Kramer – Berks Sports Report

Matthew Kramer-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Sun, 28 Aug 2022 09:17:00 +0000

If there was a fantasy football league featuring high school players, Matthew Kramer would be a high draft pick. The 6’1, 215-pound senior fullback scored three touchdowns in less than ten minutes in Wyomissing’s season opener. The Spartans rolled over Kennard-Dale 49-0. The Rams won ten games in 2021 and reached the District 3-4A semifinals, but only returned three starters. Logan Hyde intercepted Garrett McCleary’s pass over the middle on the first play from scrimmage. Kramer went 19 yards for a score on the very next play. It took Wyomissing just 22 seconds to reach the end zone. Drew Eisenhower raced 33 yards on the next series which set up Kramer’s 2-yard touchdown run. Ben Zechman found Ryker Jones for 30 yards on the Spartans’ third possession. That drive ended with a 14-yard run by Kramer. He gave credit to the offensive line which includes PSU commit Jven Williams. “It’s so fun because they just move guys all over the place. They’re just messing guys up, pancaking guys all the time. It’s great running behind them,” he said. Williams is listed at 6’5 and 295 pounds. Offensive tackle Pacen Ziegler and tight end Caleb Brewer weigh in at 275 pounds. That trio makes up Wyomissing’s defensive line. Kennard-Dale was limited to 73 total yards and just 17 in the second half. Kramer stated, “Our front line owns the line of scrimmage so that was a big key. They didn’t really get much up the middle all day.” Kramer and Drew Forrey are the outside linebackers in the Spartans’ 3-4 defense. Juniors Ryker Jones and Collin Niedrowski are on the inside. The Rams had three turnovers including an interception by sophomore Derek Macrina. That pick led to a 23-yard touchdown run by Charlie McIntyre with one minute remaining in the second quarter. Zechman kept things rolling early in the third quarter with a 39-yard pass to Drew Eisenhower out of the backfield. That score put the mercy rule into effect. Macrina and Chase Eisenhower, Drew’s younger brother, added touchdown runs in the fourth quarter. Chase is a 210-pound freshman fullback. “He’s got a ton of potential. He came into the weight room the first day and he was moving tons of weight. He’s got a big future in front of him,” said Kramer. Chase Eisenhower had 27 yards on six carries in his debut. His older brother provided 46 yards on three runs, as well as two receptions for 58 yards. Zechman ended up 5-of-8 for 128 yards and a score. “He’s kind of the perfect Wing-T quarterback. You don’t have to be extremely fast. He’s really good with throwing accurate passes. Having accuracy is a big part of our offense,” mentioned Kramer. The Spartans, ranked #2 in the state in Class 3A by PennLive, piled up 407 yards (279 rushing). Head coach Bob Wolfrum improved his sparkling record to (338-86-1). Kramer emphasized, “He knows what he’s talking about. [His] game plans are just fantastic. We come out here so prepared for these teams.” Wyomissing hasn’t lost a regular season game since October 27, 2018 when the Spartans fell to Berks Catholic 28-7. Wolfrum has guided them to three consecutive District 3 championships and ten overall. This is his 36th year as head coach. Kramer and I also discussed his favorite food and sports movies. He’s a fan of ‘The Blind Side’ and ‘Remember the Titans.’ Kramer and the 16 other seniors on Wyomissing’s roster are hoping for another memorable season.

Matt Kramer-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Fri, 29 Apr 2022 23:57:00 +0000

