Chase Eisenhower, Spartans run down Vikings for 35th straight home victory
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
By Clay Oberholtzer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Chase Eisenhower understands all of the important facets involved in being a complete fullback at Wyomissing.
The bullish 5-11, 215-pound junior knows how to use his legs to power through tackles and get those tough yards down by the goal line.
He has learned to be patient, allowing his blocks to form before he hits the hole.
And he knows he’s not going far without the help of the guys in front of him. That was the case on a 39-yard touchdown run just before halftime Saturday, one that put the Spartans up by four scores en route to a 42-0 victory in their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener against visiting Northern Lebanon.
“I think our line blocked great on that play,” Eisenhower said. “I definitely got a bunch of good downfield blocks by (tackle) Caleb Beane.”
The old-school fullback bulldozed his way through the Vikings defense for 83 yards and a pair of scores on seven carries, part of a 329-yard rushing effort by the Spartans (3-1) that saw 11 different ballcarriers get touches, with six of them rushing for 30 or more yards.
Derek Macrina had just four carries but scored on two of them, from 9 and 15 yards out, both in the first half.
Eisenhower topped 1,000 rushing yards as a sophomore and is headed there again – provided he gets enough touches.
“He’s shifty,” said Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum. “You know that play was (designed to go) right up the middle and he was still going up the middle until the very last cut.”
Eisenhower broke several tackles on the way to his second touchdown, which made it 28-0 five minutes before half.
Danny Fleischood’s 6-yard run early in the third quarter started the running clock.
The yards were much tougher to come by for the undermanned Vikings (1-3) as Wyomissing defenders flew to the ball, with multiple tacklers on just about every rush.
The Vikings managed just 76 total yards and were limited to 9 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Quarterback Bryan Mitzel was running for his life most of the afternoon. He threw for just 67 yards on 19 attempts and was picked off twice, by Justice Hady and Wayne Reason. Keaton Piacine came up with a fumble recovery.
“Our defense has been good all year,” Wolfrum said. “Our offensive toughness transfers to the other side of the ball, too. I think teams that play us would say we have pretty tough kids.”
The victory extended Wyomissing’s home winning streak to 35 games. They haven’t lost at what’s now Bob Wolfrum Field since 2018. That includes nine District 3 playoff games and a PIAA Tournament game.
Wyomissing remains one of the few schools in the state without lights at its home field and which plays all home games on Saturdays.
“Saturday home games to us are special, the whole experience,” Wolfrum said. “Our kids have just bought in to not having lights and playing on Saturday. It’s tough for the visitors because they are used to playing on Friday night. Day games get them out of their routine.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Northern Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyomissing | 14 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | C. Eisenhower, 2 run (Maher kick) | 6:57 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Macrina, 9 run (Maher kick) | 1:04 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Macrina, 15 run (Plaggenborg kick) | 9:25 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | C. Eisenhower, 39 run (Plaggenborg kick) | 5:00 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Fleischood, 6 run (Maher kick) | 9:07 |
| 4 | Wyomissing | Brooks-Gary, 10 run (Maher kick) | 4:48 |
Team statistics
| Northern Lebanon | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 6 | 19 |
| Rushes-yards | 20-9 | 36-329 |
| Passing yards | 67 | 45 |
| Total yards | 76 | 374 |
| Passes | 10-19-2 | 3-11-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 5-1 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-24.7 | 1-45 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-10 | 5-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Northern Lebanon: Clemmer 8-21, Watson 1-11, Kleisath 1-10, Mitzel 7-(-13), Team 3-(-20).
Wyomissing: C. Eisenhower 7-83, Hardy 6-52, Macrina 4-35, Reason 1-32, Fleischood 5-30, Sierra 3-30, Niedrowski 4-25, Westwood 2-19, Brooks-Gary 1-10, Armistead 2-9, Delp 1-4.
PASSING
Northern Lebanon: Mitzel 10-19-2–67.
Wyomissing: White 3-9-0–45, Lecher 0-1-1–0, Team 0-1-0.
RECEIVING
Northern Lebanon: Bra. Ryan 4-19, Bre. Ryan 3-7, Yocum 2-32, Adams 1-9.
Wyomissing: Macrina 1-27, Hardy 1-16, Fleischood 1-2.
INTERCEPTIONS
Northern Lebanon: Bra. Ryan.
Wyomissing: Hardy, Reason.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Wyomissing: Plaggenborg 30.
