Muhls make their stand against Mustangs, ‘get back their respect’
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
Tony Ferriera and his Muhlenberg defensive teammates don’t mind playing with their backs to the wall. They found themselves with their feet in their own end zone Friday after Governor Mifflin registered a first down at the 1.
| Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 35 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 17 |
The Mustangs were inches away from taking an early lead.
Ferriera was not worried.
“I knew we were stronger, bigger,” said the 6-8, 300-pound tackle, “more put together.”
More determined it appeared, also.
The Muhls, who haven’t played in a big game in years, responded well to that early threat, forcing the Mustangs to settle for a field goal, a defensive sequence that ignited them in their 35-17 victory in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 game at Laureldale.
The Muhls (2-0, 5-0) got three touchdowns from Michael Miller Jr. and forced three turnovers but keeping the Mustangs (0-2, 2-3) from piercing the end zone early in the game turned out to be pivotal.
“It felt like a win,” Ferreira said of the sequence. “They were an inch from the goal line, and we stopped ’em.”
The Mustangs enjoyed that 3-0 lead for less than a minute. The Muhls, pumped up by their defensive stance, returned serve quickly. They used Adriel Baez’s 48-yard bomb to Freddy Lacey to take the lead for good and start a game-changing five-minute stretch that helped them carry a 21-3 lead into halftime.
“Holding them to three points was big for our defense, just for the confidence,” said Muhlenberg coach Rob Flowers. “It was definitely a win for us in that space.”
Moments after Lacey’s TD Cameron Small forced a fumble that set the Muhls up at the Mifflin 19. Baez scrambled out of the pocket on third-and-goal from the 6 and scored for a 14-3 lead.
Before the Mustangs could take a breath Miller Jr. picked off a pass and took it back 50 yards for a TD.
“That goal-line (stand) shifted the game entirely,” said Muhlenberg tackle Zavier Otero, who was in on a first-down stop of quarterback Lebron Leaf. “We held them to three points and I felt the shift came after that.”
On second down Small and Chase Zona led a wave of Muhlenberg tacklers who stopped Tom Millisock for no gain.
Patrick Steuer took a third-down pitch around the right side for a touchdown but the play was nullified by a holding penalty. The Mustangs had a short gain on third down and had to settle for Lance Koenig’s 22-yard field goal.
“I feel if we can overcome that (situation), we can overcome anything,” Ferreira said. “(After that stop) we felt we were going to dominate them on offense, and we did.”
The Muhls all but put the game away with the opening drive of the second half. They went 93 yards on 17 plays, the last a 9-yard Jet Sweep toss to Miller for a 28-3 lead. The drive lasted more than seven minutes.
The Mustangs got one back quickly, with Lucas Kreider returning a kickoff 72 yards for a TD that kept their hopes alive.
Problem is they couldn’t get Muhlenberg’s offense off the field. The Muhls went on another long drive, one that lasted 10 plays and ate up the rest of the third quarter.
The Mustangs, who have won consistently over the years by controlling the ball, didn’t have one offensive snap in the third quarter.
Leaf’s 1-yard sneak made it 28-17 with 8:47 left but the Muhls went on another ball-hogging, 12-play drive that pretty much put the game away.
Miller thought he had his third TD on a leaping fourth-down catch in the end zone with three minutes left but the play was ruled no catch. A couple minutes later he got the hat trick, tip-toeing along the sideline on a 15-yard run for a TD.
“He’s so dynamic,” Flowers said. “He can run the ball, he can catch it. He’s been blocking well. He’s been doing a lot of things really well.”
The win got the Muhls to the midway point of the season with a clean slate for the first time since 2013, but this night was bigger than that.
Mifflin is the best team they’ve beaten after cruising the past few weeks against Daniel Boone, Reading, and Lebanon – teams that have combined for an 0-15 record.
“It’s our first real test,” Flowers admitted.
It also helped the Muhls clear a mental hurdle. They had lost 21 straight times to the Mustangs, one of their oldest rivals. That fact was not lost on them.
“It feels good to get a win against somebody that’s been beating us up for a while,” Flowers said. “The way the games have gone . . . disrespectful in my eyes. We were able to do what we had to do in order to finish it off. The most important win right now is this one.”
“It feels amazing, man, amazing,” Ferriera said. “The Muhls are back. We got our respect back.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 3 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 17 |
| Muhlenberg | 0 | 21 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Koenig, 22 FG | 6:37 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Lacey, 48 pass from Baez (Shupp kick) | 5:52 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Baez, 6 run (Shupp kick) | 1:40 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Miller Jr., 50 interception return (Shupp kick) | 1:09 |
| 3 | Muhlenberg | Miller Jr., 9 pass from Baez (Shupp kick) | 4:37 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Kreider, 72 kickoff return (Koenig kick) | 4:23 |
| 4 | Gov. Mifflin | Leaf, 1 run (Koenig kick) | 8:47 |
| 4 | Muhlenberg | Miller Jr., 15 run | 0:37 |
Team statistics
| GOV. MIFFLIN | MUHLENBERG | |
| First downs | 12 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-91 | 40-183 |
| Passing yards | 105 | 115 |
| Total yards | 196 | 298 |
| Passes | 8-17-1 | 8-12-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-32.0 | 1-30.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-81 | 13-115 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Gov. Mifflin: Steuer 4-34, Overley 8-34, Leaf 10-33, Campitelli 1-1, Team 2-(-5), Millisock 5-(-6).
Muhlenberg: Small 26-126, Miller Jr. 9-45, Baez 4-17, Oforgaram Edochie 1-(-5).
PASSING
Gov. Mifflin: Leaf 8-17-1–105.
Muhlenberg: Baez 8-12-1–115.
RECEIVING
Gov. Mifflin: Murray 3-51, Dinatale 2-33, Steuer 2-16, Overley 1-5.
Muhlenberg: Miller Jr. 5-54, Lacey 3-61.
INTERCEPTIONS
Gov. Mifflin: Overley.
Muhlenberg: Miller Jr.