Matt Kramer is certainly no stranger to big games. The 210-pound junior helped Wyomissing win the District 3-3A football championship back in November. The outside linebacker piled up a team-high eleven tackles in the state final against Central Valley. On Friday night in West Lawn, Kramer came through again, but this time it was on a baseball diamond. He tossed 6.1 scoreless innings in a 6-0 victory over Hamburg. Kramer told me that it’s a privilege to play at Owls Field. He struck out nine and walked two while limiting the Hawks to four hits. Hamburg loaded the bases with one out in the top of the third inning. Kramer got No. 3 hitter Luke Bensinger on a strikeout and Nate Gilbert on a popup to third. Kramer reached on an infield single in the first inning. He scored on an RBI single to center by Ryker Jones. Kramer believes that the sophomore third baseman has a ton of potential. Jones went 2-for-4 with a triple and 2 RBI. Dom Colon knocked in a run with a bloop single to right field in the third. Colon finished 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBI. Kramer mentioned that Colon has stepped up on the mound and at shortstop. The (8-6, 6-3) Spartans got some breathing room with four unearned runs on two hits in the sixth inning. Two of the Hawks’ three errors came in that frame. Hamburg allowed five unearned runs overall. Kramer discussed his relationship with senior catcher Nate Koenig. They’ve been playing together since they were little kids. Koenig had two of Wyomissing’s ten hits, including a triple. Jay Wolf drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth. The senior infielder took over on the hill for Kramer and got the final two outs of the game. Austin Miller gave up four runs, one earned, on seven hits in 5.1 innings. The Albright commit struck out three and walked two. Sophomore Braden Fetherolf was charged with two unearned runs on three hits. Freshman Tyler Shuey had two of Hamburg’s five hits. His older brother, Hunter, is pitching now for UNC-Greensboro. The (11-4, 7-3) Hawks had won seven of their previous eight contests. Four teams in Division 3 are separated by a-half game! Berks Catholic (6-2) and Oley Valley (6-3) are also in the mix for a division title. Kramer explained what it’s going to take to come out on top. We talked about his expectations for this ball club before the season. He had a feeling that they would start slow after losing nine seniors to graduation. The Spartans were the District 3-4A runner-up in 2021. They made their first appearance in the Berks County playoffs since 2006. It was Wyomissing’s first winning season since 2002. However, Jimmy Nunez, Aidan Cirulli, Darren Brunner, Harry Weiss, Ryan Latourelle, and Luke Terefenko have all moved on. Kramer and company are getting hot at the right time. The Spartans’ winning streak is up to five. I asked Kramer if he’s better at baseball or football. He also revealed the smartest, funniest, strongest, and fastest players on this year’s team. He said they love playing basketball for fun. Kramer is still confident in the 76ers despite Joel Embiid’s injury. Finally, he told me about his favorite classes and teachers at Wyomissing.

Matt Kramer-Wyomissing

Paul Roberts — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 19:49:00 +0000

Central Valley came into the Class 3A state championship game averaging 47.6 points per game. Wyomissing held the Warriors to one touchdown, but it wasn’t enough. Central Valley prevailed 7-0 to extend its winning streak to 27 games. The (15-0) Warriors defeated the (15-1) Spartans in the state final for the second straight year. Landon Alexander’s 28-yard TD run with 9:54 left was the difference. The 190-pound senior had a big day. He rushed for 231 yards on 35 carries. Alexander went over 200 yards for the fourth consecutive game. He holds the school record for career rushing yards with 4,161. Wyomissing outside linebacker Matt Kramer told me that Alexander has excellent patience. The Spartans got to see the Wildcat offense last week in the semifinals vs. Neumann-Goretti. Kramer said that helped them prepare for Central Valley. The 6’1, 210-pound junior collected a team-high eleven tackles. Kramer has learned a lot from playing alongside inside linebackers Jack Miller and Tommy Grabowski. He mentioned that effort, technique, and film study are the keys to being a great LB. Kramer added that the Wyomissing coaching staff does a great job of putting the players in the right position each week. Unfortunately, Warriors’ senior DT Sean FitzSimmons was also in the right position all afternoon at Hersheypark Stadium. He forced a fumble by Ben Zechman on 4th & goal from the 3-yard line with 6:30 remaining. Zechman never had a chance on the sprint out because of the 280-pound Pittsburgh commit. FitzSimmons made seven tackles and 1.5TFL. He piled up 21 sacks and 48.5TFL this season. Central Valley was able to milk the clock by picking up a first down on 4th & 1 from its own 18-yard line with four and a-half minutes to go. Quarterback Antwon Johnson got two yards on a sneak. Wyomissing was outgained 313 yards to 115. The Spartans went 2-12 on third down. J.J. Jackson gave them an early spark by blocking a 19-yard FG attempt on the opening series. Kramer said Jackson was a big addition at DT after moving to the area from New York. Wyomissing will be in good shape to make another deep playoff run next year. The junior class includes Kramer, Zechman, Jven Williams, Drew Eisenhower, Charlie McIntyre, Pacen Ziegler, and Jack Gartner among others. The 6’4, 310-pound Williams has several Division I offers including Penn State. Finally, Kramer was pleased to see so many fans make the trip to Hershey today.