Gage Moyer has breakout game as Fleetwood runs past Schuylkill Valley
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports correspondent
Gage Moyer didn’t have a huge role in Fleetwood’s offense as a junior, rushing for a total of 99 yards and one touchdown.
His production has jumped this season, with 232 rushing yards and two scores through six games, good for about 39 yards per game. Things were going similarly Friday night, as Moyer ended the first half with 19 yards.
Then he took off.
The 5-7, 165-pound back dashed for 194 yards and four touchdowns as the Tigers defeated Schuylkill Valley 43-27 in a Berks Football League Section 2 battle in Leesport.
“I had more touchdowns in this game than I had the whole season,” Moyer said, looking back to 2020. “It’s a huge momentum change for me and hopefully the rest of the team.”
The Tigers (2-2, 4-3) have won back-to-back league games and hope to push for a playoff berth.
“We are looking at playoffs,” Moyer said. “As a team, that’s our goal for the rest of the season. We need to win out the rest of these games and pick it up a little bit.
“Personally I just want to keep at it. I want to score a touchdown every game and help the team come out on top.”
It didn’t look good for the Tigers at the start as the Panthers (1-2, 2-5) built a 21-6 lead in the second quarter.
Moyer’s first touchdown of the night, a 2-yard plunge, pulled his team within 21-14 with 30 seconds left before halftime.
Moyer scored the next two touchdowns of the game, both in the third quarter. First came a 95-yard burst — matching the longest in program history — that made it 22-21, then a 5-yarder for a 30-21 lead.
“I saw a gap in the line and I took it,” Moyer said of the record TD, which tied the 2015 mark set by Luke Emge, a quarterback. “Then my lineman Noah Yourkawitch helped push me into open field which allowed me to break for the touchdown.”
Moyer’s speed and agility was evident on the 95-yarder as he looked like he was completely surrounded by defenders after about 5 yards, suddenly emerged through the middle and outran everyone to the end zone.
It could be because he’s used to running roughly 109 yards, or the equivalent of 100 meters.
“I run track,” Moyer said. “I do the 100 and the long jump and high jump. It helps keep me in shape in the offseason.”
The Tigers certainly got in shape as the game went on, outscoring the Panthers 29-6 in the second half and outgaining them 213-105. The Fleetwood backfield gained 205 rushing yards in the final two quarters.
Moyer and Villanova commit Tanner Maddocks each scored on the ground in the fourth to keep Schuylkill Valley at bay. Maddocks, a quarterback, also had a rushing touchdown in the first quarter and intercepted a pass on defense to set up one of Moyer’s scores.
“It’s amazing having a leader like that,” Moyer said of Maddocks. “He really steps up in comparison to everyone else. When we are down he brings us up. It’s really a gamechanger to have him back there.”
Moyer now has 426 rushing yards and six touchdowns with three regular season games to go. It’s already a solid statline for someone who wasn’t expected to have a prominent role. The Tigers also have Gavin Morris in the backfield, who is a top-10 Berks rusher and led the team with 16 carries Friday.
“I didn’t have as big a role last season,” Moyer said. “I didn’t get fed the ball as much. But this year coming into it our coaches knew we had some athletes on the line and that we could run it.
“I know my abilities and what I can do on the field. Honestly it was just finding the gaps and taking off from there.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Fleetwood | 6 | 8 | 16 | 13 | 43 |
| Schuylkill Valley | 14 | 7 | 0 | 6 | 27 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Schuylkill Valley | Stelluti | 4 run | Crills | Kick blocked | |
| Fleetwood | Maddocks | 7 run | Maddocks | Pass failed | |
| Schuylkill Valley | Campbell | 1 run | Aletras from Goad | pass | |
| Schuylkill Valley | Spotts | 4 pass | Campbell | Crills | kick |
| Fleetwood | Moyer | 2 run | Moyer | run | |
| Fleetwood | Moyer | 95 run | Morris | run | |
| Fleetwood | Moyer | 5 run | Maddocks | run | |
| Schuylkill Valley | Goad | 3 run | Campbell | Run failed | |
| Fleetwood | Maddocks | 1 run | Maddocks | Kick blocked | |
| Fleetwood | Moyer | 1 run | Maddocks | kick | |
Team statistics
| Fleetwood | Schuylkill Valley | |
| First downs | 11 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 41-281 | 38-247 |
| Passing yards | 83 | 40 |
| Total yards | 364 | 287 |
| Passes | 5-7-0 | 7-15-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-41.5 | 2-53.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-25 | 8-65 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Fleetwood: Moyer 14-194, Morris 16-70, Maddocks 11-17.
Schuylkill Valley: Giuffre 12-97, Goad 7-73, Campbell 15-46, Kemmerer 2-17, Hohendal 1-10, Stelluti 1-4.
PASSING
Fleetwood: Maddocks 5-7-0–95.
Schuylkill Valley: Campbell 6-11-1–34, Kemmerer 1-3-0–6, Goad 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Fleetwood: Ryan 3-87, Moyer 2-8.
Schuylkill Valley: Aletras 2-14, Spotts 2-9, Crills 2-7, Giuffre 1-10
INTERCEPTIONSFleetwood: Maddocks.
