Spartans don’t get caught up in the hoopla, move ahead with big win over Raiders
By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports senior correspondent
The congratulations continued the Monday after Wyomissing’s football players ended the famous streak. Text messages arrived from former teammates. Pats on the back were offered by strangers.
Handing Southern Columbia a loss after 65 consecutive wins is something that grabs people’s attention.
“Everyone was really excited about it,” lineman Julian DiMaio said. “It was from teachers and kids you don’t even know in the hallways. They’re like, ‘Good game!’ You’re like, ‘Thank you. I don’t even know you!’”
What those outside of Wyomissing’s locker room didn’t realize was the Spartans had mentally turned the page. Once 11:59 Sunday clicked into midnight, they were done with Southern Columbia. They moved on to Twin Valley.
There wasn’t even a hint of a letdown Friday.
Wyomissing scored on its first six possessions and defeated Twin Valley 56-7 on its home turf in Berks Football League Section 2 play. The Spartans continued their own streak. That’s 22 consecutive regular season wins. Tied for the most in school history.
“We were at such a high,” lineman Jackson Miller said. “We needed to bring it back down. It was hard at the beginning of the week but we got it together.”
Any concern quickly melted away. Wyomissing’s first play from scrimmage was Amory Thompson’s 72-yard touchdown run. He went untouched off right tackle.
This was a blocking clinic by Wyomissing’s front five: DiMaio at center, Miller and John Gartner at guard and Jven Williams and Preston Aikman at tackle. Pacen Ziegler also played a big role in the rotation.
Other than Williams, the 6-4, 310-pound Power Five conference recruit, Wyomissing’s line is relatively small. Miller, a converted fullback, and DiMaio both check in at 200 pounds. Gartner is 175. Aikman is listed at 230. It’s more about precision than power. One concept line coach Steve O’Neil preaches is leverage.
“I just take advice from my coach,” DiMaio said. “He’s right. When the angles are there and you drive them in the hip, it doesn’t really matter how big you are. That’s all game long. As long as you’re on the hip and going, you’re doing fine.”
Wyomissing’s three-man running crew put up video game stats in the first half. Thompson delivered 128 yards on six carries. Tommy Grabowski posted 134 yards on eight carries. Drew Eisenhower chipped in 75 yards on four carries. Each back scored two touchdowns.
“Those guys have some insane speed, some insane agility,” Miller said. “Even when we don’t make the best blocks they can make things happen because they’re great backs.”
Wyomissing led 42-0 with 2:07 left in the second quarter and the reserves played the rest of the way. The train kept rolling regardless of who was on the field. The Spartans’ first drive of the second half was 12 plays for 72 yards and took 9:20 off the clock.
Grabowski had the night’s highlight-reel run when he burst through the line and somehow sidestepped a series of defenders in the secondary. The 6-0, 200-pound senior took it 64 yards to the end zone.
Wyomissing had five touchdown runs that went at least 25 yards. The last was William Delp’s 77-yard dash in the fourth quarter.
It all started with the big, and not as big, men up front.
“They do a nice job,” Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said. “They’re getting better. They really sprung some people downfield tonight. They move. They don’t stop and watch. They keep running, trying to find somebody to block.”
Nick Harris scored on a 5-yard touchdown run for Twin Valley (2-2, 4-3). Dominic Caruso, one of the league’s top backs, was held to 33 yards on 14 carries.
Wyomissing (3-0, 7-0) travels to Kutztown before closing out the regular season at home against Schuylkill Valley and Conrad Weiser. The Spartans, currently locked in as the No. 1 seed in District 3 Class 3A, could have a long stretch of games at the A-Field after next week.
That’s why it was important to quickly move on from Southern Columbia. As magical as that win was, Wyomissing hopes a bigger one is still out there.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Wyomissing | 21 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 56 |
| Twin Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Wyomissing | Thompson | 72 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 2 run | Kick blocked | ||
| Wyomissing | Thompson | 18 run | Thompson | Pass from Zechman | |
| Wyomissing | Grabowski | 64 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Eisenhower | 35 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Eisenhower | 10 run | Levering | kick | |
| Wyomissing | Forrey | 25 run | Hyde | kick | |
| Twin Valley | Harris | 5 run | Puccino | kick | |
| Wyomissing | W. Delp | 77 run | Hyde | kick | |
Team statistics
| Wyomissing | Twin Valley | |
| First downs | 16 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 43-530 | 26-70 |
| Passing yards | 32 | 75 |
| Total yards | 562 | 145 |
| Passes | 2-3-0 | 6-20-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 4-22.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-30 | 1-5 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Wyomissing: Grabowski 8-134, Thompson 6-128, W. Delp 4-86, Eisenhower 4-75, Niedrowski 8-47, Forrey 2-27, Jones 3-16, McIntyre 2-12, Jackson 1-7, A. Delp 1-4, Kramer 1-0, Ambarian 3-(-6).
Twin Valley: Johnson 4-50, Caruso 14-33, Harris 3-19, Rose 1-(-1), Styer 1-(-6), Myers 3-(-25).
PASSING
Wyomissing: Zechman 2-3-0–32.
Twin Valley: Myers 6-19-0–75, Styer 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Wyomissing: Carter 1-22, Thompson 1-10.Twin Valley: Freeman 3-66, Harris 1-8, Ameisen 1-6, Caruso 1-(-5).
