Wyomissing coach Bob Wolfrum loves playing in Pottsville’s Veterans Memorial Stadium.
The aura, the big grandstand, the electric feeling of a packed house with the crowd cheering and the band playing ... it’s something his Spartans don’t get to experience that often competing in Section 2 of the Berks Football League.
So when the opportunity arose to put the Crimson Tide back on Wyomissing’s schedule after a two-year hiatus, Wolfrum jumped on it.
“I really like coming up there,” Wolfrum said. “It’s a great atmosphere, it’s a neat stadium. I had a couple of buddies from Pottsville, and they always told me it was a neat place.
“We haven’t been up there in two years. The group we did take up there, they bought into it and loved playing there, too.”
Wyomissing and Pottsville played for five consecutive years from 2007-11, with all five games at Pottsville. The Spartans captured three of those contests, winning in the odd years while Pottsville won in the even years.
The schools played in Week 1 in 2007, 2010 and 2011, and faced off in Week 10 in 2008-09.
The Crimson Tide played Shamokin in their opener the past two seasons, winning 14-6 in 2012 and 41-13 last year. The Indians, however, didn’t renew the game after the two-year contract expired, leaving Pottsville without a home opener for the 2014 season.
That opened the door for Wolfrum and Wyomissing, which defeated Schuylkill Haven in its opener the past two seasons. The Hurricanes had to discontinue the series for this season when the Anthracite Football League expanded to 11 teams.
“When we heard Shamokin backed out of the game, I told our AD to call right away to see if there was any chance of getting them back,” Wolfrum said. “It worked out.”
In addition to playing in Veterans Memorial Stadium, one reason Wolfrum likes playing Pottsville in Week 1 is he likes to challenge his players in their season opener. After going 16-0 and winning the PIAA Class AA championship in 2012, the Spartans went 6-6 last season, snapping an eight-year streak of winning seasons. It was only Wyomissing’s second non-winning mark in 36 seasons.
With a veteran team returning, Wolfrum is excited to see how his Spartans fare against the Crimson Tide.
“I always thought having a big game for your opener gets the kids more serious about the offseason,” Wolfrum said. “We played Boyertown for eight straight years, and they are a Quad-A school. It was a great opener for us.
“We’ll gladly come up (to Pottsville) every year. To get the kids into that atmosphere ... anytime you can have a big game to point at for your opener, it’s a good thing.”
Wyomissing is led by talented running back Thomas Paolini, who scored 16 touchdowns a year ago, and quarterback Scott Kuczala, who threw for 931 yards and 11 touchdowns.
The Spartans are paced up front by 6-foot-2, 295-pound junior Robert Dunbar, while linebackers Brandon Workman and Juche Jackson lead Wyomissing’s 5-2 alignment on defense.
“Wyomissing is very, very well-coached, and they run the wing-T better than most teams in the state,” Pottsville coach Tom McGeoy said. “They’re coming off a state championship two years ago.
“They’re a very talented team, and they love to play in our stadium. They like to bring their kids up here, and they’re going to be extremely pumped to play us.
“It’s a great game for us, and a great gauge to start the season.”
For Pottsville, the Crimson Tide will be looking to find some leaders after graduating 26 seniors from last year’s 5-6 squad that lost in the District 11 Class AAA semifinals.
Quarterback Patrick Keating and tailback Darion Jacoby lead the offense, but McGeoy said the Crimson Tide are still trying to settle in on defense, where Pottsville lost all 11 starters.
McGeoy said Pottsville struggled on defense in its two scrimmages, against Northwestern Lehigh and Allentown Central Catholic.
“I wasn’t happy with what we did defensively,” McGeoy said. “It’s what we expected, being young, and being vanilla compared to how we’re going to be Friday night. I figured we would struggle, but I think we struggled more than I liked against ACC.
“Offensively, we were OK. We’ve rarely had our lineup at full strength through our scrimmages, and we won’t be at full strength (tonight). We have a couple of guys banged up.
“But we did put together a 16-play drive against ACC for a touchdown. Offensively, we did OK. Defensively, we have to make some steps.”
