Weiser comes up just short against unbeaten Elco

By David Bohr Last updated Sep 16, 2023

2023 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)

By David Bohr — LNP/Lancasteronline

MYERSTOWN — Elco never trailed against Conrad Weiser on Friday night but that did not mean there was no drama in the Raiders’ 28-21 victory over the Scouts in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 opener.

Steven Rosado scored the deciding touchdown on a quarterback sneak with one minute left in the game. That capped a 10-play, 59-yard drive that took 5:04 off the clock and left the Scouts without any timeouts.

Conrad Weiser (0-4) managed to reach the 50-yard line before turning the ball over on downs with five seconds left.

Though Jake Williams did not get his third straight 300-yard rushing game he still took center stage with 229 yards on 23 carries.

He scored a 58-yard touchdown in the second quarter that put the Raiders (4-0) ahead 14-7. He added a 47-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter to give his team a 21-14 lead with 10:34 to play after breaking two tackles.

The Scouts answered with their passing attack. Quarterback Donovan Gingrich was 15-for-26 for 169 yards and three touchdowns. Evan Rittle caught two TDs and finished with 10 receptions for 101 yards. Josh Miller made the other touchdown reception, a 25-yarder that tied the game 21-21 with 6:04 remaining.

Elco’s Brady Stoops recorded the game’s only sack, forcing Conrad Weiser to punt on the first possession of the game. There were no turnovers.

With the score 14-14, Elco faced a third-and-4 on its own 46 early in the fourth quarter. The ball went to Mitchell Frederick, who ran for 7 yards. That set up Williams’ 47-yard score on the next play.

	1	2	3	4	Final
Conrad Weiser	0	7	7	7	21
Elco	7	7	0	14	28

Scoring summary

1	Elco	Rosado, 1 run (Gensamer kick)
2	Conrad Weiser	Rittle, 5 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick)
2	Elco	Williams, 58 run (Gensamer kick)
3	Conrad Weiser	Rittle, 11 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick)
4	Elco	Williams, 47 run (Gensamer kick)
4	Conrad Weiser	Miller, 25 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick)
4	Elco	Rosado, 1 run (Gensamer kick)

Team statistics

	Conrad Weiser	Elco
First downs	17	16
Rushes-yards	22-102	41-325
Passing yards	169	20
Total yards	271	345
Passes	15-26	2-5
Fumbles-lost	2-0	0-0
Punts-average	2-27	1-32
Penalties-yards	3-20	6-30

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Conrad Weiser: Parham 10-66, Gingrich 5-17, Conde 6-16, Rivera 1-3.

Elco: Williams 23-229, Frederick 8-55, Kreider 4-21, Rosado 6-14.

PASSING

Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 14-26-0–169.

Elco: Rosado 2-5-0–20.

RECEIVING

Conrad Weiser: Rittle 10-101, J. Miller 3-43, Conde 1-25.

Elco: Frederick 1-12, Kreider 1-8.