Antietam – Berks Sports Report

Brady McKee-Conrad Weiser

Paul Roberts — Fri, 02 Dec 2022 23:59:00 +0000

Conrad Weiser head coach Rich Miller knows the importance of winning your home games. The former PSAC East Coach of the Year at Mansfield instructed his players to write their initials in the circle at midcourt before the season opener against Antietam. “To establish that this is our home court and we don’t lose [here],” explained Brady McKee. The 5’10 sophomore guard had a game-high 17 points in the Scouts’ 54-51 victory over the Mounts in Robesonia. McKee hit three triples and sank two clutch free throws with 32 seconds remaining for a 52-46 advantage. Antietam took its first lead at 44-42 on Noah Archambault’s layup midway through the fourth quarter. The Mounts went scoreless for the next three and a-half minutes. Archambault’s jumper got Antietam within 50-46 with 33 seconds to go. A deep 3-pointer by sophomore Jowen Reyes-Rodriguez cut the deficit to 53-51 with six seconds on the clock. The Mounts were out of timeouts and some precious seconds ticked away until Conrad Weiser inbounded the ball to Evan Miller. The coach’s son went 1-for-2 from the stripe with only two seconds to play for the final margin. I asked McKee what was the difference down the stretch. He replied, “Just staying composed out there. We have no rush. There’s really nothing to be worried about. I have faith in my team.” The Scouts went 14-of-19 from the foul line in the last period. Miller had their only bucket over the final eight minutes. The 6’1, 200-pound sophomore contributed six points off the bench, all in the fourth quarter. He’s a TE/DE on Conrad Weiser’s football team. Donovan Gingrich, the quarterback on that squad, is also a key figure for the Scouts when hoops season arrives. He averaged 8 points and made 43 treys last year as a freshman. Gingrich got off to a hot start versus Antietam. The 6’ guard knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and scored nine points in the opening quarter. He finished with 15 points. Gavin Rapp, a 6’3 sophomore starter, provided eight points. Conrad Weiser raced out to an 18-11 lead after eight minutes. The Scouts held a 27-23 edge at halftime. They were on top 38-33 after the third period. The Mounts started the fourth quarter with a 5-0 run. They used balanced scoring to keep it tight. Archambault, a 6’3 senior, had a team-high 14 points. Jovan Hollis, who just wrapped up his football season at Exeter last Friday, chipped in with 11 points. Eight of the ten points for Reyes-Rodriguez came in the second half. 6’4 sophomore center Julious Williams picked up his third foul with two minutes left in the second quarter. He ended up with nine points. Antietam only connected twice from beyond the arc while Conrad Weiser drilled five 3-pointers. “That’s kind of our thing, live and die by the 3-pointers,” admitted McKee. The Scouts were 17-of-25 from the free throw line. The Mounts went 6-of-9. Antietam won 20 games last season and reached the District 3-2A championship game. Conrad Weiser had an (8-14, 3-8) mark in Miller’s first year at the helm. He was the head coach at Mansfield from 2006-16 before moving on to run the Penn State Berks men’s basketball program in 2018. “Coach [Miller] runs us a lot in the offseason. We’ve put in a lot of hard work. I think we’ve shown a lot of improvement,” said McKee. We also discussed his favorite NBA and NFL teams, as well as his favorite teachers.

Antietam Takes Home Silver

Paul Roberts — Sat, 05 Mar 2022 17:25:00 +0000

The Mounts were trying to make history at the Giant Center in Hershey. Mt. Penn won the school’s last District 3 title in 1972. Antietam had been close to claiming gold before. The Mounts were the District 3 runner-up in 1994, 2019, and last year when they fell to Lancaster Mennonite 80-67. They got another shot at the Blazers on Saturday afternoon and this was a much closer contest. Jovan Hollis finished a fastbreak with six minutes remaining to give Antietam a 46-43 advantage. The (20-5) Mounts wouldn’t score again. Third-seeded Mennonite scored the final nine points for a 52-46 victory. It’s the Blazers’ third District 3 championship. David Weaver’s layup put them on top 47-46 with three and a-half minutes to go. The 6’7 junior was a factor on both ends of the floor with twelve points and six blocks. Camden Hurst’s nifty assist to Jaedon Mast made it 49-46 with 1:45 left. Hurst poured in a game-high 19 points. The 6’2 junior is up to 1,083 career points. He dropped 32 on the Mounts in last year’s District 3 Final. Antietam junior guard Carson Lubas missed an open 3-pointer from the right wing with just over one minute to play. Mast and Hurst went 3-4 from the free throw line to seal it. The (16-9) Blazers were 11-16 from the charity stripe, while the top-seeded Mounts went 8-11. Antietam connected on just two of its thirteen attempts from beyond the arc. Hector Tiburcio had a team-high twelve points, but was plagued by foul trouble. The all-county selection picked up his third foul with 3:21 left in the opening period. The 6’2 senior got his fourth two minutes into the second quarter. Tiburcio stayed on the floor. He had six points at the break. Hollis was also whistled for four fouls in the first half. A total of 19 fouls were called in the first 16 minutes. The Mounts raced out to a 6-0 lead. Hurst’s layup in transition gave Mennonite its first edge at 19-18 three minutes into the second period. Sophomore Jadyn Taylor (8 points) knotted the score at 25 with a layup in the closing seconds of the first half. Antietam moved in front 41-39 after the third quarter. The Mounts, who average 58 points, were outscored 13-5 in the last period including the six minute drought. 6’2 sophomore guard Josh McKoy provided eleven points. Hollis chipped in with ten and Lubas had seven. Tiburcio will enter the state playoffs with 1,409 career points. He erupted for 29 in last year’s District 3 championship game. Tiburcio had 23 in Antietam’s 74-65 loss to the Blazers on December 18th. Mennonite was the runner-up this season in Section 5 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League. The Mounts won the Division 4 title in the Berks Conference. Both teams will begin the Class 2A state tournament on Wednesday.

Kyle Lash-Exeter

Paul Roberts — Wed, 01 Dec 2021 21:10:00 +0000

A cooperative agreement allows Antietam students to play football at Exeter. Kyle Lash has been welcomed with open arms in Reiffton. Lash is one of four Exeter players who attend Antietam. The 6’3, 210-pound junior starts at guard and defensive tackle. Lash told me that he prefers defense because “hitting people just makes me so happy.” He described a big sack that he had in the District 3-5A championship at Gov. Mifflin. Lash is third on the team in sacks (3.5) and TFL (10). He has made 44 tackles for the (10-3) Eagles. They beat the Mustangs 31-28 for their first District 3 title. Lash talked about what it has been like in school this week after that historic victory. He gave a lot of credit to seniors Colin Payne and Eric Nangle. Payne now owns the single-season school record for passing yards with 2,184. He ranks second in Berks County this year with 22TD passes. Nangle ran 40 times for 225 yards and a touchdown against Gov. Mifflin. He’s up to 1,769 rushing yards and 21TD this season. Lash and the offensive line have helped Exeter average 227 rushing yards per game and nearly seven yards per carry. The Eagles take on (11-2) Penn-Trafford in the Class 5A state semifinals on Friday night at Bald Eagle High School. The Warriors have won nine in a row including their first WPIAL championship. Finally, Lash and I discussed his favorite sports movies and rappers.