Rotter, Blazers rally but fall short against Buckskins
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Andrew Clauser— MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Coaches tasked with the challenge of rebuilding a program look for positives anywhere they can get it.
Case in point: Does the team fight to the last second or do they quit? That is where first-year Daniel Boone coach J.D. Okuniewski is with his team.
The Blazers lost 28-21 Friday night at Brazinsky Field against a Conestoga Valley team that crushed them last year. This time the Blazers showed a fight and that made Okuniewski proud.
“In the past there were teams I was around that would have caved being down 21-7 at halftime,” he said. “This is not the case this year. We preached all throughout training camp about ‘answering the call’ and this squad is doing that.”
Answer the call they did.
The Blazers (0-2) came out of the locker room a different team. Senior quarterback Dean Rotter scored his second rushing touchdown after a Buckskins fumble deep in their own territory.
The Blazers defense contributed as well, shutting down the Buckskins in the third quarter by limiting them to 59 yards. That and Rotter’s gutsy performance in the second half helped fuel the comeback.
Rotter engineered an incredible, 11-play drive midway through the second half capped off by a 2-yard plunge by Connor Reed on fourth-and-goal at the 2, tying the game at 21-21 with 8:23 left.
“Dean has confidence in his teammates and I have confidence in him,” Okuniewski said. “He is a football player. His quarterback play is showing that right now.”
Despite the momentum of the Blazers it was Conestoga’s electric H-back Jayden Johnson who delivered the backbreaking blow with a 79-yard TD run to take the lead for good. Johnson was responsible for all four touchdowns by the Buckskins but none proved more deadly than this one.
The Blazers attempted another 11-play drive late in the fourth quarter only to fumble the football deep in their own territory, leading to the Buckskins win. A common theme around a rebuilding program is the little things that can make or break a team.
“You can’t drop a football,” said Okuniewski. “You can’t muff a punt. You can’t have false starts. At the end of the day that is on me as a coach. We practiced the hurry-up offense all week and several times the plays did not come in correctly.”
The Blazers look to get their first win of the season against Muhlenberg (0-2) Friday at Brazinsky Field.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Conestoga Valley | 7 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 53 run(Showvaker kick) | 8:10 |
| 2 | Daniel Boone | Rotter, 1 run(Aidukas kick) | 5:24 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 44 run(kick failed) | 2:21 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 44 pass from Cheek (Johnson run) | 0:57 |
| 3 | Daniel Boone | Rotter, 1 run(Aidukas kick) | 10:12 |
| 4 | Daniel Boone | Reed, 3 run(Aidukas kick) | 8:23 |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 79 run(Showvaker kick) | 7:25 |
Team statistics
| Conestoga Valley | Daniel Boone | |
| First downs | 8 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-252 | 44-167 |
| Passing yards | 103 | 147 |
| Total yards | 355 | 314 |
| Passes | 4-12-0 | 12-23-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 2-24 | 5-23 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-45 | 5-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conestoga Valley: Johnson 12-234, Mobley 11-30, Stoltzfoos 1-2, Garcia 1-0, Daniels 1-(-1), Cheek 9-(-13).
Daniel Boone: Moyer 10-71, Rotter 20-41, High 2-26, Reed 9-24, Heffner 1-3, Kryman 1-1, Lacey 1-1.
PASSING
Conestoga Valley: Cheek 4-12-0–103.
Daniel Boone: Rotter 12-23-1–147.
RECEIVING
Conestoga Valley: Johnson 1-44, Jankowski 1-31, Stoltzfoos 1-14, Epstein 1-14.
Daniel Boone: Kryman 7-95, Heffner 3-35, High 1-10, DiGiacomo 1-7.
INTERCEPTIONS
Conestoga Valley: Garcia.
