WYOMISSING – In 1993, on a warm November Saturday, a scrappy and talented Conrad Weiser team rolled into the A-Field to end the season and derailed a state-ranked Wyomissing squad by the score of 14-7, ending the Spartans hope for making the PIAA playoffs for the first time.
28 years later, the Scouts tried to make history repeat itself, but in the end, the Spartans (10-0) ran past the Scouts (7-3) by the score of 45-7. With the victory, Wyomissing earned its third consecutive Berks League Section II title. It will also be their last.
Saturday’s game was the last in the storied 64-year history of the Berks (formerly Inter-County) Football League. The league started in 1957, has featured 29 different teams and almost 2,500 league games. It produced many District III champions, state playoff participants, and one PIAA Champion, Wyomissing Area in 2012. Next year, the Berks League teams will join an expanded Lancaster-Lebanon Super League, following a trend becoming more popular throughout the state.
Saturday’s game also marked Wyomissing’s third consecutive undefeated regular season, a first in the long history of Berks County football. It was also Wyomissing’s 26th consecutive regular victory, which is four short of Wilson West Lawn’s Berks record of 30.
On top of all that, it was also Senior Day!
However, all that history took a back seat to a truly dominant performance by a talented Wyomissing football team, a team that has a historic look. The Spartans didn’t have to look too far into the past for motivation.
“Last year we shared the league championship with them (the two teams did not play due to a COVID affected schedule),” said senior fullback Tommy Grabowski following the game. “That just made us really mad. We came out here today and gave it everything we had.”
The key for the Spartans was attempting to contain the league’s most prolific offense. The Scouts came into the game averaging 413 yards of total offense, 180 on the ground, and 233 through the air. The swarming Wyomissing defense, however, allowed only 22 rushing yards and a stingy 97 through the air on Saturday.
“We had to establish the outside because their quarterback (Logan Klitsch) is really mobile,” added Grabowski. “We had to shut it down and we did that very well today.”
Senior cornerbacks Amory Thompson and Nevin Carter locked down a talented Conrad Weiser receiving corps while the Spartan defensive line disrupted Kitch’s timing, pinning him in the pocket for the duration of the afternoon.
“Our coaches told us that Weiser used to be one of Wyo’s big rivals back in the day,” said Thompson after the game. “So we had that extra chip on our shoulder today.”
That chip allowed the Spartans to get whatever they wanted on offense.
Grabowski gained 116 yards on 13 carries to go along with three touchdowns. Thompson ran for 105 yards on 10 carries and a score. Junior quarterback Ben Zechman threw only three passes but connected for a 26-yard touchdown strike to fellow junior Charlie McIntyre.
The Scouts entered the game as the fifth-ranked team in District III 4A, and many felt that they represented the last test for Wyomissing before what looks to be a long playoff run. Faced with that perceived adversity, the attempt to extend the win and undefeated season streaks, and the ghost of eerily similar games past hanging in the ether, the Spartans more than rose to the occasion.
“It’s everything to us,” said Grabowski. “We work extremely hard for this and it’s just paying off now.”
Scoring Summary
1st – Wyo – Levering 21 yard field goal – 3-0
1st – Wyo – Grabowski 36 yard run, Levering kick – 10-0
1st – Wyo – McIntyre, 26-yard pass from Zechman, Levering kick – 17-0
2nd – Wyo – Thompson, 18-yard run, Levering kick – 24-0
2nd – Wyo – Grabowski, 1-yard run, Levering kick – 31-0
3rd – Wyo – Granowski, 1-yard run, Levering kick – 38-0
4th – Wyo – Jones, 1-yard run, Levering kick – 45-0
4th – CW – Dianna, 45 yard pass from Klitsch, Noll kick – 45-7
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Conrad Weiser | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Wyomissing | 17 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 45 |