McGeoy said junior lineman Kobey Azbell, a returning starter, suffered a knee injury in the Tide’s first scrimmage and will miss 3-4 weeks. A senior lineman, Justus Schultz, suffered a shoulder injury in practice and will be out the first two weeks.
The second-year coach said the Tide have to play well defensively to topple the Spartans.
“We have to play a very good defensive football game, be more aggressive than in our scrimmages,” McGeoy said. “We’re going to try to mess up their wing-T blocking scheme. We have some experience with the wing-T, because we ran it for a long, long time. We’re going to do some things to throw off their offense, and we have to tackle well.
“Offensively, we need to settle in. We have some big-play guys, so we need to get our running backs, like Darion Jacoby, in space and let them make plays. We need to give Patrick Keating time to get the ball down the field a little bit.”
Here’s a look at tonight’s other games involving area teams:
Blue Mountain
at Shenandoah Valley
Storyline: Eagles begin play in the Anthracite Football League by facing the Blue Devils for the first time since 1986. Eagles lead series 17-9-1. Blue Mountain will have a new starter at QB, while 2013 passing champ Ian McCole will guide Shenandoah Valley.
Last meeting: 1986, Blue Mountain 21-0
Jim Thorpe
at Minersville
Storyline: Defending AFL champion Olympians return eight starters on defense. Miners looking to bounce back after dismal 1-9 campaign.
Last year: Jim Thorpe 47-0
Lehighton
at Mahanoy Area
Storyline: Lehighton opens its tenure in the Anthracite Football League at Eastern Conference Class A runner-up Mahanoy Area, which must replace talented quarterback Dylan Mahmod and Division I lineman Tyler Cavenas.
Last year: Did not play
Tamaqua
at North Schuylkill
Storyline: Spartans enter as preseason favorites of the AFL and are ranked in several preseason media polls. Tamaqua, with a new QB, is looking to prove it belonged in the postseason a year ago.
Last year: North Schuylkill 21-14
Schuylkill Haven
at Panther Valley
Storyline: Matt Davis’ first task as the new coach at PV is to try and figure out how to contain the Hurricanes’ talented backfield of Will Casella and Ryan Fink.
Last year: Schuylkill Haven 41-15
Tri-Valley
at Millersburg
Storyline: Dawgs return a bevy of skilled players, led by QB Hunter Harner. The Indians return 15 letterwinners, led by QB Christian Wingard.
Last year: Tri-Valley 41-28
Northern Lebanon
at Pine Grove
Storyline: Defending Tri-Valley League champion Cardinals will have a new QB and new tailback as they try to replace a very talented senior class. The Vikings return QB Isaac Ray and running back Dominic Trader, who will run behind veteran line.
Last year: Pine Grove 14-7
Camp Hill
at Upper Dauphin
Storyline: Camp Hill dominated last year’s meeting, but then had to forfeit after using ineligible player. Trojans have to replace QB Mac Ney and RB Trey Campbell.
Last year: Upper Dauphin 2-0
Nativity at
New Hope-Solebury
Storyline: Green Wave are short on numbers, having to cancel their last scrimmage. The Lions are coming off an 8-4 campaign.
Last year: New Hope-Solebury 35-0
Hamburg
at ELCO
Storyline: The Damian Buggy Era begins at Hamburg, which features just eight seniors. ELCO was also hit hard by graduation, but returns 2,000-yard passer Jeff Martin.
Last year: Hamburg 55-54
Loyalsock
at Mount Carmel
Storyline: A possible District 4 Class AA playoff preview as the Lancers and Red Tornadoes are among the teams to beat in that classification. Baseball prospect Kyle Datres returns as Loyalsock QB, while Dominic Farronato takes over the reins for MCA
Last year: Loyalsock 34-27
Line Mountain
at Shamokin
Storyline: Shamokin coach Pat DiRienzo inherits a club that went 0-10 last season, but enters with optimism and enthusiasm. Line Mountain struggled to 3-7 mark last season, but returns eight starters on both sides of ball.
Last year: Did not play