Wyomissing all business as it dispatches Northern Lebanon, moves on to district semifinal
Jven Williams and his Wyomissing teammates spent hours this week preparing for their District 3 Class 3A opener against Northern Lebanon.
When Saturday afternoon rolled around the front-line guys only played 15 to 20 snaps because the game got out of hand so quickly. Williams wasn’t disappointed at spending much of the sun-splashed afternoon standing on the sideline.
“I like to see my teammates get involved as much as possible,” he said after the top-seeded Spartans steamrolled eighth-seeded Northern Lebanon 65-3 at the A-Field. “Our younger guys, they’re getting reps; we’re gonna prepare them for next year.”
It was only a year ago that Williams, a 6-4, 310-pound junior, was one of those younger guys, eagerly waiting a turn to get on the field. He and his classmates got plenty of chances, even in the playoffs, because the 2020 Spartans were knocking people out left and right. They won their two district playoff games by a combined 62 points and their first two state playoff games by a combined 78 points.
There was plenty of time for sophomores such as Williams, Drew Eisenhower, Ben Zechman and Charlie McIntyre to gain valuable reps.
It was the same Saturday when the Spartans (11-0) were up 38-0 after a quarter and 58-0 at the half. Bob Wolfrum had his second units in long before that, with sophomores such as Ryker Jones, Adrew Forrey and Collin Niedrowski making big plays and gaining valuable minutes they’ll put to good use next season, when the Spartans will be right back in this same spot.
“I remember that feeling,” said Williams, “and I enjoy seeing my teammates have that same feeling.”
Saturday’s game was never close, and no one expected it to be.
The Vikings (4-7) came in with a losing record and five losses in their last six games. They’re going through a building season under first-year coach Jason Rice, a former Albright cornerback.
The Spartans (11-0) are in a different class entirely. They’re ranked No. 2 in the state and coming off back-to-back district championships. They’re hands-on favorites to make it three in a row, something Wolfrum’s program has never accomplished.
From the look of things they’re on their way as they toyed with the Vikings. They literally could have named the score.
Eisenhower and Nevin Carter each had a Pick Six in the first half, Carter’s covering 77 yards.
Eisenhower scored on a short swing pass, turning it into a 24-yard TD. Amory Thompson had first-half scoring runs of 9 and 34 yards. Tommy Grabowski went 19 and 75 yards on scoring runs. Jones had a 75-yard TD late in the first half; Niedrowski scored from 40 yards out in the third quarter.
The 65 points was the most Wyomissing has ever scored in a postseason game.
The Vikings never had a chance. They fumbled away the opening kickoff, giving the Spartans the ball at the 31. Wyo’s first four drives all started in Northern Lebanon territory, and it scored on each. In fact, Wyo reached the end zone on eight of its nine first-half possessions. The lone exception came on Zechman’s first interception of the season.
Northern Lebanon managed just 10 first-half yards, on 22 plays, including three series against Wyo’s second-team defensive unit. Overall, they finished with 20 total yards, just 1 rushing yard, and three first downs.
Rice was impressed, but not surprised.
“Football is a game of chess, but it seemed like everything we tried to throw at ’em they had a counter for it,” Rice said. “When you’re able to put your second-string guys in in the second quarter and have them execute at the same type of level, that just shows from top to bottom there’s discipline, there’s expectations. From top to bottom they’re the most fundamentally sound team that we’ve seen this season.”
The Spartans utilized three quarterbacks in the first half, and four overall. Ten different running backs carried the ball, teaming for 430 rushing yards.
The Spartans knew it would end up like this but still didn’t let down their guard.
“For a big game like this, we take everyone seriously,” Williams said. “It’s the postseason. We’ve gotta get through. This game was a check point. We need to get to the next game. We’re not guaranteed any other games. We need a win every single game to get to states, and that’s what we’re looking to do.”
Wyomissing advances to face No. 5 Middletown, a 35-21 winner over West Perry; they’ll play next Saturday at the A-Field at 1. Wyomissing defeated Middletown in 2020 and 2021 in the district championship game.
Wolfrum didn’t sugarcoat things, trying to tell his players they were up for a big challenge; he knows they wouldn’t have bought it, anyway.
“I told ’em, there’s no way they’re beating you; it’s up to you to go out and play your game and do it with class,” he said. “Just get in and get out, hopefully without any injuries, then we get to move on.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Northern Lebanon | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Wyomissing | 38 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 65 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 19 run (kick failed) | 9:58 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 24 pass from Zechman (pass failed) | 8:49 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Thompson,9 run (Levering kick) | 5:32 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Thompson, 34 run (kick failed) | 5:18 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Eisenhower, 27 interception return (kick failed) | 4:23 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Carter, 77 interception return (Hyde kick) | 1:39 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 75 run (Hyde kick) | 10:59 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Jackson, 3 run (Hyde kick) | 6:49 |
| 2 | Wyomissing | Jones, 75 run (kick failed) | 3:50 |
| 3 | Wyomissing | Niedrowski, 40 run (Hyde kick) | 5:15 |
| 4 | Northern Lebanon | Grimes, 26 FG | 6:08 |
Team statistics
| Northern Lebanon | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 3 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 18-1 | 38-430 |
| Passing yards | 19 | 48 |
| Total yards | 20 | 478 |
| Passes | 5-19-2 | 1-2-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-2 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 9-24.8 | 1-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 2-10 | 7-51 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Northern Lebanon: Stichler 8-16, Clark 1-(-4), Gonzalez 2-(-4), Ebersole 7-(-7).
Wyomissing: Grabowski 4-97, Niedrowski 7-92, Jones 28-80, Thompson 3-59, McIntyre 4-23, W. Delp 5-20, A. Delp 3-18, Forrey 3-16, Jackson 3-13, Eisenhower 2-13, Hyde 1-0.
PASSING
Northern Lebanon: Ebersole 5-19-2–19.
Wyomissing: Zechman 1-2-1-48.
RECEIVING
Northern Lebanon: Gonzalez 3-17, Voight 1-9, Stichler 1-(-7).
Wyomissing: Eisenhower 1-48.
INTERCEPTIONS
Northern Lebanon: Clark.
Wyomissing: Eisenhower, Carter.