Josh Miller comes up big in Conrad Weiser win over Fleetwood
Josh Miller doesn’t worry about being the smallest player on the field. He just goes out and plays football.
“I have a lot of heart and determination,” said Conrad Weiser’s 5-4, 150-pound wide receiver and defensive back, “and I’m out here doing what I’m doing.”
Friday he came up big in the Scouts’ 28-21 non-league win over Fleetwood at Robesonia.
Miller scored Weiser’s first touchdown, turning a sweep back up the middle when the right flank got jammed. He intercepted a pass — one of four by the Scouts. And he caught six passes.
“I like the ball in his hands,” said Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “He’s shifty; he can make some plays.”
No one had time to measure Miller when he was zipping through the Tigers’ defense or battling their receivers in the defensive backfield.
“Josh is a competitor,” Moyer said. “Great kid. He’ll play every down for you . He’ll give it his all.”
The shorthanded Scouts (1-1) — missing a couple starters and key backups due to a COVID situation — needed everything Miller could give them.
The Tigers (1-1) refused to go away, rebounding from a 21-7 halftime deficit to keep the pressure on till the very end. They made it a one-possession game when Czion Brickle recovered a fumble at the Weiser 10 with 6 1/2 minutes left and David Ramsey ran it from there on the next snap.
The Scouts, who lacked a consistent running game the whole night, finally found one on their final possession, running out the final six minutes of the game as Dillon Britting broke off a 14-yard run and Sevon Parham ran for 20 yards and a first down to the Fleetwood 24.
Sophomore Donovan Gingrich, who bounced back from a rough varsity debut with an accurate passing display, kept the final drive alive with a 20-yard completion to Trey Dianna on a third-and-11.
Gingrich finished 17-of-26 for 223 yards and two TDs.
“We had a lot of adversity this week, and I’m glad to see the kids come out on top tonight after getting whupped on last week,” Moyer said.
The Scouts’ defense was riddled for 329 passing yards a week ago in a 31-6 loss to Garden Spot; they tightened things up against a Fleetwood team eager to go up top.
Jack Riffle, who threw four touchdowns last week in his first start, dropped back to pass more than 40 times Friday but the Scouts made it tough on him. They applied a strong rush that sacked him twice and flushed him out of the pocket several times.
Miller, a cornerback, and the defensive backfield had their hands on nearly as many balls as Riffle’s receivers. Luis Huertas had two interceptions and broke up two passes, including one near the goal line. Safety Evan Rittle broke up two passes, Miller and Parham, a linebacker, one each. Linebacker Dillon Britting had an interception and a pass breakup.
Riffle completed just 12-of-38 passes for 137 yards.
“We were trying to keep pressure on him to force him to make bad throws, and that’s what we did tonight,” Miller said. “Our coaches all emphasize staying focused. We watched film, we prepped, and you see what happened on the field.”
The Tigers weren’t exactly toothless. Riffle threw a nice fade for a 7-yard TD to Tristin McFarland and Ty Wamsher opened the second half with a 50-yard touchdown run to cut Weiser’s lead to 21-14. Ramsey ran effectively at times and finished with 61 yards.
Weiser’s four interceptions, plus a partically blocked punt by Evan Miller, were the difference in the game.
“I was really happy with the big plays that we were making,” Moyer said. “For a defense that maybe didn’t have a lot of confident after last week they came out and made some nice plays. They played pretty well after getting ripped up last week.”
As football games go this was no Mona Lisa. The teams combined for 20 penalties and a dozen punts. There were 35 incomplete passes and nearly half-a-dozen stoppages in the second half due to cramping players. And then, moments afer Ramsey’s TD, shortly after 10 p.m., the stadium lights went out, threatening to turn this into a true marathon.
The lights returned after just a few minutes, giving the Scouts the chance to run out the clock, which they did efficiently.
“Ferdie Kuczala always said good teams find a way to win,” said Moyer, quoting his head coach at Weiser. “Tonight we hung on and played well enough to get a ‘W.’ “
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Fleetwood | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
| Conrad Weiser | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 28 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | J. Miller, 9 run (Noll kick) | 3:41 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Parham, 24 pass from Gingrich (Noll kick) | 2:55 |
| 2 | Fleetwood | McFarland, 7 pass from Riffle (Maurek kick) | 9:48 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Parham, 13 run (Noll kick) | 5:35 |
| 3 | Fleetwood | Wamsher, 50 run (Maurek kick) | 10:41 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Dianna, 62 pass from Gingrich (Noll kick) | 4:17 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Ramsey, 10 run (Maurek kick) | 6:20 |
Team statistics
| Fleetwood | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 17 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 32-141 | 25-90 |
| Passing yards | 137 | 223 |
| Total yards | 288 | 313 |
| Passes | 12-38-4 | 17-26-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 5-29.8 | 7-34.7 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-60 | 11-75 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Fleetwood: Wamsher 5-73, Ramsey 17-61, Killian 3-12, Tomes 1-9, Petition 1-2, Riffle 5-(-16).
Conrad Weiser: Parham 13-42, D. Britting 8-29, Gingrich 1-12, J. Miller 2-9, Dianna 1-0.
PASSING
Fleetwood: Riffle 12-38-4–137.
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 17-26-0–223.
RECEIVING
Fleetwood: Musitano 4-58, McFarland 3-34, Ramsey 2-18, Wamsher 2-13, Billings 1-14.
Conrad Weiser: Dianna 6-101, J. Miller 6-50, Parham 3-3, Huertas 2-45.
INTERCEPTIONS
Conrad Weiser: Huertas 2, J. Miller, D. Britting
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Conrad Weiser: Noll 42.
