In a matchup of two of the top programs in Pennsylvania, Wyomissing solidified its dominance with a 35-21 win over Southern Columbia.
And while the Spartans certainly displayed their prowess on defense and through the running game, it was capitalizing on mistakes made by the Tigers that made all the difference.
Southern Columbia turned it over three times in the first half with each turnover leading to points for Wyomissing.
Less than two minutes into the game, the Spartans got on the board, as Justice Hardy scored with an 11-yard rushing touchdown on third down to secure the opening points. It was the first time Wyomissing capitalized, as the Spartans scored six plays in after Southern Columbia fumbled their first snap on the opening possession and Wyomissing took over at the Tigers’ 31.
Hardy, a sophomore, went on to finish with four rushing touchdowns and 117 yards rushing on 12 carries.
“It feels great,” Hardy said. “I see it as we’re all playmakers, because I wouldn’t have done it without any of my linemen, or any of the halfbacks. They all really just helped create every single one of those plays.”
Later in the first, the Tigers fumbled their first punt of the afternoon, giving the Spartans the ball at the Southern Columbia 25. Hardy once again stepped up for the score, this time from 11 yards out once more.
In the second quarter, a bad snap cost the Tigers’ another fumble and gave Wyomissing the ball at the Southern Columbia 1-yard line.
Junior Tyler Niedrowski found the end zone through a scrum up the middle moments later with 9:23 left in the second quarter making it 21-0.
Hardy scored his third rushing touchdown off a misdirection play late in the first half to give the Spartans a 28-0 lead with :27 seconds left before halftime. Wyomissing took a four score lead into the halftime locker room at 28-0.
“We did some nice things in the first half, but most of it was because they had just the bad snaps, and we got short fields so we didn’t have to do too much,” Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum said. “And it was a struggle all day to move the ball. We’re fortunate to have some game breakers like Justice (Hardy) and we got about two or three of them that had some nice runs.”
Southern Columbia put on a better showing in the second half, outscoring Wyomissing 14-7 in the third.
Ayden Hockenbroch threw a touchdown into strong coverage and located Blaise Kissinger for a 23-yard touchdown with 6:43 remaining in the third.
Hardy scored his fourth touchdown on an explosive run midway through the third quarter. He slipped two tackles in the backfield and went off for a 46-yard touchdown run with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
The Tigers responded in kind, however, as Brayden Andrews caught a 47-yard play-action from Hockenbroch, then Andrews followed it up with on a 14-yard run on the following play to make it 35-14.
In the fourth, the Spartans dodged another bullet after a Hockenbrock 36-yard touchdown pass for Southern Columbia. Travis Wergrxynowicz made the score with 2:22 left in the game to make it 35-21.
Creating drama late, Wyomissing fumbled the first snap of the ensuing possession.
The Tigers then took over at Wyomissing’s 25, but could not produce anything, as two incompletions followed by a screen play for a loss created a fourth and 23 scenario.
Senior Chase Eisenhower came up with the sack on fourth and 23 that would seal the win, as the Spartans ran the clock out the rest of the way.
“I thought our defense played great until the end,” Wolfrum said. “And at the end, they played on the same field we did, but we had a lot of our kids out, just because of the heat, and they had to get out. They had the same problem.
“So it’s not an excuse, but a lot of stuff happened and we had our starters out there the whole day. So it might not have happened and it ended up closer than it should have been.”
While it may have been closer than it should have been, the first half told a story of Wyomissing’s strength.
The Spartans had seven first downs in the first half compared to Southern Columbia’s two, and Wyomissing also held the Tigers to under 50 yards of total offense.
Southern Columbia recorded -47 rushing yards on 14 carries in the first half, while the Spartans had 25 rushes for 112 yards in the first half.
In total for the first two quarters, the Tigers fumbled five times (recovered one) and produced 26 yards of total offense compared to Wyomissing’s 128 total yards of first-half offense.
“That was good for us; that was good,” Wolfrum said of the win. “It’s good for us to play a tough game where we faced a lot of adversity and still got the win.”
For Hardy, the win is just step one of living up the Spartans’ standard of success. Wyomissing has won the last District 3 Class 3A titles.
“I think it’s great we have a very high standard as far as the previous seasons but I think we’re all gonna live up to it,” Hardy said.
Source: Berkshire mont
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