Scouts grow up quickly in taking win from Ghosts
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Rick Woelfel — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
| Final | |
| Conrad Weiser | 29 |
| Abington | 22 |
ABINGTON — A young Conrad Weiser football team grew up Friday night.
Brayden Sweitzer ran for 133 yards and scored two touchdowns as the Scouts opened their season with a 29-22 non-league win over Abington.
Joseph DePrince and Javien Rivera added rushing touchdowns for the Scouts, who collected 292 yards in total offense, 274 of them on the ground.
But in the end it was the defensive unit that came up big when it mattered most, providing two critical stops to secure a win that required contributions from all hands.
“We all trust each other,” Sweitzer said. “We put the work in in the summer and it paid off. We just
hard, did our jobs, and came out with a victory.”
The Galloping Ghosts (0-1) struck first when Myles Yorkus found Kai Taylor with a 15-yard scoring pass with 3:50 gone in the opening quarter to cap a 66-yard drive.
DePrince added a game-tying score before the game was seven minutes old and Sweitzer gave the Scouts the lead for good when he went in from a yard out with 10:37 left in the first half.
But Abington, which piled up 320 offensive yards of its own, responded with a drive of its own until the Scouts made a stand on fourth-and-one at the Weiser 41 with just under nine minutes left in the first half.
The play was preceded by a discussion that lasted several minutes while the officials huddled to determine that it was actually fourth down (which it was). When play resumed Braylon Peterkin tried to hit off the right side and was brought down in the backfield for a 4-yard loss.
The Scouts took over from there, driving 55 yards to the Abington end zone with Rivera going in
from a yard out to make it a 21-7 game with 3:37 left in the half.
“That was huge,” said Conrad Weiser coach Alan Moyer. “It was the correct call, it was fourth
down. The kids have got to rise to the occasion; we talk about that a lot.”
The hosts got on the board again just before halftime when Yorkus found Ayden Turner with a
22-yard missile to make it 21-14 at the break.
The Scouts got the ball first after halftime and drove 65 yards with Sweitzer covering the last 23
to give his team a 29-14 lead.
Abington’s response came with 5:32 left in regulation when Kai Taylor scored on an 18-yard burst; a two-point conversion followed. Abington had one final chance after it stopped Conrad Weiser on downs at the Galloping Ghost’s 31-yard line with 59 seconds to play.
Three plays moved the ball to Scouts’ 44 with nine second left but Turner, who appeared to be injured, went off the field on the Conrad Weiser sideline and the Ghosts were accessed a 5-yard penalty.
More importantly, the clock started on the referee’s whistle and Abington could not get a play off before time expired.
It was an unconventional conclusion to a memorable game for a group of young men who in
some cases were playing their first varsity football game.
“We had to mature early this year,” Moyer said. “We weren’t sure what we were going to get out of guys. I learned something about this team in the first half. They’re gritty and they’re going to fight for each other.”
For a young football team, winning a season opener is a powerful stimulant.
“Winning a close game in the final seconds, the first game of the season, makes a huge difference,” Moyer said. “The kids believe in each other; our coaches believe in each other. I’m proud of them.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Conrad Weiser | 7 | 14 | 8 | 0 | 29 |
| Abington | 7 | 7 | 0 | 8 | 22 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Abington | Taylor, 15 pass from Yorkus (Taylor kick) | 8:10 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | DePrince, 11 run (Sprang kick) | 5:01 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Sweitzer, 1 run (Sprang kick) | 10:37 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Rivera, 1 run (Sprang kick) | 3:26 |
| 2 | Abington | Turner, 22 pass from Yorkus (Taylor kick) | 0:34 |
| 3 | Conrad Weiser | Sweitzer, 23 run (Rivera run) | 4:33 |
| 4 | Abington | Taylor, 18 run (Smith run) | 5:32 |
Team statistics
| Conrad Weiser | Abington | |
| First downs | 13 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 46-284 | 29-190 |
| Passing yards | 18 | 118 |
| Total yards | 302 | 308 |
| Passes | 2-3-1 | 9-17-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-32 | 1-13 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-38 | 3-32 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conrad Weiser: Sweitzer 16-133, Rivera 18-83, Kupper 4-34, DePrice 2-18, Sellars 6-16.
Abington: Peterkin 13-65, Taylor 5-48, Raysor 3-24, Umstead 1-18, Smith 3-13, Yorkus 2-12, Harkins 1-5, Turner 1-5.
PASSING
Conrad Weiser: Sellars 2-3-1–18.
Abington: Yorkus 9-17-0–117.
RECEIVING
Conrad Weiser: Parr 1-9, Rivera 1-9.
Abington: Ford 3-43, Umstead 3-29, Turner 1-22, Taylor 1–15, Hachlaf 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
Abington: Turner.
