Wyomissing stops Middletown cold, heads back to District 3 title game
Bob Wolfrum’s been waiting for this, waiting for a chance to really measure his Wyomissing football team. Fans may love all the blowouts but Wolfrum puts more value in a game such as this, when Middletown made his guys fight for every yard.
“These are the kind of games you find out about yourself,” he said after a 14-0 win Saturday in a District 3 Class 3A semifinal at the A-Field.
The Spartans (12-0) had to slug it out; on a defining drive that opened the second half they needed to convert three fourth downs to find the end zone. The Spartans’ coached glistened at the thought of a 17-play, eight-minute drive and loved seeing the grit it took to execute it.
“Our kids are pretty tough,” Wolfrum confirmed. “Those guys (from Middletown), they wanted to battle, and our kids were equal to the task.”
Wolfrum’s other takeaway from the most demanding game of the season?
“Our defense is pretty damned good,” he said.
That’s hardly breaking news: The Spartans are ranked No. 1 in Berks in total defense and were allowing a scant 8.5 points per game — half of those points coming with their starters on the bench late in games.
They really hadn’t needed a great defensive effort before this; they’ve scored 35 or more points in every game and were averaging 48.
Saturday they needed it. The Blue Raiders (6-5) demanded it. They were tough on defense. Well-prepared, always in position, and sure tacklers. They didn’t allow any long, game-breaking plays.
“Our kids just battled,” said first-year coach Scott Acri proudly, “and that’s all I asked them to do.”
The Spartans didn’t have a first down in the first quarter and didn’t score until the final minutes of the first half. They needed to play defense, and did — as well as ever.
They allowed just 48 total yards and four first downs. After intermission they gave up 9 yards and limited the Blue Raiders to nine plays. (Wyo ran 44 plays in the second half.) They chased Tate Leach out of the pocket constantly and didn’t allow him to complete a pass.
Berks Section 2 Linebacker of the Year Jack Miller forced a fumble, recorded a sack, rushed the pocket and had bunch of tackles. All-League defensive end Aiden Mack, a Richmond recruit, stormed the pocket, shut down the edge and recovered a fumble. Outside ‘backer Rory Filoon was in the Middletown backfield so much he should’ve been wearing a yellow helmet. Cornerback Amory Thompson picked off a pass and defended two others.
“They are in the right spots, and they don’t miss tackles,” Acri said of Wyo’s defense. “We wanted to get our athletes on the edge and force them to make tackles and I don’t think they missed one of ’em.”
Middletown never got closer than the Wyomissing 45, and that came on the opening series. The Blue Raiders had one play that went 10 yards, and nothing longer. They never really threatened to win, they just made the Spartans work hard.
“They all had heart,” senior linebacker Tommy Grabowski said of the Blue Raiders, long a Wyomissing nemesis. “They went hard every play. I think that’s gonna help us in the long run. That showed us what (good) teams can be like. We put up a fight with them, and succeeded.”
Wyomissing advances to meet Boiling Springs in the championship game next Saturday at the A-Field at 1. The Spartans will be looking for their third straight district title, which will be a milestone for the program; they’ve never won more than two in a row.
The second-seeded Bubblers (11-1) advanced with a 35-7 win over Hamburg Friday. They won’t have it so easy next week.
The Spartans showed that even when they don’t have their home run plays they can grind it out with the best of them. Wolfrum figured that was the best course of action and ran Grabowski, his fullback, a career-high 28 times, mostly dives and inside stuff. That’s a lot of carries for a team that prides itself on balance but it was necessary because of how well Middletown’s defense played.
Grabowski ended up with 152 yards and both the touchdowns.
“He’s really a tough runner,” Wolfrum said. “He’s quick, but he’s tough, too. We found something we could do, that little slide motion. That’s been big for us at different times over the years, and we pounded that one pretty good. It was pretty much power football.”
The Spartans’ front didn’t execute with the precision it has shown most of the year. They found out Thursday night they’ll be without John Gartner, a second-team all-league guard, for the rest of the season due to injury. That caused Section 2 Offensive Lineman of the Year Jven Williams to slide from tackle to guard. Wolfrum didn’t use that as an excuse for an offensive that was stuck in fourth gear much of the first half; he never would.
“Our defense held us in the game when we couldn’t move the ball at all,” Wolfrum said. “I’ll tell you, that’s one tough group of people (playing for Middletown). Eventually in the second half we took control of the game, even though we never scored a lot of points. The defense kept them under control, which allowed us to score a couple and get the ‘W.’ “
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Middletown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Wyomissing | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 17 run (Levering kick) | 4:16 |
| 1 | Wyomissing | Grabowski, 2 run (Levering kick) | 3:52 |
Team statistics
| Middletown | Wyomissing | |
| First downs | 4 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-48 | 60-229 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 31 |
| Total yards | 48 | 260 |
| Passes | 0-8-1 | 3-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 7-31.7 | 4-45.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-40 | 6-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Middletown: Broadie 8-25, Davis 9-13, Brown 2-10, Bryant 1-1, Leach 7-0.
Wyomissing: Grabowski 28-152, Thompson 11-28, Eisenhower 6-21, Jackson 5-20, McIntyre 5-11, Zechman 2-(-3).
PASSING
Middletown: Leach 0-8-1–0.
Wyomissing: Zechman 3-7-0–31.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Mack 1-13, Grabowski 1-11, Eisenhower 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
Wyomissing: Thompson.