Logan Klitsch makes his final game with Conrad Weiser a memorable one
(Note: After a review, some Conrad Weiser passing stats have been updated.)
Even on only one good leg Logan Klitsch is better than just about every other quarterback out there.
The Conrad Weiser senior went out firing, setting Berks records for completions and attempts in a game, and a program record passing yards, but it wasn’t enough to bail out the Scouts. They saw their season end with a 49-35 loss to Big Spring in a District 3 Class 4A first-round game Friday at Robesonia.
Klitsch has been playing on an injured ankle for more than a month and it’s limited his mobility. He’s been the Scouts’ leading rusher and a true dual threat that opposing defensive coordinators can’t effectively game plan for.
With his running limited, especially after being tackled by the ankle early in the game, that running threat was gone Friday and the seventh-seeded Scouts (7-4) had trouble keeping up with the high-powered Bulldogs (8-3).
“I felt great coming out in pre-game, felt about 95, 100 percent,” Klitsch said of an ankle he hurt in Week 6 against Schuylkill Valley. “When I got tackled by the ankle, right back down to 60 percent. It took away from me; I couldn’t escape.”
Big Spring coach Joe Sinkovich, the former Hamburg coach, knew his guys had to get after Klitsch in order to disrupt the Scouts’ offense, and they did that, with three first-quarter sacks. They were chasing him around all night and still Klitsch continued to make plays, completing passes with defenders hanging on him.
He finished with 36 completions in 52 attempts, for 399 yards — a Weiser record and fifth-most in Berks history.
“He’s a special kid,” Sinkovich said of Klitsch. “With him, and some of the receivers they have, it’s tough to cover the whole field.”
Thirteen of Klitsch’s completions went to Aanjay Feliciano, who wrapped up his career by becoming just the third in Berks history to finish with over 2,000 receiving yards in a career.
Klitsch finished with 5,167 career yards, third-most in Berks history.
It wasn’t offense that doomed the Scouts but several defensive breakdowns, a fumbled punt and a running-into-the-kicker penalty that kept alive a drive that ended with a touchdown and gave 10th-seeded Big Spring its first two-possession lead, at 35-21, with 7:50 left in the third quarter. The Scouts couldn’t come back from that.
“It’s tough to dig out of those things when you face a good football team,” said Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “Made some mistakes, a couple breakdowns, things don’t go your way. But we never quit. Team kept battling through adversity since Week 1. Fought through different things, injuries and such, and I’m proud of them.”
Somehow the Scouts went into halftime leading 21-20 despite gifting the Bulldogs a late TD when a fumbled punt gave them the ball at the Weiser 23. Three plays later 213-pound running back Dylan Wakefield scored on a 3-yard run for a 20-14 lead.
Wakefield was a bull, running downhill all night, and finished with 214 yards and three scores on 24 carries.
The Scouts didn’t have that kind of ground threat. They usually get that from their quarterback but had to basically take that option out of the play book over the final 2 1/2 quarters.
As it was Klitsch did brilliantly avoiding a relentless pass rush. He escaped half-a-dozen potential sacks. One of his best plays resulted in a completion for a 4-yard loss to tight end Josh Pazdrick; it would’ve been a 15-yard loss had he not delivered the ball with a lineman trying to pull him down.
As it was Klitsch had plenty of highlights as he constantly bought time and found receivers. He connected with Trey Dianna eight times for 66 yards, Pazrick six times for 57 yards and Nate Fizz five times for 46 yards. He threw four TDs, three to Feliciano.
His receivers made plays with their feet, too. Feliciano took a short pass and walked a tightrope down the sideline before diving for the pylon to complete a 21-yard score 12 seconds before halftime that gave the Scouts their final lead.
Later, running back Cole Rothermel, a safety valve on the play, turned a short pass into a 46-yard score as he escaped a couple tackles and found the end zone to pull the Scouts within 35-28 with 6:26 left in the third quarter.
Despite 477 yards of total offense the Scouts just weren’t able to stop the Bulldogs enough to catch them. Big Spring reached the end zone on seven of its 11 possessions, and punted just twice. It put the ball on the ground four times but covered each of them.
Wakefield lost it on a first-and-goal run from the 7, the ball popping straight up out of his hands around the 5, but a teammate recovered it; the Bulldogs led by just seven at that point. That was one of a number of things that didn’t go Weiser’s way.
The 10th-seeded Bulldogs (8-3) advance to meet second-seeded Lampeter Strasburg (9-1) in a quarterfinal.
Klitsch finished the season with 2,562 passing yards, second-most in Berks history. He wanted to add to that total because it would’ve meant the season continuing. The reality that it wouldn’t was difficult to accept.
“I feel for our guys; I feel for our seniors,” said the Dartmouth recruit. “We tried to hide (my injury). It is what it is. Bad timing for the first injury in my high school career.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Big Spring | 6 | 14 | 22 | 7 | 49 |
| Conrad Weiser | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Big Spring | Black, 64 pass from Eisenberg (kick failed) | 8:58 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Klitsch, 2 run (Noll kick) | 0:39 |
| 2 | Big Spring | Massare, 28 pass from Eisenberg (Massare, pass from Eisenberg) | 7:25 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Feliciano, 39 pass from Klitsch (Noll kick) | 4:10 |
| 2 | Big Spring | Wakefield, 3 run (kick failed) | 2:00 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Feliciano, 21 pass from Klitsch(Noll kick) | 0:12 |
| 3 | Big Spring | Eisenberg, 64 run (Schmidt run) | 11:44 |
| 3 | Big Spring | Wakefield, 31 run (Roberts kick) | 7:50 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Rothermel, 46 pass from Klitsch (Noll kick) | 6:26 |
| 3 | Big Spring | Black, 6 pass from Eisenberg (Roberts kick) | 2:52 |
| 4 | Conrad Weiser | Feliciano, 6 pass from Klitsch(Noll kick) | 7:27 |
| 4 | Big Spring | Wakefield, 11 run (Roberts kick) | 4:10 |
Team statistics
| Big Spring | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 17 | 24 |
| Rushes-yards | 38-275 | 22-78 |
| Passing yards | 226 | 399 |
| Total yards | 501 | 477 |
| Passes | 8-16-0 | 36-52-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-50.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-35 | 7-70 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Big Spring: Wakefield 24-214, Eisenberg 3-59, Schmidt 8-5, Hasco 2-4, Matthews 1-(-7).
Conrad Weiser: Rothermel 9-34, Klitsch 11-27, Jones 1-3, Parham 1-1.
PASSING
Big Spring: Eisenberg 8-16-0–226.
Conrad Weiser: Klitsch 36-52-2–399.
RECEIVING
Big Spring: Black 3-108, Schmidt 2-61, Massare 1-28, Witter 1-17, Hasco 1-12.
Conrad Weiser: Feliciano 13-174, Dianna 8-66, Pazdrick 6-57, Fizz 5-46, Rothermell 3-55, Jones 1-1.
INTERCEPTIONS
Big Spring: Lowery, Matthews.