Conrad Weiser gets defensive in 31-7 win over Elco (updated with box score)
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
MYERSTOWN — Junior Javien Rivera ran for a pair of touchdowns and Conrad Weiser unveiled another strong defensive effort in a 31-7 non-league win over Elco Thursday night.
The Scouts (2-0) allowed just 36 first-half yards and didn’t surrender a point until the final minutes, after the Raiders (0-2) picked off a pass at the Weiser 25.
Donovan Gingrich completed 9-of-11 passes in the first half and led the Scouts on four straight scoring drives; they took a 24-0 lead into halftime after Alex Malone’s 32-yard field goal in the final seconds.
Gingrich passed for the first score, a 4-yard toss to Evan Rittle on fourth-and-goal to cap Weiser’s first possession.
Gingrich made it 14-0 three plays into the second quarter on a 6-yard run that saw him smash through two defenders at the goal line.
The first of Rivera’s TD runs, from 5 yards out, made it 21-0 two minutes before halftime. Rivera, who finished with 82 yards on 11 carries, scored on a 5-yard run on Weiser’s first possession of the second half.
Elco’s lone score came on quarterback Steven Rosado’s option pitch to Zane Trostle, which covered 13 yards with 2:08 remaining.
Conrad Weiser hasn’t been 2-0 since 2020, when it 6-0 in the Covid-shortened regular season.
Conrad Weiser played its first game – and earned its first win – against Elco in 1969. The Scouts and Raiders met every season thereafter for the next three decades, often in a season-opener, before the series was discontinued in 2003.
Since it resumed three years ago the series has been hotter than ever, the Scouts pulling out close wins in 2021 and 2022 before the Raiders returned serve last year, scoring the tiebreaking touchdown with a minute left for a 28-21 victory.
“We battled them,” said Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “I thought we played them pretty well. We kept (Jake) Williams in check for most of the time. They used some other weapons and they got us in the end.”
This Elco team looks a lot different than the one that won last year’s game when Rosado capped a 10-play, five-minute drive with a 1-yard TD run.
The biggest reason, of course, is the graduation of All-State running back Jake Williams, who rushed for more than 2,400 yards and scored 30 TDs last season.
Defense was a sore spot for the Scouts last season but not in their opener, a 21-7 win over Abington. They allowed just nine first downs and 81 rushing yards and got a score when Dylan Parr returned an interception 36 yards early in the fourth quarter for a 21-7 lead.
With nine starters back on that side of the ball Moyer was hoping to see improvement there and he has.
Weiser and Elco met in league play the past two seasons. Weiser moved up to Section 3 for this season; Elco remains in Section 4.
The Scouts won 22-21 in 2022 when Gingrich completed a 14-yard TD pass to Trey Dianna with 1:02 remaining; the same combination hooked up on the two-point conversion. The Scouts won 35-32 in 2021.
Weiser leads the series 24-11.
The Scouts won the first meeting 29-0, part of a successful debut season that saw them finish 3-5.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Conrad Weiser | 7 | 17 | 7 | 0 | 31 |
| Elco | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Rittle, 4 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick) | 7:39 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 6 run (Malone kick) | 10:25 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 5 run (Malone kick) | 2:03 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Malone, 32 FG | 0:13 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 5 run (Malone kick) | 3:43 |
| 4 | Elco | Trostle, 13 run (Goodison kick) | 208 |
Team statistics
| CONRAD WEISER | ELCO | |
| First downs | 12 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 26-191 | 30-96 |
| Passing yards | 127 | 57 |
| Total yards | 318 | 153 |
| Passes | 9-13-1 | 8-15-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-6.0 | 3-24.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-40 | 5-33 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conrad Weiser: Rivera 11-82, McQuillen 7-41, Gingrich 5-35, Sweitzer 2-11, Miller 2-7, Morgan 2-(-2), Kupper 1-(-2), Team 1-(-1).
Elco: Rosado 11-60, Trostle 3-17, Frederick 7-7, Donmoyer 2-5, Kreider 2-4, Yeiser 1-3, Gensamer 3-1, Team 1-(-1).
PASSING
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 9-12-0–127, Sellars 0-1-1–0.
Elco: Rosado 8-15-1–57.
RECEIVING
Conrad Weiser: Rittle 5-42, Parr 2-66, DePrince 1-13, Leed 1-6.
Elco: Smucker 3-36, Pyszka 3-4, Boyer 1-11, Frederick 1-6.
INTERCEPTIONS
Conrad Weiser: DePrince.
Elco: Fisher.