Wyomissing football team ready to take on Northwestern Lehigh in PIAA Class 3A semifinal

Nov. 30—While it understandably may still linger in some players' minds, no one in the Wyomissing locker room is talking about it.

A year ago, the Spartans fell to Neumann-Goretti 20-17 in heartbreaking fashion on a touchdown with eight seconds left in the PIAA Class 3A football semifinals, missing out on a third-straight appearance in the state championship game.

However, Wyomissing will get a shot at redemption Friday when it takes on Northwestern Lehigh at Kutztown University's Andre Reed Stadium at 7 p.m. in its fourth straight state semifinal appearance.

"I think there definitely is (remembrance to last season) but we don't talk about it," Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum said. "Every year is a new year. We want to do better than we did last year and I know that, even though we don't talk about it much, the kids didn't feel good about how that game ended. They want to do better in the same round this year."

Wyomissing has scored at least 42 points in each of its last three playoff games heading into Friday and has outscored its opponents 138-41 in that span.

The District 3 champion Spartans (12-1) defeated Danville 48-27 in the quarterfinal round, while the District 11 champion Tigers (13-0) defeated District 2 champ Scranton Prep 23-16.

Sophomore Chase Eisenhower scored a career-high four rushing touchdowns against the Ironmen and senior Ryker Jones ran for two touchdowns and had a game-high 156 rushing yards on nine carries.

"It's a blessing," Jones said after the quarterfinal victory. "It's really fun and I really appreciate being a part of this. We're going to work to get that state championship. I think we just have to keep on doing what we're doing and stick to the process."

The process that has been working for Wyomissing is the patented Wing-T offense that boasts several strong runners. The Spartans have recorded 4,158 rushing yards on 555 attempts and Eisenhower leads the team in yardage with 1,000 on 144 carries. He also has team-leading 16 touchdowns.

Freshman Justice Hardy has 549 rushing yards on 68 attempts and has scored 12 touchdowns; senior Collin Niedrowski has 419 rushing yards on 59 attempts and has scored eight TDs; senior Marvin Armistead has 440 rushing yards on 39 carries and has scored five touchdowns; and Jones has 427 rushing yards on 37 attempts, and has scored seven touchdowns.

A strong offensive line has paved the way for strong production on the ground, according to Niedrowski.

"I think our offensive line has just done amazing recently," Niedrowski said. "Those little things come a long way and I think that they've just been tremendous for our run game lately.

"From the beginning of the summer to now I feel like our team has progressed tremendously. And I think that we've really come together as a team and we're really performing to the best of our ability."

Northwestern Lehigh is making its first appearance in the semifinals since 2002 and third overall, and is looking to advance to its first state final.

The Tigers have a strong rushing attack of their own with 3,419 yards on 536 attempts. Senior running back Dalton Clymer leads the way with 1,725 yards and 29 touchdowns on 248 carries.

Sophomore quarterback Shane Leh has completed 106-of-168 passes for 1,589 yards and 22 touchdowns.

"We don't prepare for any one (specific) player, we prepare for the X's and O's," Wolfrum said. "Their offense isn't all that complicated, just like ours. On defense, the most important thing every week is you gotta get lined up right. People have to be in the gaps they're supposed to be in and covering the people they're supposed to cover.

"If we get that right then it comes down to who plays better head-to-head."

According to Eisenhower, Wyomissing's intensity has been brewing since an 18-13 win over Lampeter-Strasburg in the regular season finale. With focus and an unwavering desire to hoist a state championship trophy, the Spartans have no plans on slowing down any time soon.

"I think we're definitely paying attention more and focusing during practice," Eisenhower said. "We're staying locked in and our intensity has just been through the roof ever since that Lampeter-Strasburg game. We have to keep that (intensity) up if we want to keep playing like we are."