Mustangs ground Rockets, return to District 3 title game
Gov. Mifflin has seemed invincible this season, racing through a perfect regular season with few challenges.
The playoffs have been a different story. It took more than a quarter for the Mustangs to shake off Warwick in their District 3 Class 5A opener last week and even longer Friday to toss aside fourth-seeded Spring Grove.
The Mustangs even trailed for the first time all season.
“They came out and punched us in the mouth,” admitted Mifflin tailback Nick Singleton. “We had to get together, calm ourselves down, take it one play at a time.”
The top-seeded Mustangs ended up bludgeoning the Rockets with their powerful running game but it took time for them to pull away for a 38-13 semifinal victory at frosty Mifflin Stadium
“It was nerve-racking, to say the least,” said fullback Aiden Gallen, who rushed for 168 yards and a touchdown, “but we all kept our heads; we all motivated each other, and we pulled it out.”
The Rockets (10-2) were within 17-14 early after dangerous Tyree Brooks broke off a 43-yard touchdown in the first minute of the second half.
Singleton, the Berks Football League Section 1 Offensive Player of the Year, answered with his second of three touchdowns on another historic night. He bounced outside and raced 37 yards for a TD and 24-13 lead 2 1/2 minutes into the third quarter.
The Mustangs essentially put it away on their next possession when Eden Johnson threw a beautiful pass that split end Braylon Stewart pulled in in the end zone for a 37-yard score and 31-13 lead.
Singleton and Gallen continued to pound away after that and the Rockets couldn’t stop them. No team has yet.
Singleton finished with 190 yards on 20 carries and became just the third player in Berks history to top 2,000 yards in a season. He’s at 2,022 — 381 away from David Gilmore’s Berks record 2,403, a mark set 38 years ago.
The Penn State recruit will chip away at that next week when the Mustangs get a rematch against Exeter in the District 3 championship game, back at Mifflin Stadium. The Eagles advanced to their first championship game with a 42-35 win at Cedar Cliff.
Mifflin beat Exeter 54-21 in Week 6 at Don Thomas Stadium but it never completely put the Eagles away as Colin Payne, Joey Schlaffer and Eric Nangle kept making plays in the second half; Exeter was one of just two teams the Mustangs did not mercy rule during the regular season.
The Mustangs had trouble putting away Spring Grove, too. The Rockets were active and excited on defense at the outset and stopped Mifflin’s first two drives. The first ended on downs at the Spring Grove 30. The second ended with a botched punt attempt as the snap went over punter Adrian McNeil’s head, leading to another turnover on downs.
Both drives stalled in part by holding penalties. The Mustangs were flagged nine times for 98, most on the offensive end.
“I’m not sure what the heck was going on (with the penalties),” said Mifflin coach Jeff Lang. “That was very uncharacteristic. If we did it in weeks past, we were getting away with it, but we’ve gotta straighten that stuff out now.
“It’s a good thing the defense did what they did tonight to keep us in the game because offensively we were trying everything in the book to stop us from getting down the field and scoring.”
Mifflin’s defense broke down on two plays but otherwise was very good. It controlled the line of scrimmage and constantly flushed quarterback Andrew Osmun out of the pocket.
The Rockets took the lead when Osmun made a great throw off a scramble for a 43-yard touchdown. The left-hander was chased from the pocket by Jose Landrom; just before being run out of bounds he lofted a pass deep down the left sideline.
Safety Ayden Martin went up for the interception but missed it and Darien Osmun found himself alone when he came down with it at the 10. Andrew Osmun’s PAT made it 7-0 with 11 seconds left in the first half.
Brooks, who entered with over 2,200 yards, was contained for most of the night except for his 43-yard TD run. Other than that he was held in check, gaining 58 yards on 18 other carries.
“That’s a potent offense,” Lang said. “(Brooks) and (Andrew Osmun) are two really good football players, but I think the defense stepped up and did a nice job.”‘
After the first quarter Spring Grove couldn’t stop Mifflin. The Mustangs scored on six straight possessions, including a 28-yard field goal by Jackson Schools just before that half that made it 17-14.
Singleton continued to spin his magic. He put the Mustangs ahead for good with a 32-yard TD late in the first half that will find its way to the front of his highlight reel.
He took the ball around left end, ran into traffic around the 15, then completely leveled Darien Osmun. He spun out of that collision and sprinted to the end zone to make it 14-7 lead with 4:49 left in the half.
“I saw a defender coming, and I was close to the sideline, so I had no choice but to go through him,” Singleton said, “so I did. (That was) probably one of my better touchdowns, for sure.”
He added two more — his record 41st and 42nd of the season — and pushed his career total to 114.
He and Gallen helped the Mustangs dominate the final 23 minutes. All told Mifflin piled up 441 rushing yards and 530 total. It ran 67 plays to Spring Grove’s 31.
“They were very strong, and they were very determined,” Gallen said, “but we just wanted it more. So, we got the job done.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Spring Grove | 7 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 13 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 0 | 17 | 14 | 7 | 38 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Spring Grove | D. Osumn, 43 pass from A. Osmun (A. Osmun kick) | 0:11 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Gallen, 9 run (Schools kick) | 9:21 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Singleton, 32 run (Schools kick) | 4:49 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Schools, 28 FG | 0:09 |
| 3 | Spring Grove | Brooks, 43 run (kick failed) | 11:39 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Singleton, 37 run (Schools kick) | 9:34 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Stewart, 37 pass from Johnson (Schools kick) | 2:57 |
| 4 | Gov. Mifflin | Singleton, 17 run (Schools kick) | 8:20 |
Team statistics
| Spring Grove | Gov. Mifflin | |
| First downs | 10 | 24 |
| Rushes-yards | 25-158 | 59-441 |
| Passing yards | 61 | 89 |
| Total yards | 219 | 530 |
| Passes | 4-6-0 | 4-8-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-24.7 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-20 | 9-98 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Spring Grove: Brooks 19-101, Merrill 1-30, A. Osmun 5-27.
Gov Mifflin: Singleton 20-190, Gallen 26-168, Johnson 7-41, D. McNeil 3-24, Rock 2-13, Martin 1-5.
PASSING
Spring Grove: Osmun 4-6-0–61.
Gov Mifflin: Johnson 4-7-0–89, A. McNeil 0-1-0–0.
RECEIVING
Spring Grove: Merrill 2-11, D. Osmun 1-43, Stone 1-7.
Gov Mifflin: Martin 1-41, Stewart 1-37, Singleton 1-12, Gallen 1-11.