Donovan Gingrich runs, passes unbeaten Scouts past Mules
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
It’s nearly impossible to fullly prepare to face a team that runs the Triple Option offense.
Solanco torched Conrad Weiser with its tried-and-true offense early in Friday’s Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 game, running for touchdowns on its first three possessions.
“That’s a heck of an offense to face,” Weiser coach Alan Moyer said. “It’s very difficult to emulate that in practice with the speed and the reads.”
It wasn’t until the Scouts forced a pair of first-half turnovers that they were able to subdue the Mules’ attack. The extra opportunities changed the momentum and sparked Weiser to a 56-35 win over at Robesonia.
Conrad Weiser’s defense had yet to face such a challenge. The unit allowed just 24 points through its first five games, letting no opponent score more than once. Facing Solanco’s league-best rushing attack, that all went by the wayside quickly.
“It’s tough,” Moyer said of Solanco’s league second-best offense. “You can rep the heck out of it, but unless you see it live (it’s tough to stop). Solanco does a great job.”
Solanco’s ground game was unstoppable during the first half, leaving the Scouts (3-0, 6-0) searching for answers as the Mules (0-2, 2-4) averaged 11 yards a pop while completing just one pass.
Solanco quarterback Austin Jarabak ran for a pair of scores in the first half, but the backbreaker was allowing Kris Burgos-Wise to run down the sideline for an 81-yard score when the Scouts had the Mules primed to punt on third-and-long.
The Scouts responded with a pair of touchdown runs by Javier Garcia and a 40-yard connection between quarterback Donavan Gingrich and star wideout Evan Rittle. Momentum shifted late in the first half when a fumble recovery and an interception by Dylan Parr set the Scouts up with some extra opportunities.
The Scouts’ offense delivered, as Gingrich tallied two more touchdowns to send the Scouts into halftime with a lead. One score was a 44-yard scramble, the other a 51-yard pass to Rittle in the final 20 seconds of the half.
“It was huge,” Moyer said of the turnovers. “Turnovers are huge in any game, especially a game like this.”
The Mules didn’t go away in the second half. Jarabak was injured late in the first half, but backup Chase Sensenig held his own, passing for over 100 yards and running for a 19-yard touchdown on the first drive of the second half.
Weiser kept scoring until a fumble recovery by Gionni Messersmith led to a 30-yard TD grab by Evan Miller, which finally allowed the Scouts to get some separation.
An 80-yard touchdown run on a keeper by Gingrich – his fifth touchdown of the day – culminated the Scouts’ big offensive day.
“When you can put 56 points on the board, you’re going to be in a lot of games,” Moyer said. “The play calling tonight was superb; the kids executed and everything worked.”
Gingrich totaled 342 yards to go along with his five touchdowns, passing for just a hair under 200 yards and three touchdowns while passing the century mark on the ground and finding the end zone twice. Rittle hauled in seven passes for 147 yards and pair of scores.
“We could tell the defense was struggling, but we kept telling them that we had their back and that we were going to score,” Gingrich said. “They had faith in us.”
The Scouts will have to figure their defense out pretty quickly – they travel to face Garden Spot’s high-powered offense next week while showdowns with Warwick and Cocalico still loom.
“We’ve got to get back to the basics,” Moyer said. “The rest of the schedule is a gauntlet. Enjoy this tonight, bury it tomorrow morning and move on.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Solanco | 14 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 35 |
| Conrad Weiser | 14 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Solanco | Jarabak, 19 run (Brown kick) | 5:31 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 3 run (Malone kick) | 3:30 |
| 1 | Solanco | Burgos-Wise, 81 run (Brown kick) | 2:37 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Rittle, 40 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick) | 0:06 |
| 2 | Solanco | Jarabak, 7 run (Brown kick) | 9:10 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 6 run (Malone kick) | 4:21 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 44 run (Malone kick) | 2:40 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rittle, 51 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick) | 0:19 |
| 3 | Solanco | Sensenig, 19 run (Brown kick) | 10:43 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 16 run (Malone kick) | 7:49 |
| 3 | Solanco | Garcia, 2 run (Brown kick) | 6:17 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Miller, 30 pass from Gingrich (Malone kick) | 1:17 |
| 4 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 80 run (Malone kick) | 10:48 |
Team statistics
| Solanco | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 19 | 24 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-369 | 42-352 |
| Passing yards | 101 | 196 |
| Total yards | 470 | 548 |
| Passes | 3-8-1 | 9-11-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-57.5 | 2-57 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-45 | 1-5 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Solanco: Garcia 21-117, Burgos-Wise 5-112, Jarabak 8-66, Sensenig 5-41, Bard 2-33.
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 6-146, Rivera 17-107, Miller 6-43, McQuillen 8-34, Rittle 3-24, Team 2-(-2).
PASSING
Solanco: Sensenig 3-5-1–101, Jarabak 0-3-0–0.
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 9-11-0–196.
RECEIVING
Solanco: Bard 1-48, Koch 1-43, Burgos-Wise 1-10.
Conrad Weiser: Rittle 7-147, Miller 1-30, Rivera 1-19.
INTERCEPTIONS
Conrad Weiser: Parr.
