We’re in Week 4 of the high school football season in the state of Pennsylvania, and it’s been a pretty ho-hum first couple of games for the Wyomissing Spartans. Shoot, they’ve only played two games too as a matter of fact.
Alright, alright. You caught me.
If you’re familiar with Wyomissing and their exploits thus far in the 2025 campaign, you know by now that not only is that opening paragraph dripping with unparalleled levels of sarcasam, it’s wrong. Dead wrong.
In actuality, Wyomissing came into Friday night’s game this week while sporting a 3-0 record that came complete with all the trimmings. Like, those trimmings found in the form of a 20 point-per-game clip for instance.
But why just two games you ask? Well, in the eyes of PIAA and District 3, only two of their games have counted so far because the Spartans’ nonconference slate has included games against Haverford School and Academy of the New Church, a pair of stalwarts hailing from the esteemed Inter-Ac League, a conference that is not included underneath the PIAA’s umbrella in the traditional sense that most may be accustomed to.
But that’s no mistake as to why Wyo was seen throwing their weight around against such stern opponents right out of the chute. The potential is there for this to be a campaign reminiscent to that of the program’s 2012 season – the first and only time that Wyomissing was able to summit the mountaintop of PA scholastic football and lay claim to a state championship. In fact, the Spartans’ initial triumvirate has been so successful thus far, this is only now the first time we’re mentioning their 49-27 road triumph at Southern Columbia to open the season, a program that without much in the way of the debate has been the standard-bearer for statewide success regardless of classification level within the last decade in particular.
Now, all that is to say, while Wyomissing understandably has their collective sights set on bigger and hotter prizes as the months in turn grow colder, they know full well that they will most certainly receive everyone’s best shot when it’s their time to appear on an opponent’s schedule. And sure enough, that could very well be said of the team awaiting the Spartans’ arrival into on Friday night.
Northern Lebanon came into this Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Four opener against Wyomissing while sporting a 1-2 overall record to their name. That much is true. But dive a little bit deeper, and you’ll quickly understand why’s there’s more than meets the eye in taking the Vikings at just those two numbers separated by a dash alone.
That may not seem like a glitzy record to you perhaps, but considering that NL posted victories of four and three over the last two seasons respectively — this from a program that not all that long ago was fighting tooth and nail to finish northward of even just win per season — it’s then rather apparent that NL head man, Jason Rice, has started to get this Vikings’ ship rowing in the correct direction when you assess the situation on the whole. Oh, by the way, that 1-2 mark? Let’s not just totally gloss over the fact that both of those two defeats came by one score apiece against Oxford and Delone Catholic respectively. And for a program more than itching at a chance to make a name for itself on the grander stage, what better way than to knock off not just one of the league nor area’s best, but rather the entire state when the #4 ranked team in a combined grouping of 3A and 4A teams as pegged right here on this very website, Wyomissing, strolled into Fredericksburg in hopes of potentially springing an upset that would rattle the tectonic plates across all corners of the commonwealth come nightfall.
However, as would be apparent almost right from the jump, such an opportunity would not come at the expense of these Spartans.
That said, while it would end up being quite an impressive showing come the final gun, it wasn’t without it’s minor flaws from Wyomissing’s perspective. Case in point, a fumble which occurred on the second play from scrimmage Friday night which in turn resulted in Northern Lebanon’s Kaleb Barr pouncing on the loose pigskin to set his offensive mates up with an early jolt of momentum.
Yet the real foreshadowing for the evening at large would occur over the course of the next three plays.
There, after holding Northern Lebanon to a brief three-and-out the first time the Vikings possessed the football, Wyomissing’s offense trotted back onto the field while undoubtedly eager to make amends for their all too brief first possession with the Spartans’ defense and offense exhibiting the perfect blend of complementary football.
And make amends they would as on the third play on the Spartans’ second series Chase Eisenhower proceeded to break through the initial line of scrimmage before popping out the back end, all while en route to seeing Wyo’s senior fullback soon enjoy all the spoils of a 43-yard touchdown gallop to break the scoring seal at 7-0 following Keegan Maher’s PAT with 8:33 left to play in the opening frame.
