. Kent State recruit Garcia returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to get Southern within 24-14, and the Tigers forced a turnover on downs at its own 32-yard line with 2:32 left in the half.
Southern began a methodical march down the field picking up a trio of first downs, two of which came through the air. But when Wise dropped back to pass on first down from the Wyomissing 26 with only about 20 seconds left in the half, Kramer came off the edge and not only hit Wise but knocked the ball from his right hand.
When Eisenhower picked up the loose ball, there was nothing but green turn in front of him and nary a Tiger who could catch him from behind. It was the momentous kind of swing which changed the entire complexion of the game. Had Southern scored, it would have trailed by just one score at the half and would have gotten the ball back to start the third quarter. Instead, Wyomissing led 31-14 and the upset vibes were palpable in Tiger Stadium.
“Our defense is really good,” Wolfrum said. “I was thinking we’d be tested tonight and we’ll see how good they really are. They’re the real deal.”
If five turnovers didn’t prove that, holding Southern’s vaunted running game to 3 yards or fewer on 19 of its 32 carries should. Take away the Tigers’ two touchdown runs, which totaled 85 yards, and they averaged just 2.8 yards per carry. Garcia finished with 109 yards on 17 carries, with 61 of those coming on his third-quarter touchdown run.
The Spartans were disciplined, making sure to take away the cutback lanes which have made Garcia so dangerous over the course of his four varsity seasons. The reigning Class AA Player of the Year was bottled up all night whether he went to the edge or up the middle. When he tried to reverse field, there was often another Spartan defender in his face. Just four of Garcia’s 17 carries went for more than 5 yards.
“We had our blitzes coming up the middle and the ends were working on the edge,” said Mack, who had one of Wyomissing’s four interceptions. “Everything we did was edge-contain oriented. We did a great job staying disciplined.”
“Those cutbacks are vicious,” Williams said. “We had to make sure we were staying at home and staying disciplined so (Garcia) wasn’t able to cut back on us.”
The end result was a loss which wasn’t stunning. It was how Wyomissing hung the first loss on Southern Columbia in five years which raised eyebrows. It took control early. It never let its foot off the gas. And it capitalized on uncharacteristic mistakes.
And even if Thompson couldn’t find the energy to celebrate in the immediate afterglow of the Spartans’ win, his teammates made sure to celebrate enough for him.
“Nobody likes a two-hour bus ride,” Mack said. “But I think we’ll enjoy this one.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 17 | 14 | 10 | 0 | 41 |
| Southern Columbia | 6 | 8 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Wyomissing | Amory Thompson | 41 run | Ian Levering | ||
| Southern | Wes Barnes | 24 run | Run failed | ||
| Wyomissing | Amory Thompson | 98 kickoff return | Ian Levering | ||
| Wyomissing | Ian Levering | 20 FG | |||
| Wyomissing | Drew Eisenhower | 9 run | Ian Levering | ||
| Southern | Gavin Garcia | 82 kickoff return | Wes Barnes run | ||
| Wyomissing | Drew Eisenhower | 66 fumble return | Ian Levering | ||
| Southern | Gavin Garcia | 61 run | Isaac Carter | ||
| Wyomissing | Charlie McIntyre | 82 run | Ian Levering | ||
| Wyomissing | Ian Levering | 22 FG | |||
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Southern Columbia | |
| First downs | 15 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 46-336 | 32-169 |
| Passing yards | 33 | 46 |
| Total yards | 369 | 215 |
| Passes | 4-7-0 | 8-14-4 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-25.0 | 2-38.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-31 | 5-37 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: McIntyre 4-97, Eisenhower 16-94, Thompson 8-85, Grabowski 15-51, Jackson 1-13, Team 1-(-1), Zechman 1-(-3).
Southern Columbia: Garcia 17-109, Barnes 7-59, Masala 1-3, Wisloski 6-2, Wise 1-(-4).
PASSING
Wyomissing: Zechman 4-7-0–33.
Southern Columbia: Wise 8-16-4–46.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Grabowski 2-17, Mack 1-11, Jackson 1-5.
Southern Columbia: Rose 4-26, Garcia 3-16, Barnes 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Carter 2, Eisenhower, Mack.
