Wyomissing ascends to new heights
There aren’t many heights the Wyomissing Spartans haven’t scaled in their first 54 seasons.
They’ve won a PIAA championship, captured 10 district titles, 20 league and section championships and recorded 10 perfect regular seasons.
They’ve only been ranked No. 1 in the state once, after a 16-0 finish and state Class 2A championship in 2012.
Now, for what is believed to be the first time in program history, the Spartans are ranked No. 1 in the state during the season, moving up one spot in the PennLive.com weekly rankings.
The top spot opened up when Belle Vernon, ranked No. 1 in Class 3A since the preseason, lost 14-6 at McKeesport. McKeesport improved to 3-0 and is ranked No. 8 in Class 4A.
The Spartans, meanwhile, have been nearly perfect through their first three weeks.
They put up 133 points before allowing their opponents to score.
That came last week in a 35-14 win over Trinity after the Spartans built a 35-0 lead early in the second half and head coach Bob Wolfrum began pulling his starters.
He wasn’t upset to see his team give up some points; he’s not chasing records or rankings and doesn’t concern himself with things such as shutout streaks — which the Spartans were chasing after opening the season with back-to-back blankings of Kennard-Dale and Pottsville.
“I could care less that they scored there,” he said of Trinity. “It’s probably healthy for us, really.”
Wyomissing has opened the season with three straight shutouts just once, in 1982.
Wyomissing was ranked No. 2 much of last season, which ended with a 7-0 loss to season-long No. 1 Central Valley in the PIAA championship game. The Spartans were No. 2 throughout the 2012 season before knocking off No. 1 Aliquippa in the title game.
The last Berks team ranked No. 1 was Gov. Mifflin. The Mustangs moved into the top spot at this same time last year, after winning its first three games, and stayed there until a loss to Exeter in the District 3 Class 5A championship game.
Wyomissing isn’t the only new No. 1 in this week’s rankings: Farrell has moved up to the top spot in Class 2A after preseason No. 1 Southern Columbia lost at home to Loyalsock, 27-10. The Lancers, who opened the season with a 34-21 win at Berks Catholic, are ranked No. 5 in Class 3A. Southern, meanwhile, dropped to No. 3.
Exeter held at No. 4 for the second straight week after a 35-0 win over West York. The Class 5A rankings remained unchanged.
In Class 6A, two new teams, both from District 3, moved into the Top 10. Manheim Township is now No. 9 after knocking off Harrisburg, which had been No. 2. The Blue Streaks won 24-20 with a touchdown in the final seconds.
Cumberland Valley debuts at No. 8 after reaching 3-0 with a 28-16 win at Spring-Ford. The Eagles opened the season with wins over Manheim Township and Central York.
CLASS 6A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. St. Josephβs Prep (12) β 2-1 β 1
2. Garnet Valley (1) β 3-0 β 3
3. Pittsburgh C.C. (7) β 2-1 β 4
4. Emmaus (11) — 3-0 β 5
5. State College (6) β 3-0 β 6
6. North Allegheny (7) — 3-0 β 10
7. Coatesville (1) — 3-0 β 9
8. Cumberland Valley (3) — 3-0 β NR
9. Manheim Township (3) — 2-1 β NR
10. Harrisburg (3) β 1-1 β 2
Teams to watch: Central Bucks East (1) 3-0, Central York (3) 2-1, McDowell (10) 2-1, Nazareth (11) 3-0, Parkland 2-1.
CLASS 5A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. Imhotep Charter (12) β 1-1 β 1
2. Upper Dublin (1) β 3-0 β 2
3. Gateway (7) — 3-0 β 3
4. Exeter (3)Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β β 3-0 β 4Β
5. Cathedral Prep (10) β 2-1 β 5
6. Roman Catholic (12) — 3-0 β 6
7. Penn Hills (7) β 2-1 β 7
8. West Chester Rustin (1) β 2-0 β 8
9. Strath Haven (1) — 3-0 β 9
10. Upper St. Clair (7) — 3-0 β 10
Teams to watch: Chester (1) 3-0, Penn-Trafford (7) 2-1, Peters Township (7) 3-0, Shippensburg (3) 3-0, Solanco (3) 3-0.
CLASS 4A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. Aliquippa (7) β 2-0 β 1
2. Bishop McDevitt (3) β 1-1 β 2
3. Jersey Shore (4) β 3-0 β 3
4. Central Valley (7) β 3-0 β 4
5. Allentown C.C. (11) β 2-1 β 5
6. Thomas Jefferson (7) β 2-1 β 6
7. Meadville (10) β 3-0 β 7
8. McKeesport (7) β 3-0 β 8
9. Manheim Central (3) — 3-0 β 9
10. Pope John Paul II (1) — 3-0 β 10
Teams to watch: Armstrong (7) 2-1, Bethlehem Catholic (11) 2-1, Dallas (2) 3-0), Lampeter-Strasburg (3) 2-1, West Allegheny (7) 3-0.
CLASS 3A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. Wyomissing (3)Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β Β β 3-0 β 2Β
2. Belle Vernon (7) β 1-1 β 1
3. Danville (4) β 3-0 β 3
4. Elizabeth Forward (7) β 3-0 β 4
5. Loyalsock (4) — 3-0 β 6
6. Oil City (10) — 3-0 β 7
7. Avonworth (7) — 2-1 β 9
8. Penn Cambria (6) — 3-0 β NR
9. Lancaster Catholic (3) — 3-0 β 10
10. North Schuylkill (11) — 2-1 β NR
Teams to watch: Freeport (7) 3-0, Hickory (10) 2-1, Neumann-Goretti (12) 0-1, Northwestern Lehigh (11) 2-1, Sharon (10) 2-1.
CLASS 2A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. Farrell (10) β 2-1 β 2
2. Mount Carmel (4) β 3-0 β 3
3. Southern Columbia (4) β 2-1 β 1
4. Richland Township (6) β 3-0 β 4
5. Lakeland (2) β 3-0 β 5
6. Sharpsville (10) — 3-0 β 6
7. Steel Valley (7) — 2-0 β 7
8. Bishop Guilfoyle (6) β 2-1 β 8
9. Berlin Brothersvalley (5) — 3-0 β 9
10. Williams Valley (11) — 3-0 β 10
Teams to watch: Beaver Falls (7) 2-1, Bedford (5) 3-0, Camp Hill (3) 3-0, Neshannock (7) 3-0, Westinghouse (8) 3-0.
CLASS 1A
Rank β Team β District β Record — Previous
1. Canton (4) β 3-0 β 1
2. Steelton-Highspire (3) β 1-1 β 2
3. Bishop Canevin (7) β 2-1 β 3
4. OLSH (7) β 3-0 β 4
5. Northern Lehigh (11) — 3-0 β 10
6. Tri-Valley (11) — 3-0 β 8
7. Reynolds (10) β 2-1 β 5
8. Muncy (4) β 2-0 β 9
9. Redbank Valley (9) — 3-0 β NR
10. Windber (5) — 3-0 β NR
Teams to watch: Leechburg (7) 2-1, Northern Bedford (5) 3-0, Penns Manor (6) 3-0, Rochester (7) 1-1.