But there was much, much more where that came from.
Sure enough, after halting their hosts to another exhibition of three plays and punt, the last of those three plays coming courtesy of a bone-jarring, legitimately de-cleating tackle courtesy of Wyo’s junior defensive back, Justice Hardy, the Spartans’ offense went right back to work following the NL punt with all of just 42 yards left to traverse.
And if you thought three plays was fast looking back on their first scoring march, that would look like molasses compared to this scoring explosion which took all of one play, a 42-yard touchdown jaunt by way of junior fullback, Zander Westwood, upping Wyo’s buffer out to a 14-0 count following Maher’s second PAT with 6:33 remaining in the first.
Yet the beat just drummed on.
Here, after authoring yet another three-and-out on Northern Lebanon’s ensuing offensive possession — this time with the aforementioned Mr. Hardy tallying a sack on 3rd & 12 — how would a 1-yard drive sound?
Well, much to the Vikings’ collective dismay, after fumbling the snap on the punt attempt following the Hardy sack, that’s precisely where the Spartans’ offense would reconvene their next time out.
Yes, this too would be another one-play series if you were left wondering.
But instead of seeing another of Wyo’s many backfield talents tote the rock across the chalk for this scoring punctuation, the Spartans’ first pass attempt of the evening was an unequivocal success in its own right seeing as how sophomore signal caller, Brady Eisenhower, hooked up with a wide-open Daniel Fleischood, who had broken free from the line of the scrimmage, as the sophomore to senior connection from 1 yard out made it three consecutive Wyomissing touchdowns on three consecutive offensive plays from scrimmage, this now making it a 21-0 Wyo cushion with 4:40 left outstanding in the first stanza.
By this point, it seemed as if Wyomissing could really do no wrong. Frankly, had it not been for that earlier giveaway and some nice kickoff returns tallied by way of the Northern Lebanon special teams unit following Spartan scores, that legitimately felt to be the case with the Spartans’ offense clicking while their defense was fulfilling every bit the description of suffocating with a constant calvary of white-uniformed troops arriving in numbers to tackle Vikings’ ball carriers on scene.
Yet Wyomissing’s offense would then get stuck in the mud.
No, not really. But instead of finding paydirt with just one, singular play, –worth mentioning that the first play of this ensuing Wyo possession would net in a first down in the form of a 12-yard Justice Hardy run nonetheless –, it would take the visitors over a minute – 1:17 precisely — to score this time around as arguably the best player that the L-L League has to offer across the gamut, Justice Hardy, promptly showed as to why such a statement is valid with a mystifying 34-yard touchdown run that included everything from breaking tackles, juking would-be tacklers out of their shoes, before then also jumping over defenders just for good measure as Hardy became the fifth Wyomissing Spartan to get a touchdown credited next to their name in the early going as Maher’s fourth straight PAT helped to close the curtain on a dominating first quarter that resulted in Wyomissing owning the scoreboard in the form of a 28-0 difference.
Suffice to say, aside from trying to get all four scores back at once, the primary objective for Northern Lebanon in the here and now was most certainly tallying their first first down of the game at that juncture. Finally, certainly not a moment too soon from their perspective, the Vikings would indeed force the chain gang to move their feet in the aftermath of a nice 24-yard pitch and catch thrown from NL senior QB, Bryan Mitzel, into the waiting hands of sophomore wideout, Ryan Clemmer, as the pair’s connection not only awarded Northern Lebanon their initial fresh set of extended downs at that point in the contest, but it also saw the Viking troops cross the midfield stripe for the first time as well.
However, that would be just about the end of all the positive juju that the Vikings could conjure up from there on out. On this series at least.
Unlike the 3rd & 11 previous where Mitzel was able to connect with Clemmer, this next 3rd & 11 attempt would find a much different fate as Chase Eisenhower was able to relentlessly pursue the quarterback before earning himself a sack, giving the ball back to the Spartans’ O following the exchange in possession thanks to he and his teammates’ shared collective efforts.
But nothing much would change for Wyomissing’s offense by comparison.
