Wyomissing Physical Therapy Offensive Player of the Week: Muhl’s Cameron Small
Cameron Small enjoyed one of the most productive games in Muhlenberg history Friday but his coach thinks he should’ve done even more.
“I’m actually mad that he didn’t get 300 (yards),” Muhls coach Rob Flowers joked, “because there’s a play he should’ve scored on and he got caught.”
Small, a junior tailback, got knocked out of bounds after an 80-yard run to the Daniel Boone 15 early in the game; he wasn’t stopped much after that. He rushed for 295 yards on 23 carries and scored four touchdowns to earn Wyomissing Physical Therapy Offensive Player of the Week honors.
The 5-9, 182-pound Small scored on runs of 52, 1, 10, and 17 yards, the last clinching the 40-29 victory at Kutztown University. He had nine runs of 10 or more yards and five of 20 or longer.
“Cam did an excellent job being out in front of the football,” Flowers said. “He was (mentally) ready to go when it was time to go. He knows what’s taking place (on the field). He’s following his blocks, he’s being patient. He understands that he can’t get into the hole before the lineman gets there because the play will never work.”
Small ran for 165 yards and each of the Muhls’ three touchdowns in a Week 2 loss to Reading High. He opened the season with 88 yards and a TD in a win over Schuylkill Valley.
He’s second in the Lancaster-Lebanon League with both 72 carries and 548 rushing yards and tied for third with eight touchdowns. Manheim Township’s Declan Clancy has a league-leading 73 carries and 554 yards; Gov. Mifflin’s Grady Garner has a league-leading nine TDs.
Small played at Reading High last season. He didn’t get many touches but was productive, averaging 7.3 yards per carry. He transferred to Muhlenberg along with his brother Dequan, a senior defensive end, late last year.
Flowers, the Muhls’ first-year coach, saw right away that Cameron Small was going to be his go-to guy in the backfield.
“Cam’s very strong,” Flowers said. “He did an excellent job moving the weights around (in the offseason), doing our speed-agility program. Once he got onto the field it was his patience and his explosion that (caught) our attention. Coming out of spring we knew he was gonna be the guy.”
Small also starts at strong safety. He clinched the win over Boone with an interception in the red zone followed by a 70-yard return in the final minutes.
“I like that he likes to play on both sides of the ball,” Flowers said. “He enjoys tackling, he enjoys running. He’s a workout guy; he enjoys that stuff. He doesn’t shy away from it.”
Small missed the Muhlenberg single-game rushing record by just 2 yards. Jeremy Rodriguez set the record by going for 297 yards (on 16 carries) at Wyomissing in 2007.
He wasn’t far from a rare six-touchdown night. Only Jason Reinhart, in 1998, has done that with the Muhls. No Muhlenberg player has scored five touchdowns in a game in 11 years, since Ben Ortiz did it twice in the 2013 season.
Small is the first Muhlenberg player selected for the award since Gio Cavanna was named twice in the 2022 season. Teammate Fred Lacey was named Defensive Player of the Week earlier this season.
Players considered for Player of the Week honors are nominated by their coaches or by members of the MikeDragoSports.com coverage team.
This is the fourth consecutive season that Wyomissing Physical Therapy has sponsored the Offensive Player of the Week award. At the end of the season an Offensive Player of the Year will be selected.
Also nominated for Wyomissing Physical Therapy Offensive Player of the Week:
- Nathaniel Rose, Berks Catholic
- Javien Rivera, Conrad Weiser
- Max Heffner, Daniel Boone
- Jayden Zandier, Exeter
- Brody Nowotarski, Fleetwood
- Grady Garner, Gov. Mifflin
- Madyx Gruber, Wilson
- Justice Hardy, Wyomissing
Selected Wyomissing Physical Therapy Offensive Player of the Week in 2023:
- Week 1: Tyler Shuey, Hamburg
- Week 2: Tommy Hunsicker, Wilson
- Week 3: Dominic Giuffre, Schuylkill Valley
- Week 4: Jayden Zandier, Exeter
- Week 5: Drew Forrey, Wyomissing
- Week 6: Evan Johnson, Twin Valley
- Week 7: Drew Engle, Twin Valley
- Week 8: Jayden Zandier, Exeter
- Week 9: Czion Brickle, Fleetwood
- Week 10: Evan Myers, Twin Valley
- Week 11: Jack Riffle, Fleetwood
- Week 12: Drew Engle, Twin Valley
Players selected in 2022:
- Week 1: Gio Cavanna, Muhlenberg
- Week 2: Cam Jones, Wilson
- Week 3: Pierce Mason, Hamburg
- Week 4: Gio Cavanna, Muhlenberg
- Week 5: Josiah Jordan, Berks Catholic
- Week 6: Ruben Rodriguez, Reading High
- Week 7: Cam Jones, Wilson
- Week 8: Dominic Giuffre, Schuylkill Valley
- Week 9: Leland Moore, Hamburg
- Week 10: Cam Jones, Wilson
- Week 11: Pierce Mason, Hamburg
- Week 12: Evan Johnson, Twin Valley
Players selected in 2021:
- Week 1: Nick Singleton, RB, Gov. Mifflin
- Week 2: DeShawn Wilson, WR, Reading High
- Week 3: Nick Singleton, RB, Gov. Mifflin
- Week 4: Logan Klitsch, QB, Conrad Weiser
- Week 5: Nick Singleton, RB, Gov. Mifflin
- Week 6: Diohnny Ruiz, RB, Hamburg
- Week 7: Nick Singleton, RB, Gov. Mifflin
- Week 8: Cameron Jones, KR, Wilson
- Week 9: Trey Freeman, WR, Twin Valley
- Week 10: Jadyn Jones, RB, Wilson
- Week 11: Logan Klitsch, QB, Conrad Weiser
- Week 12: Nick Singleton, RB, Gov. Mifflin
- Week 13: Eric Nangle, RB, Exeter
- Week 14: Colin Payne, Exeter
