Believe it: Raiders score breakthrough victory against Scouts
By Pete Beck — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Evan Myers believes.
Twin Valley’s freshman quarterback lead the Raiders to a thrilling 37-34 double-overtime victory in a Berks Football League Section 2 upset over visiting Conrad Weiser.
“Our word this week was believe,” Myers said. “Every single one of us believed from Monday’s practice to now that we could win this game. Our coaches did a perfect job getting us ready.”
It was a breakthrough win for the Raiders (2-0, 4-1), who snapped a 16-game losing streak against the Scouts (1-1, 3-2) that goes back to 2005.
As a freshman tasked with leading an offense featuring well-established senior stars Trey Freeman and Dominic Caruso, Myers could be excused for playing, well, like a freshman. He didn’t.
He displayed composure under some intense pressure Friday. He ran for a touchdown and completed 11-of-19 passes without an interception as he showed that he’s more than up to the challenge of guiding the Raiders offense, even though he’s the new kid on the block.
“It’s an honor, to be honest,” beamed Myers after the game. “They’ve (Caruso and Freeman) helped me step into a role that many older players wouldn’t like, but they’ve lead the way for me.”
A quarterback since the first grade, and the son of former Middletown head coach Brett Myers, he showed the steady hand needed to distribute the ball to the bevy of dangerous weapons at his disposal.
Myers passed for 171 yards and a 25-yard touchdown to Trey Freeman in leading Twin Valley on six scoring drives.
His head coach, Kris Olsen, believes, too.
“We had to believe that we can do it, and this group did,” the first-year head coach said. “For our seniors, this changes our program. We were never able to get them over the hump. This is the win that does that.”
Momentum went back and forth, with nine ties and three lead changes. The final blow came off the foot of senior placekicker Matt Puccino, who made a 28-yard field goal in the second overtime.
The seesaw nature of the game was evident in each team’s nearly identical offensive production. In the end a lost fumble on third-and-goal in the second overtime finished off the Scouts
Freeman had five receptions for 112 yards; Caruso ran 22 times for 77 yards.
Conrad Weiser quarterback Logan Klitsch ran for 70 yards and a score and passed for 165 yards and two scores but was also intercepted twice.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Final | |
| Conrad Weiser | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 7 | 34 |
| Twin Valley | 7 | 14 | 6 | 0 | 10 | 37 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Conrad Weiser | Klitsch | 10 run | Noll | Kick | |
| Twin Valley | Myers | 8 run | Puccino | Kick | |
| Twin Valley | Harris | 6 run | Puccino | Kick | |
| Conrad Weiser | Fizz | 15 pass | Klitsch | Noll | Kick |
| Twin Valley | Freeman | 25 pass | Myers | Puccino | Kick |
| Conrad Weiser | Klitsch | 1 run | Noll | Kick | |
| Twin Valley | Johnson | 32 run | Kick Failed | ||
| Conrad Weiser | Feliciano | 18 pass | Klitsch | Kick Failed | |
| Twin Valley | Johnson | 10 run | Puccino | Kick | |
| Conrad Weiser | Jones | 2 run | Noll | Kick | |
| Twin Valley | Puccino | 28 FG | |||
Team statistics
| Conrad Weiser | Twin Valley | |
| First downs | 17 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 38 – 153 | 35 – 153 |
| Passing yards | 165 | 171 |
| Total yards | 318 | 324 |
| Passes | 14-25 | 11-19 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 2 – 45.5 | 3 – 29 |
| Penalties-yards | 8 – 55 | 6 – 50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conrad Weiser: Klitsch 17-70, Jones 12-54, Parham 3-22, Rothermel 5-7, Feliciano 1-0.
Twin Valley: Caruso 22-77, Johnson 4-57, Harris 4-15, Myers 5-4.
PASSING
Conrad Weiser: Klitsch 14-25-2 — 165.
Twin Valley: Myers 11-19-0 — 171.
RECEIVING
Conrad Weiser: Feliciano 5-72, Dianna 5-67, Jones 2-0, Fizz 1-15, Rothermel 1-11.
Twin Valley: Freeman 5-112, Caruso 4-14, Rose 1-32, Godwin 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONSTwin Valley: Godwin, Hatfield.