Well, except for those carrying the mail of course. Chief among them on this next series, Wayne Reason and Dominic Arguelles respectively, as the next pair in the Spartans’ talented and deep backfield room ticked off big gainers amongst themselves to ignite this series before a marvelous Arguelles reversal of field run wasn’t just good enough for the 17-yard pickup, but it also put the Spartans on the precipice of finding yet another first half touchdown on Friday night with the ball now resting at NL 7-yard line. And that’s exactly what transpired once Reason was able to cap this march off with a 7-yard touchdown gallop, this fifth first half score tallied by a sixth different Spartan now making it a 35-0 Wyomissing advantage with 7:25 left to play in the opening half.
All told, once the dust would finally settle on the remaining seven minutes and change prior to the end of the opening half, Wyomissing had scored on every first half drive save for one. Well, technically two if you count their final drive of the second quarter in which they clearly allowed the clock to run out on them without objection. Beyond that, they had also allowed all of just two Northern Lebanon first downs. Lastly, they had punted exactly zero times. Well, lastly lastly, they had also been whistled for zero penalties to boot. Add all that up, and it’s easy to understand why a rather quick second half figured to be afoot with the running clock now in place given the 35-0 margin of separation at the intermission.
Yet while the first half had by and large gone against them, the Vikings appeared rejuvenated, eager, and pumped up to play the second half after emerging from their locker room come the start of the third quarter.
In fact, NL would’ve won this quarter on the judge’s scorecard considering how the Vikings not only forced Wyomissing to punt for the first (and only) time all night inside the third quarter, but the Vikings would also pick up some nice chain-moving plays where nothing but strong-willed and determined effort was exhibited courtesy the likes of Landon Copenhaver, Vinny Moyer, and Blake Burdick, all of whom refused to go on first contact on those first down-gaining plays to extend NL drives.
Then, once the fourth quarter rolled around with the existing score of 35-0 remaining in place, it seemed for all the world that NL would finally break their goose egg while in the midst of their deepest penetration into Wyo territory all night long, much of which was due to a sensational reception hauled in by Vikings’ sophomore wideout, Christian Anspach, propelling the hosts’ drive down inside the Wyo redzone.
Unfortunately, much to the chagrin of the NL-backers, this drive too would cease once a fumble was jumped on by Wyomissing sophomore linebacker, George Bennethum, thwarting this promising NL threat.
But even with time on the clock running thin thanks to that rapidly-moving clock now in effect, the Spartans still found the necessary means to score all the same.
For that, while coming on the heels of a nice run around the left side of the line that reached the NL 40-yard line following the exploits of Wyo sophomore receiver, Owen Gibney, a 37-yard touchdown dash up the gut that resulted in yes, yet another Spartans’ 10th grader having the honors, Ethan Nye, having the good fortune of putting the final period of this utterly dominant and mature 42-0 Wyomissing triumph over Northern Lebanon to move onward and upward to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in section play.
As mentioned, while Wyomissing is surely looking to achieve Section Four supremacy within their home conference this year — especially given the way in which L-S took command of the divisional race last season that was highlighted by a Pioneers’ victory on Wyomissing’s own field don’t forget — the Spartans are hoping to be playing for much bigger prizes beyond that as the season trudges on. For that reason, that’s why their performance from top-to-bottom over the course of 48 minutes against Northern Lebanon was as impressive as it was.
On the other side, while it’s probably unlikely to help ease the Vikings’ collective feeling coming out of this game, the fact of the matter is that there are probably more than a few other foes that may experience a similar fate playing against the Spartans this season provided that Wyomissing plays the way in which they did Friday night. That’s not in any way an indictment on any of those programs, but rather it’s just the fact where Wyomissing indeed appears to be every bit as advertised with those across the state understandably keeping tabs on them now for future reference. But beyond that, it’s obvious to even the naked eye that Northern Lebanon is a team that is getting better and better with each passing season and that the pieces are starting to come together. For if the Vikings can continue on that same type of trajectory which they have exhibited over these last few years, especially considering that their 2025 roster is littered throughout with an incredible amount of youth just chomping at the bit, those in Vikings’ country likely won’t be left waiting all that long for their team to author that landmark, signature victory after all. It’s just a matter of time.