’22 Preview: Gov. Mifflin Mustangs

Classification: Class 5A

League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2

Schedule: Click here

Last season: 3-0 Berks 1, 10-1 overall

Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2021

Head coach: Jeff Lang, fifth season, 43-13

Key losses: All-League QB & DB Eden Johnson, all-league RB & KR Nick Singleton, all-league G Jose Landrom, all-league T Jonah Naugle, all-league DE Nate Goodman, all-league LB & second-team RB Trey Rock, second-team T Kendry Arias-Hernandez.

LL2	Projected finish
1	Exeter
2	Manheim Central
3	Gov. Mifflin
4	Warwick
5	Conestoga Valley
6	Muhlenberg
7	Lebanon

Top offensive players: QB Delsin McNeil, RB/WR/KR Ayden Martin, RB Brandon Jones, WR/KR Gerrell McNeil, WR Jackson Parker, G Clayton Reynolds, G Mykell Ford, T/G Ethan Hoffman, T Aden Krause, KR Tynan Harter, PK Jackson Schools.

Top defensive players: E Kabine Torres, T Ethan Hoffman, second-team all-league T Mykell Ford, LB Brandon Jones, LB Clay Reynolds, LB Chase Huber, second-team all-league S Ayden Martin, S Delsin McNeil, CB & P Gerrell McNeil, CB Tynan Harter, CB Jackson Parker.

Did you know? The Mustangs enter the season with a 21-game regular season winning streak. Their last regular season loss came to Cocalico, 26-14 on Sept. 6, 2019.

For the record: Mifflin averaged 47.7 points per game last season, second-highest in Berks history. The Mustangs set the record at 54.5 in 2020.

Quotable: “Section 2 is full of some really good football teams. I think we’ll see four or five teams battling it out all season. I think it’ll be a long shot for one team to stand out and beat all the other teams in the league and finish 6-0.” — Mustangs coach Jeff Lang.

Outlook: The Mustangs won’t dominate Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League the way they did Berks 1, which they won 10 times in the last 12 seasons. They went 18-1 in league play during Nick Singleton’s four seasons but he’s gone and so are a lot of the talented players who helped Mifflin win their its first 10 games a season ago.

Jeff Lang needs to replace 18 starters — nine on each side of the ball — including Berks 1 Offensive Lineman of the Year Jonah Naugle, Defensive Back of the Year Eden Johnson, Defensive Lineman of the Year Nate Goodman and of course Singleton, the Offensive Back of the Year and one of the top-ranked players in the nation. That’s a lot.

The O-line is an immediate concern since four of the five starters must be replaced, but Lang always seems to find a way to patch together a good front wall. If he does play-makers Delsin McNeil and Ayden Martin will profit.

Neither got his hands on the ball much last season but when they did they made things happen. McNeil was the backup QB; he spelled Johnson for about a third of the snaps and there was little or no dropoff when he was in there. He’s got a strong arm but more importantly is a powerful runner and has a strong grasp of the Option offense.

Martin was such a good blocker on the edge, setting up many of those Singleton touchdowns, that Lang didn’t want to move him from there. He’ll have to this year, and Martin figures to make it pay off. He’s an explosive player (committed to Monmouth University) who can be a weapon in the run game or pass game. He figures to line up in different spots and excel in both capacities. He caught just three balls last season but two of them went for scores, and he averaged 31.0 yards per catch.

Gerrell McNeil, the QB’s twin brother, will have an expanded role at WR and be counted on as a player-maker on offense and special teams.

There are huge holes to fill on defense, especially up front. The defense will start with 255-pound tackle Mykell Ford, who was an impact player a year ago as a freshman. The backfield should be strong, with the McNeil brothers and Martin, a four-year starter on defense.

With Exeter joining them in the move to Section 2 the untested Mustangs will have their hands full. The Eagles are loaded again and will be Mifflin’s league opener in Week 4. The schedule plays in Mifflin’s favor, with games against Exeter, Wilson and Manheim Central at home. Wilson ended up at Week 6, which is a break; the Mustangs will have a chance to get settled in by then.

At the wire: Challenging for the lead in Section 2 and returning to the District 3 Class 5A playoff field.

Lancaster-Lebanon League

Section 1	Section 2	Section 3	Section 4	Section 5
Cedar Crest	Conestoga Valley	Daniel Boone	Berks Catholic	Annville-Cleona
Hempfield	Exeter	Elizabethtown	Cocalico	Columbia
Manheim Twp.	Gov. Mifflin	Ephrata	Conrad Weiser	Hamburg
McCaskey	Lebanon	Fleetwood	Donegal	Kutztown
Penn Manor	Manheim Central	Garden Spot	Elco	Lancaster Catholic
Reading High	Muhlenberg	Solanco	Lampeter-Strasburg	Northern Lebanon
Wilson	Warwick	Twin Valley	Octorara	Pequea Valley
			Wyomissing	Schuylkill Valley