In the third period of Wyomissing’s 41-0 season-opening victory over Pottsville on Friday at Veterans Memorial Stadium, Pottsville had forced a fourth down for the visiting Spartans and appeared set to regain the ball.
When quarterback Scott Kuczala ran into running back Caleb Naylor during the handoff, the change of possession appeared more likely, but instead the pair fell forward together for a 4-yard gain and the first down.
It was that kind of night for the Pottsville defense, which allowed 462 yards from scrimmage and three scoring plays of more than 30 yards, but Crimson Tide head coach Tom McGeoy said after the loss that the defense had improved from its preseason scrimmages.
“It might not show out here, but we made it tough for them at times, especially early on,” McGeoy said. “As the game went on, you know number 8 for them is a heck of a player. Guys like that, they tend to make plays on their own.”
That Spartan, Thomas Paolini, rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown in the opening half and caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Kuczala to open the second-half scoring.
The only blemish on Paolini’s night occurred on the game’s first offensive series. On the third play from scrimmage, a Crimson Tide defender popped the ball forward from Paolini. Pottsville’s Brian Heckler scooped up the loose ball and returned it 40 yards to Wyomissing’s 42-yard line.
From there, Pottsville drove to the 10, but Pottsville running back Darion Jacoby slipped on a fourth-and-3 run, giving the ball to Wyomissing on downs.
“I thought we got a bit rattled after losing that first fumble,” Wyomissing head coach Bob Wolfrum said. “We weren’t even lining up right on some plays, but as the game went on, we got smoother. I thought we did a good job adjusting to the defense Pottsville showed us.”
Wyomissing’s Wing-T offense made those adjustments after the turnover on downs. The Spartans drove 11 plays and 91 yards, the last 29 of which came on a touchdown run by Sam Weaver. The extra-point kick was wide right.
The Spartans then came back with touchdowns on their next two possessions to take a 20-0 halftime advantage.
Wyomissing covered 61 yards, including 42 on a left sweep by Paolini, on three plays on its next series to score a touchdown on Peter Geyer’s 12-yard carry. Kuczala found Brian Walters for the two-point conversion and a 14-0 lead.
Paolini then took an inside reverse handoff from Weaver and darted 38 yards to end a 73-yard touchdown drive with 1:07 remaining in the first half. Paolini then tallied on Wyomissing’s first offensive play of the second half when Kuczala found him all alone along the north sideline and completed the 55-yard touchdown pass play.
Meanwhile, Pottsville relied heavily on the throwing arm of quarterback Kevin Keating, who completed 14-of-22 passes for 133 yards, and the effort of Jacoby. In addition to running for 50 yards, he caught a team-best four passes for 51 yards, punted four times and posted 94 yards in kick returns.
“We knew, coming in defensively, it was going to be a struggle for us,” McGeoy said. “I thought we’d be able to score a little bit more, but we made some mistakes. Again, (we’re) very inexperienced all over ... It’s tough to battle in your first game that way against a team like this.”
Wyomissing, which used three quarterbacks and three placekickers in the game, finished the scoring in the second half with touchdown runs by Christian Martir and Peter Bonino.
Game Summary
Wyo (1-0) 0 20 14 7 — 41
Potts (0-1) 0 0 0 0 — 0
W — Weaver 44 run (kick failed)
W — Geyer 12 run (Walters pass from Kuczala)
W — Paolini 38 run (kick failed)
W — Paolini 55 pass from Kuczala (Skokowski kick)
W — Martir 6 run (Skokowski kick)
W — Bonino 10 run (Mendel kick)
Wyo Potts
First Downs 20 12
Rushes-Yards 42-376 30-62
Passes 3-5-0 14-22-0
Passing Yards 86 133
Total Yards 462 195
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 1-1
Penalties 5-30 6-35
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Wyomissing — Paolini 7-110, Weaver 6-83, DeBelle Mitton 2-56, C. Naylor 6-35, Geyer 5-31, Workman 2-20, Martir 3-18, J. Naylor 4-13, Bonino 1-10, Westwood 2-2, Carabello 1-1, Holt 3-(-3). Pottsville — Jacoby 18-50, Mickonis 4-13, Futchko 4-6, Keating 4-(-7).
PASSING: Wyomissing — Kuczala 2-4-0, 74; Tonneslan 1-1-0, 12. Pottsville — Keating 14-22-0, 133.
RECEIVING: Wyomissing — Paolini 1-55, Geyer 1-19, Mastrangelo 1-12. Pottsville — Jacoby 4-51, Heckler 3-30, Hunt 3-22, Renninger 1-11, Futchko 1-9, Wapinsky 1-6, Mickonis 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS: None.