Scouts shut down Warriors, set up Section 3 showdown next week
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sam Cavalieri — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Conrad Weiser was amidst a second straight losing season in 2023 when late in the year it adopted a new mantra: “Be Us.”
The “Us” refers to the Conrad Weiser football tradition, historically a winning program with six undefeated regular seasons and 10 league or section titles.
The Scouts are “Us” again. They physically dominated Warwick 21-7 Friday to reach 8-0 for the first time since 1996 and have put themselves in position to win Section 3 in the Lancaster-Lebanon League next week with a win over Cocalico.
| Section 3 | ||
| Conrad Weiser | 5-0 | 8-0 |
| Cocalico | 4-0 | 6-2 |
| Warwick | 3-2 | 4-4 |
| Garden Spot | 1-3 | 3-4 |
| Solanco | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Manheim | 1-3 | 3-5 |
| Fleetwood | 0-4 | 3-5 |
“We were struggling,” Conrad Weiser coach Alan Moyer said. “We had to get back to the tradition and pride in our program. What we been doing for so many years here at Conrad Weiser and I been a part of all of them. I’ve been here for 36 years (22 years as head coach) and we know what winning football is.
“We know what we need to do and that’s getting back to being us. Being disciplined, hard workers in the weight room and paying attention to detail and getting back to strong defense.”
The strong defense was on display against the Warriors (3-2, 4-4), who came into the matchup with the defensive unit that was being talked about. Instead, it was the Scouts (5-0, 8-0) who allowed only 114 yards and forced Warwick quarterback Thomas Myers into two interceptions on 19 pass attempts that gained just 37 yards.
Even more impressive was the way the Weiser offense manhandled the Warwick defense in the first half. The Scouts scored on their first three possessions, getting a rushing touchdown from Ashton Kiebach and two on the ground by quarterback Donovan Gingrich.
Gingrich made big third-down conversions throughout the night with four completions (39, 16, 13, and 9) and one rush (9) that kept long drives alive for the Scouts. He was efficient with 94 yards passing on 11 attempts.
“We’ve got a bunch of (receivers), we are together every day,” Gingrich said. “We’ve got a relationship. I trust my guys are going to be in the right spot, and they trust me that I am going to put the ball there.”
Warwick scored in the first half on a 17-play drive but it wasn’t easy as Reece Harper needed three attempts from the 1-yard line before scoring on fourth down. The Warriors had one opportunity in the second half to score when they started a drive at the Weiser 27. The Scouts defense again came up big when Dylan Parr incepted a heave on fourth down at the 2-yard line.
Gingrich and Parr did their best to bleed out the clock in the fourth quarter. Gingrich found Parr on two third downs, including a great hookup across the field, to keep the drive going and the clock running.
“Donovan, that’s my guy right there,” Parr said. “That’s my quarterback. You know he just hit me on a nice perfect back shoulder right there. Just an easy grab for me. That’s a good ball by Donovan right there.”
Moyer said the celebration would be short-lived with Cocalico on deck for a section title. He said the Scouts lost five players to injury during Friday’s game, including lead tailback Javien Rivera, who was seen on crutches after the game.
The Scouts were 5-15 over the past two seasons with limited expectations coming from outside of Robesonia, but they have an opportunity next week to win the section; they are also still in position for a first-round bye in the District 3 Class 5A playoffs.
“It just gets back to being us,” Parr said. “That’s what drives us ever since our season started. That’s what we live by right now.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Warwick | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Conrad Weiser | 14 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Kiebach, 1 run (Malone kick) | 4:46 |
| 1 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 1 run (Malone kick) | 1:18 |
| 2 | Warwick | Harper, 1 run (Schoffstall kick) | 5:03 |
| 2 | Conrad Weiser | Gingrich, 6 run (Malone kick) | 1:22 |
Team statistics
| Warwick | Conrad Weiser | |
| First downs | 6 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 23-77 | 45-138 |
| Passing yards | 37 | 94 |
| Total yards | 114 | 232 |
| Passes | 7-19-2 | 7-11-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 3-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-35 | 4-31.75 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-20 | 5-57 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Warwick: Rodriguez 11-51, Harper 8-33, Care 1-2, Myers 3-(-9).
Conrad Weiser: Miller 7-38, Kiebach 8-29, Rivera 9-28, McQuillen 7-27, Gingrich 7-14, McGarrigle 2-6, Team 2-(-1), Morgan 3-(-3).
PASSING
Warwick: Myers 7-19-2–37.
Conrad Weiser: Gingrich 7-11-0–94.
RECEIVING
Warwick: Hursh 3-25, Madara 2-4, Greenway 1-5, Care 1-3.
Conrad Weiser: Parr 3-29, Miller 2-29, McQuillen 1-39, DePrince 1-(-3).
INTERCEPTIONS
Conrad Weiser: Rittle, Parr.
