Mustangs O-line sets the tone, Grady Garner follows its lead in four-TD opener
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Grady Garner had big shoes to fill when he took over the fullback job at Gov. Mifflin.
A decade earlier older brother Lucas filled that spot, and in a big way, rumbling for over 1,200 yards and etching his name into Mifflin lore as one of the program’s top backs.
Grady watched and learned from Lucas, was coached by him in youth football, and Friday did something his big brother never did – score four touchdowns in a game.
“He gave a helluva an effort tonight,” said interim Mifflin coach Mick Vecchio after watching Garner front a nearly flawless effort in a 35-0 season-opening win over Pleasant Friday at Mifflin Stadium.
Garner didn’t do it all himself, of course. His big front line, led by center Gavin Kelly and guards Presley Rinker and Dylan Worley, set the tone early in the game, pounding on the smaller Bears and creating big gaps for Garner to dash through.
The 5-10, 200-pound senior showed quickness, power, balance, and vision as he ran for touchdowns of 8, 15, 19, and 6 yards, and scored on a two-point conversion. He finished with 103 yards on 13 carries.
“Nobody could stop him,” Kelly said.
Garner got the first touch of the night, a 6-yard gain on a fullback dive. He carried four times on Mifflin’s five-play opening drive, loosening up the middle of the Bears defense and opening other things to come later in the game.
“It felt great, especially my line giving me all those holes,” Garner said. “It was their coming out party tonight. We’re so reliant on them. Our line just did whatever they wanted to do.”
That’s pretty much true. The Mustangs rushed for 230 yards and cranked out 17 first downs. They scored on their first two possessions and, after a second-quarter lull, put the game away by scoring the first three times they touched it in the third quarter.
The Mustangs came in believing they could win games on the strength of their offensive front, and the weapons that run behind it, and on night No. 1 their thinking proved correct.
“We were just moving them off the ball, plain and simple,” said Kelly.
“We came in and executed,” said Rinker, a 6-1, 305-pound guard. “First play of the game, I put the nose guard on his butt.”
Garner profited most by that domination up front. He had plenty of holes to run through but also showed his toughness. On his second score he appeared to be stopped at the line, then slithered through a couple arms tackles and bolted into the end zone. On his third TD he knocked over defenders at the second and third levels on his way to the end zone.
He grew up watching Lucas and other top Mifflin fullbacks – or S-backs, as they’re referred to within the program – such as Brandon Strausser and Trey Rock. He brings a little of each of them to the table.
“He fits the mold of the great S-backs we’ve had in the past,” said Vecchio. “In this offense, if you don’t have (a good) one you’re not gonna win.”
The Mustangs defense showed out, too, recording the first season-opening shutout since 1999, when they beat Perkiomen Valley 26-0.
That shutout was in peril twice; each time the Mustangs came up with a goal-line stand.
The first was a game-changer and came after the Bears used a seven-minute drive to move to a fourth-and-3 at the 4. Quarterback Jaxson Haines gained 2 yards on fourth down but came up just short of a first down, allowing the Mustangs to preserve their 14-point lead going into halftime.
The second came in the final minute with the Mustangs’ second-team defensive on the field. The Bears faced third-and-goal from the 1 but Haines was hit hard at the line and coughed up the ball; Patrick Steuer fell on it at the 4.
That was Pleasant Valley’s second turnover. The first – an interception by Reese Hohl – set up the touchdown that made it 28-0 late in the third quarter. Hohl, who led Berks with six picks last season, returned it 50 yards to the 6, setting up Garner’s final score.
The mercy rule went into effect when quarterback Javien Pletz scored from the 2 on a sneak on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The win was especially sweet for the Mustangs, who saw Pleasant Valley score 28 unanswered points last season to beat them 28-19 in the Eastern Conference Class 5A/6A championship at Mifflin Stadium.
That was on the minds of the Mustangs, for sure.
“(At halftime) I told everybody the job’s not finished,” Rinker said, “we need to lock in, finish the game. Nobody can be happy till the game’s over.”
Mifflin head coach Nick Morrissey was also on their minds. He wasn’t on the sidelines after being suspended for the first two games of the season for an administrative matters that goes back several months, well before the start of summer workouts.
“This game was for him,” Kelly said. “(We weren’t) gonna (let that) stop us; it was not gonna distract from the game, we we’re still gonna do what we do.”
“We had him in our hearts,” Rinker said. “We thought about him; we’re doing this for him. He was at home watching, so we had to make him proud.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Pleasant Valley | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 14 | 0 | 14 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Garner, 8 run (kick failed) | 9:05 |
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Garner, 15 run (Garner run) | 3:39 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Garner, 19 run (Koenig kick) | 5:25 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Garner, 6 run (Koenig kick) | 3:40 |
| 4 | Gov. Mifflin | Pletz, 1 run (Koenig kick) | 11:53 |
Team statistics
| Pleasant Valley | Gov. Mifflin | |
| First downs | 12 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-144 | 33-229 |
| Passing yards | 39 | 70 |
| Total yards | 183 | 299 |
| Passes | 3-7-1 | 6-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-37.5 | 1-19 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-15 | 7-52 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Pleasant Valley: Ward 4-38, Kauffman 3-25, Haines 11-23, George 5-22, Solt 4-11, Westerman 5-9, Soto 2-8, Ayers 2-6, Delgado 1-2.
Gov. Mifflin: Garner 13-103, Hohl 10-42, Jenkins 2-42, Pletz 6-38, Leaf 1-5.
PASSING
Pleasant Valley: Haines 3-7-1–39.
Gov. Mifflin: Pletz 6-7-0–70.
RECEIVING
Pleasant Valley: Breuer 1-16, Delgado 1-12, Soto 1-11.
Gov. Mifflin: Jenkins 2-14, Johnson 1-21, Dinatale 1-19, Murray 1-16.
INTERCEPTIONS
Gov. Mifflin: Hohl.
