There’s no stopping Wyomissing on way to fourth straight district title
Wyomissing linebacker Matt Kramer admits he was a little stunned Saturday when West Perry struck for a long touchdown in the opening minutes of the District 3 Class 3A championship game.
The Spartans hadn’t allowed a first-quarter score all season and hadn’t trailed by that much since last year’s PIAA championship game against Central Valley.
“They’re a fast, smart, good football team,” reasoned senior safety Drew Eisenhower after the Mustangs took the lead on Marcus Quaker’s 47-yard strike to Ian Goodling on the opening drive. “(We knew) they’re gonna make some plays, it’s how we respond to it (that matters). We did a great job responding to it.”
| 3A | championship games |
| 2022 | Wyomissing 63, West Perry 7 |
| 2021 | Wyomissing 55, Boiling Springs 13 |
| 2020 | Wyomissing 38, Middletown 16 |
| 2019 | Wyomissing 24, Middletown 21 |
| 2018 | Middletown 42, Bermudian Springs 20 |
| 2017 | Middletown 49, Wyomissing 0 |
| 2016 | Middletown 48, Wyomissing 20 |
| 2015 | Bishop McDevitt 33, Susquehanna Twp. 19 |
| 2014 | Bishop McDevitt 41, Cocalico 0 |
That would be an understatement.
The top-seeded Spartans responded by scoring a touchdown on their second offensive play, then adding eight more unanswered scores on the way to a record-breaking 63-7 victory at the A-Field.
The Spartans (12-0) became the first Berks program to win four consecutive district football titles, and the first to win its 11th.
Their 63 points are the most ever scored in a District 3 Class 3A championship game; their 56-point margin-of-victory is the largest ever in a 3A title game.
Their 626 rushing yards is probably some kind of record, too. The Spartans ran at will and averaged 15.3 yards per play. Once Charlie McIntyre broke off a 72-yard TD on Wyomissing’s first series things were back to normal and any early concerns dissapated.
“I (knew) they weren’t gonna be able to stop us,” said Kramer, who ran for three TDs and 155 yards, all but 9 of it in the first half, “and they really didn’t. We were just pounding the ball.”
Penn State recruit Jven Williams, who led the way from his guard spot on a lot of big runs, said being behind wasn’t an issue.
“We have some mentally strong guys on the field,” he said. “That didn’t really bother us. We knew that would could get on the scoreboard, and that’s what we did.”
Boy, did they.
Eisenhower’s 11-yard run in the final minute of the first half made it 35-7.
Ryker Jones bullied his way 41 yards for a TD on his only carry to make it 42-7 and start the running clock in the early minutes of the third quarter.
McIntyre rushed for 165 yards on five carries, the last a 63-yard run in the third quarter that made it 49-7.
Wyomissing ran for over 300 yards in each half.
“That’s what we expect to do,” Williams said of the onslaught. “We conquered them and we were able to run up the score on them.”
Afterward, the Spartans seniors posed for their final pictures on a field where they’ve gone 26-0 over the past four years, including three championship games. The celebration was subdued, however; there’s a bigger trophy out there.
“Hopefully we can tack on another one,” Eisenhower said.
The Spartans need to win three more games for their second PIAA title. The first of those comes Friday when they play at Danville (12-0), the District 4 champion, at 7:00. The Ironmen are ranked No. 2 in the state, the Spartans No. 1.
The Spartans seemed to pull away easily Saturday, reaching the end zone on each of their first four possessions.
Still the Mustangs (11-2) forced them to battle the whole way because an explosive offense built around Quaker. He’s a threat to go the distance on any play because of his speed and elusiveness; he ran for 1,171 yards and 23 TDs in the first 11 games and was a threat to break a couple Saturday.
The fact that the Spartans’ defense — the top-rated unit in the Lancaster-Lebanon League — limited him to 57 rushing yards in 21 carries speaks volumes.
“I was nervous all week about that (offense), because they’re a pain in the butt (to defend),” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum, who became the winningest coach in District 3 history with his 349th victory. “We had to adjust on the run.”
Kramer said it took a while for him and the defense to adjust to Quaker’s speed. Eventually they did, sacking him twice, chasing him out of the pocket several times and bringing him him down for losses on runs seven times.
“He caught me on a play or two,” Kramer said. “It took some adjusting but I think we put ourselves in good position after that to contain him.”
“Our D-line did a good job containing (him),” Williams said, “and our ‘backers filled the holes. We did what we had to do.”
West Perry converted on third down twice on its first drive but went 2-for-8 the rest of the way. It was 0-for-4 on fourth down.
“We had to work to get stops and that was good for us,” said Wolfrum.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| West Perry | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Wyomissing | 14 | 21 | 14 | 14 | 63 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | West Perry | Goodling, 47 pass from Quaker (Goodling kick) | 7:53 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | McIntyre, 72 run (Levering kick) | 7:00 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 4 run (Levering kick) | 0:48 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 63 run (Levering kick) | 7:51 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Kramer, 18 run (Levering kick) | 5:39 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | D. Eisenhower, 11 run (Levering kick) | 0:23 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Jones, 41 run (Levering kick) | 8:34 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | McIntyre, 63 run (Levering kick) | 6:09 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | W. Delp, 1 run (Levering kick) | 10:03 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Diaz, 80 run (Levering kick) | 3:48 |
Team statistics
| West Perry | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 20 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 42-165 | 41-626 |
| Passing yards | 184 | 15 |
| Total yards | 349 | 641 |
| Passes | 18-28-1 | 1-1-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 1-17.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-45 | 4-50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
West Perry: Quaker 21-57, Hockenberry 9-43, C. Gutshall 5-35, Goodling 3-15, Ziegler 4-15.
Wyomissing: McIntyre 5-165, Kramer 14-155, D. Eisenhower 6-84, Diaz 1-80, C. Eisenhower 7-66, Jones 2-49, W. Delp 5-34, Team 1-(-7).
PASSING
West Perry: Quaker 18-27-1–184, Goodling 0-1-0–0.
Wyomissing: Zechman 1-1-0–15.
RECEIVING
West Perry: Goodling 10-123, Bassett 3-27, Hockenberry 3-14, Smith 1-15, D. Gutshall 1-5.
Wyomissing: McIntyre 1-15.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Brower.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
West Perry: Goodling 34.
