Raiders poised to face the best the Spartans have to offer
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Brett Myers has been game-planning for top Wyomissing teams for much of the past decade. When he looks at this latest edition of the Spartans he knows his Twin Valley defense — ranked No. 1 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League — is in for a particular challenge.
“This is the best skill group of Wyomissing kids I’ve seen,” he said without hesitation.
Myers has faced some of Wyomissing’s best teams. When he was at Middletown he ran into the Spartans five straight years in the district playoffs, four times in championship games.
When Twin Valley moved to Section 4 last season it met Wyomissing at this stage under the exact circumstances: Both teams were unbeaten, held lofty spots in the state rankings, were challenging for the Section 4 title, and blowing out their competition on a weekly basis.
Wyomissing won that meeting 34-24, piling up 449 total yards. This team, Myers said, is even more explosive.
It’s not only All-State pick Justice Hardy, who enjoyed a career-best performance against the Raiders. It’s the entire backfield, which includes senior fullback Chase Eisenhower and senior halfbacks Danny Fleischood and Tyler Niedrowski.
“They’re as good as the best (Wyomissing) teams we’ve played,” Myers said. “There’s back-ups that are (potential) all-league players who get two carries a game.”
Hardy, a junior with a pair of Division I offers, averages 14.1 yards per carry and is a threat to take it to the house on any play, as he did a year ago when he piled up 297 yards from scrimmage against the Raiders.
Myers knows he can’t focus his defensive gameplan around Hardy because of the other weapons, such as Eisenhower, a three-year starter who averages 9.6 yards per carry and is on the verge of 3,000 career yards; Fleischood, who averages 8.3 yards per carry; and Niedrowski, who averages 10.7 per carry.
Hardy often gets only five or six touches per game; he’ll get more Saturday afternoon at Wolfrum Field because the Raiders will provide a four-quarter challenge that will keep him on the field the whole way, unlike Wyomissing’s past five lopsided wins, which saw the starters on the bench early in the third quarter.
One of the strengths of Wyomissing’s Wing-T offense is the balance it offers, along with the fakes and misdirection; a defense can’t simply key on a single player.
“In that system all those guys are gonna touch the ball 10 to 20 times,” said Myers, “and if you’re not on top of it one of them is gonna have a big game. (You can’t) focus on one guy; there’s focus on Wyomissing and being able to play our best game.”
The Spartans (4-0, 7-0) are scoring nearly 43 points per game and averaging over 400 total yards of offense — big, big numbers.
Not quite as big as the Raiders (4-0, 7-0), though. They’re on a historic scoring pace. They lead the league in total offense at 429 yards per game and are averaging 57 points per game, highest in the state.
They’re winning games by an average of 48.5 points and haven’t trailed for a second all season. They were up on Simon Gratz 49-0 – in the first quarter. They have allowed one first-half touchdown. One.
| SECTION 4 | League | Overall | PF | PA |
| Twin Valley | 4-0 | 7-0 | 399 | 60 |
| Wyomissing | 4-0 | 7-0 | 300 | 88 |
| Lamp.-Stras. | 4-0 | 6-1 | 242 | 111 |
| Elco | 2-2 | 3-4 | 121 | 227 |
| Octorara | 1-3 | 3-4 | 152 | 218 |
| Donegal | 1-3 | 2–5 | 135 | 221 |
| N. Lebanon | 0-4 | 1-6 | 96 | 257 |
| D. Boone | 0-4 | 0-7 | 69 | 339 |
They have powerful lines that clear the way for their tailback duo of senior Drew Engle and junior Lucas Myers. Those two alternate by series, so neither has huge numbers. If you combined them they’d be leading the league with 1,287 rushing yards and 28 TDs.
Engle, who set the program rushing record as a sophomore with 1,599 yards (he missed most of last year with a shoulder injury) is averaging 11.5 yards per carry. Myers, a junior and in his first season of regular work out of the backfield, is averaging 14.6 yards per carry, second-highest in the league.
“They’re both really good,” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum. “Both are very athletic, both are fast. They’ll run you over if there’s no space available for them. Their backs are bigger and stronger (than a year ago) and likes ours they can go the distance on any play.”
It’s not just the speed and power that makes dealing with Twin Valley a problem, Wolfrum said, it’s the way the Raiders come at you.
“Coaching against Brett . . . he’s a handful with all of the stuff that he does,” Wolfrum said. “Through formations and motion he makes it complicated for the defense. You really have to be disciplined against them. As coaches, you need to make sure you dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s so that your kids have a chance.”
There’s a striking difference with each team from a year ago, and that comes at quarterback. Each team is going with a first-year guy, and each has been extremely effective.
Brady Eisenhower was in competition for the starting job at Wyomissing as a freshman last season before a shoulder injury in preseason derailed those plans. His addition this season has given the offense an added dimension. He rarely is called on to throw the ball but when he has he’s been highly efficient, completing 78 percent of his passes. Nine of his 21 completions have ended up as touchdowns.
Sophomore Maverik Foster replaced four-year starter Evan Myers at Twin Valley. All he’s done is complete 72 percent of his passes, lead the league in passing efficiency and throw 11 touchdowns without an interception (the only quarterback in the league who 50 or more attempts who hasn’t been picked off).
“They don’t throw quite as much (as they did a year ago),” Wolfrum said, “(but) there’s no doubt they can do it.”
