Bob Wolfrum-Wyomissing

Eight seconds. That’s what stood between Wyomissing and a third straight trip to the Class 3A state championship game. It looked like the (13-1) Spartans were on their way when Ben Zechman found Charlie McIntyre open in the left flat for a 10-yard touchdown pass that put Wyomissing on top of Neumann-Goretti 17-14. However, the District 12 champions still had 34 seconds to pull off a miracle comeback. Mehki Wharton lofted a deep pass to Qaasim Major who was all alone behind the defense for a 44-yard score down the left sideline with eight seconds left. The (11-3) Saints stunned the Spartans 20-17 at the Germantown Super Site. “We just blew a coverage. That happens. It’s a shame. Quite frankly, I don’t know that we deserved to win. They had much the better of the play most of the game,” said longtime Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum. Neumann-Goretti outgained the Spartans 386-257. Wyomissing was limited to 142 rushing yards and just 3.1 per carry. The Spartans’ Wing-T offense gashed the Saints a season ago in a 42-6 semifinal rout. This was a much different story. “You could tell that they studied it a little bit. They made it so we couldn’t run between our tackles. They were really physical. We couldn’t hold our blocks,” explained Wolfrum. Wyomissing was grinding out 326 yards per game on the ground entering Saturday. They were held 26 points below their season average. The Spartans dominated the field position battle in the first half. Drew Eisenhower capped a 46-yard drive with a 6-yard run late in the opening quarter. On their next possession, the Spartans reached the 2-yard line with five minutes to go in the second period. They opted to kick an 18-yard field goal on fourth down and Ian Levering made it 10-0. Boston College commit Shawn Battle gave Neumann-Goretti a spark with a 51-yard touchdown run just 30 seconds later. Battle ran for 124 yards and scored four times last week in the quarterfinals versus Northwestern Lehigh. The Saints handed off to Sam Hobbs for the 2-point conversion and he got them within 10-8 of Wyomissing. Hobbs is a 6’1, 192-pound senior linebacker with an offer from Syracuse. He had a team-high 62 tackles, 10 TFL, and four sacks going into Saturday. Neumann-Goretti hurt itself in the third quarter. With Battle on the sideline getting a rest, freshman running back Terrance Page fumbled and Collin Niedrowski recovered at the Spartans’ 28-yard line. On the Saints’ next series, Battle was ejected for throwing a punch after he was tackled with 20 seconds left in the period. The 5’11, 187-pound senior finished with 187 yards on 19 carries. That drive stalled at Wyomissing’s 21-yard line. The Saints forced a three-and-out and took over at the Spartans’ 48-yard line with 4:12 to play. Freshman Amahj Gowens broke off runs of 16 and 12 yards before 200-pound sophomore fullback Kyreese Bradley powered into the end zone from two yards away. The 2-point conversion pass was incomplete, but Neumann-Goretti had a 14-10 advantage with 2:01 on the clock. That’s when Ben Zechman went to work. The 6’2, 185-pound senior got things going with a short pass to Eisenhower that went for 22 yards. He connected with Eisenhower again on a 29-yard strike into tight coverage down the right seam. That set up Wyomissing at the 22-yard line with 59 seconds left. After a pass interference penalty, one of 14 flags against the Saints, Zechman flipped a pass to McIntyre for the go-ahead score. The Spartans were only averaging 64 passing yards per contest. On that possession, Zechman had four completions for 74 yards. “We can always count on him. He does a great job of calling the plays at the line when he has to, and running everything fast. He knows what every position does and he’s pretty sharp,” mentioned Wolfrum. Zechman ended up 8-of-17 for 115 yards. Wharton and Qaasim hooked up just 26 seconds later to end Wyomissing’s perfect season. Wharton, a 6’7, 227-pound junior, gave credit to head coach Albie Crosby. “The coach just drew it up during the timeout. It was just a thought in his head. It was wide open,” revealed Wharton. He was 13-of-20 for 110 yards. Neumann-Goretti piled up 276 rushing yards. The Saints will meet District 7 champ Belle Vernon next Saturday at 1pm in the PIAA-3A championship at Cumberland Valley. Matthew Kramer ran for a team-high 78 yards on 20 carries. Eisenhower chipped in with 37 yards on eleven touches. He added 65 yards on four receptions. McIntyre managed 20 yards on eleven carries. They’re three of the 17 seniors on the roster. The Spartans went (49-4) over the past four years with four District 3 titles. “That’s a pretty good resume for a kid. They had great careers, all of them,” noted Wolfrum.