Conrad Weiser survives Reading, blackout in 32-30 win
READING>> Koran Jordan and Jai Whitlock engaged in an old school running back shootout Friday night at Albright College. Jordan’s Conrad Weiser Scouts got the better of Whitlock’s Reading Red Knights in a Berks League Section 1 clash.
The Scouts snapped a two-game losing streak to the Knights with a 32-30 victory, built on the back of Jordan’s 217 rushing yards on 38 carries and three touchdowns. Weiser moved to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in Section 1.
Whitlock more than matched his opposite number, but fell shot on the scoreboard. He rushed for 263 on 22 totes and also found the end zone three times. But it wasn’t enough to keep his Red Knights from falling to 2-3, 0-2. Reading was almost entirely dependent upon Whitlock’s production — the Knights did not even attempt a pass until 36 remained in the third quarter.
A 29-yard field goal by Jake Roth early in the third quarter gave Weiser its first lead of the night at 18-15. It also retroactively provided the final margin.
The game was halted for 20 minutes in the first half when the light standards at Albright Stadium went dark, plunging the playing field into complete darkness. Play eventually resumed at 7:55 p.m.
Jordan was keyed on by Daniel Boone in last week’s Homecoming win over the Blazers in Robesonia. His work load more than doubled in this one, but the results were tripled. Twice on scoring drives, the senior running back took every snap.
Jordan ran with first-quarter legs during the fourth quarter. That was a huge reason the Scouts were able to escape Reading with their first win against the Knights since 2012.
“I didn’t really focus on any individual battle,” Jordan said of his encounter with Whitlock. “I knew I was No. 2 in the county (rushing) and he was No. 3. But I was totally focused on the win, because they got us two in a row and I wanted to give it back this year.”
Weiser head coach Alan Moyer knows the workhorse he has in the stable. He rode him hard tonight.
“Koran right now is as good as they get,” Moyer said. “He’s running hard, he’s running downhill. Up front, the line is really coming off the ball well right now and giving him some lanes to run in.
“He’s a very conditioned kid. And again, the guys up front are getting some push off the ball and I think that encourages him even more.”
Jordan’s signature stamp was planted on this game during a nine-play, 80-yard march late in the contest with the Scouts clinging to a 25-22 lead. On his ninth consecutive carry, and 36th of the game, he ripped off a 30-run dash up the gut to give Weiser a two-score lead.
“He keeps getting stronger,” Moyer said. “Let’s keep running the same thing, keep licking the lollipop until it’s gone.”
This was the rare high school game where the quarterbacks were taken nearly out the equation, at least in terms of the passing game. Weiser’s Tyler Hoss went 3 of 3 for 61 yards, but did not attempt a pass after halftime. Reading’s Elisiah Bayne was the inverse, not attempting a first half toss. He attempted eight of his nine passes in the fourth quarter with the Knights trailing, finishing 4 of 8 for 44 yards.
Whitlock gained 142 of his 263 yards on two rushes, both electrifying wild scampers through the Weiser defense for a pair of scores. His first came on a 78-yarder, untouched, with 7:55 left in the first quarter to get the Knights on the board first. His second was good for 64 yards — a near-repeat, albeit from the opposite hashmark — and gave Reading a 15-7 lead just before the lights blew.
When play resumed, Hoss directed the back-end of a long 13-play, 67-yard drive that ended with his two-yard scoring plunge. A two-point try was successful, and the teams went in to the locker room tied at 15.
Roth capped a six-play march that stalled at the Reading 13 to open the second half with his 29-yard boot for an 18-15 Scouts’ lead. Weiser pushed it to 25-15 on its next possession, finished off by Jordan’s second TD of the night, from eight yards out.
Whitlock got Reading back to within 25-22 with 8:41 to go on his third score, a 10-yard run, which capped Reading’s best drive of the game, a 13-play, 80-yard campaign.
But Jordan’s third score was the 30-yarder.
A late, desperate Knights’ drive overcame several flags to slice it to 32-30, when Bayne went in from a yard out 66 yards after it began. But Reading burned two time outs earlier in the second half and had but 1:25 left to work with when Bayne scored.
Jordan — who else — ran out the clock on the ground from there.
Conrad Weiser – 7 8 10 7 — 32
Reading – 7 8 0 15 — 30
First Quarter
R – Jai Whitlock 78 run (Kirk Boston kick), 7:55
CW – Koran Jordan 1 run (Jake Roth kick), :56
Second Quarter
R – Whitlock 64 run (pass good), 10:53
CW – Tyler Hoss 2 run (pass good), 4:07
Third Quarter
CW – Roth 29 FG, 9:18
CW – Jordan 8 run (Roth kick), 1:46
Fourth Quarter
R – Whitlock 10 run (Boston kick), 8:41
CW – Jordan 30 run (Roth kick), 3:59
R – Elisiah Bayne 1 run (pass good), 1:25
First Downs
CW 20; R 14
Rushes-yards
CW, 55-323; R, 36-333
Passing
CW, 3-3-61; R, 4-8-44
Total yards
CW, 384; R, 377
Fumbles-lost
CW, 1-1; R, 1-0
Penalties-yards
CW, 7-65; R, 3-40
Punts-ave.
CW, 0-0; R, 1-31.0
