Just like their season, good start ends in another loss for Scouts
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matt Hagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Conrad Weiser had the start it wanted in its Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 contest Friday night against Garden Spot, but not the finish.
The Scouts were shut out in the second half in a 17-10 loss to Garden Spot at Conrad Weiser Stadium. Conrad Weiser has now lost three straight games after starting the season 4-0.
| Final | |
| Garden Spot | 17 |
| Conrad Weiser | 10 |
“We were not consistent enough tonight,” Conrad Weiser coach Alan Moyer said. “We have been struggling with a lot of kids out but ultimately there are no excuses. It’s next man up and that is how we push forward.”
The Scouts (1-3, 4-3) forced a fumble on the Spartans opening possession that was recovered by Kole Kupper at the Garden Spot 37-yard line. The Scouts needed just three plays to take 7-0 lead when quarterback Connor Sellars powered up the middle for a 5-yard touchdown run at the 9:32 mark of the first quarter.
“I loved the start we had to the game,” Moyer said. “We took advantage of the early turnover but that was it, unfortunately. We need to be able to move the ball more consistently as the game goes on and we struggled stopping the opposing quarterback from running the ball.”
The Spartans (2-2, 3-4) tied the game 7-7 with 4:14 left in the second quarter when quarterback Gabe Martin found a wide-open Owen Sauder for a 7-yard touchdown pass on third-and-goal. The Scouts responded with an 11-play, 73-yard drive and took a 10-7 lead into halftime after an 18-yard field goal from Owen Spang.
Garden Spot surprised the Scouts to open the second half as they recovered an onside kick at the Conrad Weiser 37-yard line, a play that began to change the momentum of the game. The Spartans cashed in when Zach Martin made a 36-yard field goal to tie the game at 10.
“We noticed in the first kickoff that they were giving up the whole hash,” Garden Spot coach Matt Zamperini said. “When we work on that pooch kick with Zach (Martin) regularly in practice and he hit it just right.”
With their offense struggling to move the ball, the Scouts stopped a Spartans drive when Joseph DePrince intercepted Gabe Martin at the Scouts 34-yard line. However, Sellars immediately threw an interception back to the Spartans at their own 42-yard line one play later.
Garden Spot made the Scouts pay when Gabe Martin put the Spartans ahead for good at 17-10 with a 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter.
| SECTION 3 | League | Overall |
| Solanco | 3-0 | 6-1 |
| Man. Central | 2-1 | 4-3 |
| Warwick | 2-1 | 5-1 |
| Garden Spot | 2-2 | 3-4 |
| Cocalico | 1-2 | 2-5 |
| Con. Weiser | 1-3 | 4-3 |
| Fleetwood | 0-2 | 2-4 |
Conrad Weiser had one last chance with just over four minutes left in regulation as it drove to the 6-yard line before Sellars was intercepted on fourth-and-3 by Seth Musselman.
“Seth gives us great eyes at his safety spot,” Zamperini said. “He helps us stay in the right coverages and our defense was able to make the big plays that we needed to win the game.”
The Scouts were limited to 183 yards of total offense and allowed the Spartans to rush for 207 yards as a team, 126 coming from Gabe Martin. Javien Rivera totaled 101 all-purpose yards behind 40 rushing yards on 16 carries and 61 yards on six catches.
“We have to bounce back, forget about it, and drive on,” Moyer said. “We just have to take it one game at a time.”
Conrad Weiser will try to snap its three-game losing streak Friday at Warwick. Garden Spot plays Bristol in a non-league game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Garden Spot | 0 | 7 | 3 | 7 | 17 |
| Conrad Weiser | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Sellars, 5 run (Spang Kick) | 9:32 |
| 2 | Garden Spot | Sauder, 7 pass from G. Martin (Z. Martin Kick) | 4:14 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Spang, 18 FG | 0:18 |
| 3 | Garden Spot | Z. Martin, 36 FG | 9:03 |
| 4 | Garden Spot | G. Martin, 2 run (Z. Martin Kick) | 11:56 |
Team statistics
| GARDEN SPOT | CONRAD WEISER | |
| First downs | 12 | 11 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-207 | 27-85 |
| Passing yards | 79 | 85 |
| Total yards | 286 | 183 |
| Passes | 8-16-1 | 13-22-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-26.5 | 5-32.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-45 | 1-5 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Garden Spot: G. Martin 18-126, Douglas 13-84, Musselman 2-(-1), TEAM 2-(-2).
Conrad Weiser: Rivera 16-40, Kupper 1-32, Sellars 5-8, Sweitzer 4-5, DePrince 1-0.
PASSING
Garden Spot: G. Martin 8-16-1–79.
Conrad Weiser: Sellars 13-22-2–98.
RECEIVING
Garden Spot: Musselman 2-26, Douglas 2-15, Smucker 1-12, Compton 1-10, Swavely 1-9, Sauder 1-7.
Conrad Weiser: Rivera 6-61, Kerns 3-21, Leonard 1-7, DePrince 1-5, Sweitzer 1-3, Kupper 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Garden Spot: Davis.
Conrad Weiser: DePrince.
