Scouts end season with strong effort but can’t finish off Section 4 champs
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By John Nagy— MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
A season hampered by injuries came to a close Friday night for Conrad Weiser.
“No excuses (but) I think things would’ve been different this year if we could’ve stayed healthy,” Weiser coach Alan Moyer said after a 24-14 Lancaster-Lebanon League loss to Section 4 champ Cocalico at Robesonia.
“We need to get all the kids that were out with different surgeries healthy, get back into the weight room and make a strong commitment to the offseason program,” Moyer said.
The Eagles (7-0, 9-1) clinched the section title outright with the win. The Scouts finished 2-5, 2-8 in their final Section 4 game. They’ll move to Section 3 next season, along with Cocalico.
The Scouts threatened to hand the Eagles their first league loss. They led 14-10 early in the third when Donovan Gingrich found running back Brody Morgan for a 9-yard score.
The Eagles responded quickly, scoring on a 50-yard run from Horning four plays and less than two minutes later to retake a 3-point lead. The Scouts never regained the lead.
A week removed from totaling 69 rushing yards and fewer than 2 yards per carry against Lampeter-Strasburg Conrad Weiser’s rushing attack rebounded behind a solid day from the offensive line.
Senior running back Sevon Parham returned to action after missing the Scouts’ previous game due to injury. Parham led Weiser with 122 rushing yards on 18 carries.
Moyer praised both the offensive line and Parham for standout performances.
“(Parham) gives us a spark, he runs downhill,” Moyer said. “And hats off to our offensive line. They’ve kept pushing and believing in our system. We keep asking them to grind up front and give him a seam, and he (Parham) runs hard down there.”
Weiser’s defense failed to contain Cocalico running back Dane Horning. The sophomore gashed the defense for 223 yards on 27 carries. He also tacked on two scores — from 11 and 50 yards out.
Cocalico once against played without All-State running back Sam Steffey.
Quarterback Donovan Gingrich opened the scoring for the Scouts, throwing a 20-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Evan Rittle to tie the game at 7-7. Rittle finished with three receptions for 75 yards.
Gingrich was intercepted on the following drive in Eagles territory by Dane Bollinger. Dane Horning scored his second touchdown the very next possession.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Cocalico | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| Conrad Weiser | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Cocalico | Myer, 2 run (Becker kick) | 11:34 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rittle, 20 pass from Gingirch (Malone kick) | 6:42 |
| 2 | Cocalico | Becker, 22 FG | 0:03 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Morgan, 9 pass from Gingirch (Malone kick) | 8:28 |
| 3 | Cocalico | Horning, 50 run (Becker kick) | 6:31 |
| 4 | Cocalico | Horning, 11 run (Becker kick) | 11:55 |
Team statistics
| Cocalico | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 16 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 54-324 | 27-169 |
| Passing yards | 23 | 101 |
| Total yards | 347 | 270 |
| Passes | 1-6-0 | 7-14-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-33 | 3-25.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-85 | 6-45 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Cocalico: Horning 27-223, Longenecker 9-41, Myer 11-34, Eppinette 4-24, Bollinger 1-4, Team 2-(-2).
Conrad Weiser: Parham 18-122, Gingirch 6-39, Rivera 3-8.
PASSING
Cocalico: Myer 1-6-0–23.
Conrad Weiser: Gingirch 7-14-1–101.
RECEIVING
Cocalico: Longenecker 1-23.
Conrad Weiser: Rittle 3-75, Parr 3-17, Morgan 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
Cocalico: Bollinger.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Conrad Weiser: Malone 26.
