Northern Berks Patriot Item

7 Wyomissing players receive All-State honors in 3A

- By Brian Smith bmsmith@readingeag­le.com @brismitty on Twitter

Wyomissing dominated on the football field this fall, rolling to its second straight District 3 Class 3A title and into the PIAA championsh­ip game.

That domination continued Tuesday when seven Spartans were selected to the Pennsylvan­ia Football Writers All-State Class 3A team, more than any other school.

The selections are offensive lineman Jack Feightner, defensive lineman Steven Olexy, linebacker­s Darren Brunner and Evan Niedrowski, defensive back Zach Zechman, kicker/punter Aidan Cirulli at specialist and Jordan Auman at athlete on defense.

They are part of an extraordin­ary senior class that was the first to play in back-to-back PIAA tournament­s and just the second to win back-toback district titles.

“The amount of guys that made it just showed what a deep class it was,” Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum said. “Quality football players, but they were quality people, too. Every once in a while you get a team that not only does things right footballwi­se, but they just make good decisions in life, too, and this team was that team. What a pleasure to work, especially through all this COVID stuff.

“They had a lot to deal with and they did a great job.”

Wyomissing (9-1) mercy-ruled every opponent this season until falling to Central Valley 35-21 in the state final. The Spartans posted the highest margin of victory in program history at 37.1 points, which ranks second all-time in Berks history.

Central Valley had five selections on the 41-player team, selected by sportswrit­ers throughout the state, including the Player of the Year in quarterbac­k Ameer Dudley. Central Valley’s Mark Lyons was Coach of the Year.

Feightner, a 6-2, 200-pound guard, made the calls at the line for the Spartans and was the team’s top offensive lineman. He was adept at leading the sweep and helped clear the way for an offense that averaged 290 rushing yards and a program-record 45.2 points per game.

Five of the Spartans’ selections were on defense, which ranked first in Berks. Wyomissing’s starters didn’t allow a touchdown until the state semifinals, and the team posted five shutouts.

Olexy, a 6-0, 240-pounder, led the Spartans in sacks with six.

Brunner, who was the Linebacker of the Year in Berks Section 2, was a three-year starter who was strong against the run and pass and shared the team lead in tackles with 48.

Niedrowski, also a three-year starter on defense, had 32 tackles.

Zechman, the Defensive Back of the Year in Berks Section 2 and also the team’s quarterbac­k, was a three-year starter who made the secondary calls and also came up fast against the run.

Auman started at running back, safety and returned kicks and punts. He blocked a punt and returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the state championsh­ip game. He also led the Spartans in rushing (648 yards, 9.8 per carry).

Cirulli, who was All-Berks at punter and placekicke­r, averaged 45 yards on his five punts. He made 4-of-5 field goals, including 44- and 40-yarders in the PIAA title game, and was good on 42of-44 PATs.

Wyomissing had four All-State picks in 2012, when it won the PIAA Class 2A title and there were only four classes (now there are six): Linebacker Alex Anzalone, who was Player of the Year; defensive lineman Jeriko Reyes; placekicke­r Jonah Bowman; and offensive lineman Ben Wertz. Wolfrum was Coach of the Year in 2012.

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