The Wyomissing football team took an early lead and never looked back Saturday at Bob Wolfrum Field.
Hosting Northern Lebanon in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener, the Spartans defeated the Vikings 42-0 after establishing a 28-0 lead before halftime.
Junior running back Chase Eisenhower scored two rushing touchdowns and finished the game with 83 rushing yards.
In addition, senior Derek Macrina also scored two rushing touchdowns and finished the game with 35 rushing yards and 27 receiving yards. In total, the Spartans picked up 324 rushing yards.
“I think our O-line blocked great,” Eisenhower said. “They blocked great, the whole half and the whole game. So I think that’s what it comes down to on the field.”
The duo of Eisenhower and Macrina helped Wyomissing establish its early dominance, as both players scored their touchdowns in the opening half.
Eisenhower made the first score of the game on the opening drive of the game after Northern Lebanon deferred the coin toss. The Spartans (3-1, 1-0) started at their own 23 before completing a 10-play, 77-yard drive with a 2-yard rushing touchdown Eisenhower. Eisenhower had five rushing attempts for 40 yards on the drive.
“Actually, they (the Vikings) impressed me,” Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said. “We had them really out manned and they came and they played hard the whole game. Talking to their coach before the game, that’s what he wanted. He wanted the kids to play and from beginning then they played hard.
“I was impressed with them. They deferred, and usually a team that knows they’re going to get beat pretty good wants the ball right away.”
After forcing a three-and-out on Northern Lebanon’s opening drive, Wyomissing’s ground game went to work once more. This time, Macrina scored a 9-yard rushing touchdown to cap a 6-play, 49-yard drive, making it 14-0 with 1:04 to go in the first quarter.
Sophomore running back Justice Hardy came up with an acrobatic play on the Spartans’ second scoring drive. Hardy leaped up over the opposing secondary to catch a pass fellow sophomore Teddy White high in the air for a nice 16-yard grab.
However, it wouldn’t be the last catch Hardy would make, and moments later, he intercepted Vikings quarterback Bryan Mitzel on the final play of the first quarter.
Macrina scored his second touchdown with 9:25 remaining in the first half after taking a run on third and two 15 yards for the score.
A fumbled snap forced the Vikings back on their ensuing possession and were ultimately forced to punt on fourth and long.
Eisenhower showed off his exceptional physicality for the final score of the first half. Taking a run up the middle on first and 10 from the Northern Lebanon 39, Eisenhower followed his blockers and shook off multiple defenders, forcefully refusing to go down, before breaking away for the 39-yard rushing touchdown.
“I got a lot of of blocks downfield at the start and I really wasn’t thinking,” Eisenhower said regarding the play. “I was just trying to run.”
The Vikings (1-3, 0-1) converted just two first downs in the first half and got into Wyomissing’s territory once. Late in the second quarter on fourth and two from the 50, Mitzel slipped for an 8-yard loss, giving it back to the Spartans.
Wyomissing finished the first half with 202 rushing yards and 45 passing yards, while Northern Lebanon had just five rushing yards in the opening half. Mitzel had -18 rushing yards in the first half and 24 passing yards.
“We definitely had a very good hold on the defensive line,” Spartans junior linebacker Tyler Niedrowski said. “They held everything down well and at first we had a little trouble with the option once we fixed that there was nothing they could do.”
In the second half, the Vikings ran into trouble early after receiving the opening kickoff of the second half. On third and 15, Mitzel mishandled a handoff and fumbled, allowing Keaton Piacine to recover for the Spartans.
Moments later, Daniel Fleischood scored a 6-yard rushing touchdown to complete a 3-play, 24-yard drive, making it 35-0 and turning on the running clock.
Late in the third quarter, Wyomissing backup quarterback Austin Lecher was intercepted and a deep return gave Northern Lebanon the ball at the Spartans 34. However, moments later and early in the fourth, Wayne Reason intercepted Mitzel in the end zone giving it back to the Wyomissing.
Reason would pick up a long 32-yard gain on the next Wyomissing possession and Tymere Brooks-Grey closed out the scoring with a 10-yard rushing touchdown for the Spartans with about five minutes to go in the game.
For Niedrowski, who made a jaw-dropping tackle for a loss in the third quarter that ignited the crowd as well as the Spartans’ bench, the passing game and overall body language are areas Wyomissing can improve upon.
“If they pass more, I probably say that we need to work on cover three,” Niedrowski said. “That’s one of the big things we need to work on in the passing game.
“Body language was a huge thing we talked about at halftime because the first half we were doing well but no one was really excited. After the second half we came out, everyone was pumped, and, I got that big hit, and then everyone was hype and we had a great, great finish of the game.”
Source: Berkshire mont