Time is a precious resource in any context, and time and time again, the Wyomissing football team continues to make the most of it in the District 3 playoffs.
True to their recent history as five-time defending District 3 champions, the Spartans (10-2) made the most of their final 48 minutes on Saturday on Bob Wolfrum field in the District 3 Class 4A playoffs, as second-seeded Wyomissing controlled the time of possession enroute to a 35-7 win over third-seeded West York.
The Spartans, who are 16-0 in the District 3 playoffs at home, are set for a marquee rematch against top-seeded Lampeter-Strasburg (12-0) in the finale on Friday at Warwick after the Pioneers defeated Twin Valley 31-13 on Friday.
In Week 10, Wyomissing fell to Lampeter-Strasburg 20-7 in a game that decided the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 title. The Spartans are ranked fifth in the state in Class 4A and the Pioneers are ranked third.
“Well anytime you’re still playing you’re thrilled that you’re still going,” Wyomissing Bob Wolfrum said. “It’s neat to be in another district championship game and that’s about all you can do. We’re just going to have to play a whole lot better now.
“We made a few plays, but not nearly enough. They didn’t win any games last year, and the coach did a great job bringing them along this year. The talent level was heavy in our favor, and they played harder and better than we did. We were able to make some plays, but we have to play an awful lot better than that to win next week.”
A dominant rushing game propelled the Spartans, and Danny Fleischood paved the way for the offense as the junior gained 132 rushing yards and had three total touchdowns, two on the ground and one receiving. He scored touchdowns of 34 and 44 yards on the ground, and also caught a 35-yard touchdown pass from Teddy White midway through the third quarter.
“The blocking is great; the whole line,” Fleischood said. “Everyone just blocks really well, and anyone can do that when you have that much of a hole.”
Perhaps most advantageously against a Bulldogs’ team that has made tremendous strides since their 0-10 record from a year ago, the Spartans capitalized on the final minute of the first half by scoring two touchdowns after turnovers to all but the game away before halftime.
Holding a 14-0 lead with just over a minute to go in the first half, Wyomissing junior Danny Delp intercepted West York quarterback Jensen Ferber to give the ball back to the Spartans at their own 39. Moments later, Fleischood took an end around run 44 yards for his second rushing touchdown of the afternoon to make it 21-0 with 49 seconds left in the opening half.
Then, on the first play of the ensuing drive, West York ran up the middle and the resulting scrum around the line of scrimmage turned disastrous for the Bulldogs, as Wyomissing’s Chase Eisenhower ripped the ball out of the rusher’s hands and returned it 28 yards for a touchdown.
“Our defense was great, everyone was doing their job,” Fleischood said. “They came out passing, completing a couple of passes, but we adjusted. We were doing well all around on defense.”
After leading 28-0 at halftime, the Spartans received the ball at the start of the second half and took several minutes off the clock before scoring and turning on the running clock.
A 35-yard touchdown pass from White to Fleischood completed a 9-play 75-yard drive for Wyomissing to make it 35-0 with 6:50 left in the third quarter.
The Bulldogs lone score came with the backups on the field during the running clock as Isaac Roberts scored a 3-yard rushing touchdown for West York after returning a kickoff to the Spartans’ 20. Wyomissing finished the game with 313 rushing yards.
With the game still up for grabs in the first quarter, after forcing the Bulldogs to punt after the opening drive of the quarter, the Spartans completed a 6-play, 60-yard drive with Fleischood’s first rushing score of the day from 34 yards out.
Holding a 7-0 lead after the first quarter, fourth down decisions proved pivotal midway through the second quarter. Facing a fourth and 3 from near midfield, the Bulldogs elected to punt giving Wyomissing the ball back at their own 14.
From there, the Spartans went on a 10-play, 87-yard scoring drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown run by Derek Macrina to make it 14-0. The score would not have been possible had Wyomissing elected not to go on fourth and 2 from the Bulldogs’ 36 to keep the drive alive with a six yard gain by Fleischood. Macrina finished the game with 78 yards and Eisenhower had 70.
The fourth down conversion kept the ball in the Spartans’ favor for a few more minutes before the scoring surge late in the second quarter.
In addition, a dominant performance from the defensive line’s pass rush, which had three sacks in the first half, including two by Tyler Niedrowski, helped Wyomissing keep the opposing offense off the field.
“It’s always our kind of football; we try and do like the option teams,” Wolfrum said. “We want to control the ball and have long scoring drives if we can. So and whether we score or not, we want to keep the ball for a long time. If we have it they can’t score.”
Source: Berkshire mont
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