Conrad Weiser used a combination of timely touchdowns and stubborn second-half defense to beat Cocalico 24-21 on Friday night and win the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 football title.
The Scouts (9-0, 6-0 Section 3) trailed 21-10 at halftime, but scored a touchdown in each of the last two quarters and then made a critical fourth down stop in the fourth quarter to preserve the victory.
Conrad Weiser finishes its regular season at home next week against Unionville before entering the District 3 playoffs. Cocalico (6-3, 4-1) finishes its LL season at Fleetwood.
The cornerstone of the Scouts’ second-half offensive comeback was the passing combo of quarterback Donovan Gingrich and receiver Davis Keppley.
They hooked up for a 27-yard scoring pass in the third quarter and Alex Malone’s PAT cut Cocalico’s lead to 21-17.
With 9:09 left in the game, Gingrich hit Keppley with an 11-yard TD pass and Malone’s PAT made it 24-21 Conrad Weiser.
Cocalico’s late-game drive ended when the Scouts stopped them on fourth down and then ran out the clock.
Malone gave the Scouts a 3-0 lead in the first quarter before Cocalico ran off three straight touchdowns for a 21-3 lead.
The Scouts made it 21-10 at halftime when Gingrich hit Dylan Parr on a 5-yard touchdown pass just before intermission.
Cocalico gained all of its 363 yards in total offense on the ground, throwing just one pass that went incomplete.
Conrad Weiser had a more balanced offense, with Gingrich completing 16 of 28 passes for 179 yards and the three TD passes.
Scouts’ running back Evan Miller (13 carries) and Joe DePrince (6 carries) gained 97 and 57 yards, respectively.
Keppley caught 6 passes for 107 yards, DePrince made 4 catches for 42 and Parr also caught 4 passes (23 yards) with one being the score before halftime.
Josh Myer gained 162 yards rushing on 13 carries and Dane Horning gained 159 on 26 carries for Cocalico.
Source: Berkshire mont