Banged up Scouts earn first win on Homecoming
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
It always feels great to get a win on Homecoming. It feels even better when it’s your first win of the season.
“It feels good,” said Conrad Weiser running back Sevon Parham. “I’d be a little happier if our record was a little better, but it’s good.”
The Scouts topped Octorara 21-6 Friday at Conrad Weiser Stadium in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 4 match-up.
With leading rusher Ousmane Conde ruled out with an injury, Parham stepped up. The senior tallied 105 all-purpose yards, finding the end zone twice.
He also created havoc on the defensive side of the ball, recording four tackles for loss and two sacks.
“He’s tough,” said veteran Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “He’s having a great year, despite (our) record.
“He’s playing a heck of a linebacker position for us. He’s been aggressive carrying the ball. He’s running with an attitude, which we are constantly asking the kids to do.”
Prior to Friday the last time that the Scouts (1-1, 1-4) won a football game was last year’s match-up against the Braves – a 45-7 rout on Octorara’s Homecoming — that was 364 days ago. The Scouts lost their final five games last season.
“We needed to get out of the cellar,” Moyer said. “We challenged the kids early on this week with getting back to us and being what Conrad Weiser football stands for.”
The story of the night was the running game on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Scouts ran for 218 yards, led by Javien Rivera (101 yards and a TD on 21 carries). In the first four games the Scouts were averaged 80 rushing yards.
“I think the offensive line took a step forward tonight,” Moyer said. “We sat Sevon pretty much the entire second half. We’re trying to develop some other guys around him.”
On the defensive side the Scouts limited the Braves (0-2, 2-3) to 50 rushing yards (1.61 yards per attempt). Run defense is an area that they have struggled with all season, allowing 999 rushing yards in their first four games.
“(Shutting down the run) was nice,” Parham said. “It felt good. Definitely better than last week. We needed this for our confidence overall as a team, so hopefully it carries over into next week.”
It wasn’t just Conde out injured. The Scouts were missing a total of 10 starters.
“I’ve never seen anything like this in my life here,” Moyer said. “So we’re facing a lot of adversity. You know, I’m proud of the kids the way they’re responding. They’re not giving up and they’re not pointing fingers. This is what we’ve got right now and we’re going to continue to grow.”
Neither team scored in the first quarter. Parham opened the scoring for the Scouts with a 28-yard TD reception with eight minutes left in the second quarter. Rivera scored on a run from 2 yards out a few minutes later.
Parham found the end zone again in the third quarter with a 17-yard run. Octorara got on the scoreboard later in the quarter on a 5-yard run by Mehkai Lambert, but the Scout defense held strong for the rest of the game.
In the second half of their season the Scouts will run the Section 4 gauntlet. They host Berks Catholic next week before heading on the road for consecutive weeks to face off Donegal and Wyomissing.
“It’s going to be tough from here on out,” Moyer said. “That’s just the way our schedule is. We’re going to keep at it.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Octorara | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Conrad Weiser | 0 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Parham, 28 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick) | 8:38 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 2 run (Malone kick) | 4:57 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Parham, 17 run (Malone kick) | 10:07 |
| 3 | Octorara | Lambert, 5 run (kick missed) | 4:25 |
Team statistics
| Octorara | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 8 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 31-50 | 37-218 |
| Passing yards | 101 | 130 |
| Total yards | 151 | 348 |
| Passes | 10-21-1 | 7-16-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 7-42 | 2-52 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-70 | 9-69 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Octorara: Kurtz 5-25, Stoltzfus 9-16, Wood 11-6, Lambert 1-5, Focht 5-(-2).
Conrad Weiser: Rivera 21-101, Parham 8-67, Gingrich 7-51, Team 1-(-1).
PASSING
Octorara: Wood 10-21-1–101.
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 7-16-2–130.
RECEIVING
Octorara: Boyer 3-48, Lambert 3-33, Stoltzfus 3-15, Colligan 1-5.
Conrad Weiser: Parham 2-38, Morgan 2-29, Keppley 1-36, Miller 1-16, Rittle 1-11.
INTERCEPTIONS
Octorara: Stoltzfus 2.
Conrad Weiser: Kerns.
