Season preview: Gov. Mifflin Mustangs
Classification: Class 5A
League: Berks Section 1
Last season: 4-0 league, 8-1 overall
Schedule: Click here
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2020
Head coach: Jeff Lang, fifth season, 33-12 (.733)
Key losses: Defensive Lineman of the Year and TE Cam’Ron Stewart, Linebacker of the Year and FB Brandon Strausser, Offensive Lineman of the Year Dominic Sheidy, QB/P Connor Maryniak, all-league G Devonte Phillips, all-league WR Greg Suber, all-league DT Mason Klahr, LB Zach Parsons.
Top offensive players: Offensive Back of the Year and all-league kick returner Nick Singleton, QB/WR Eden Johnson, QB/WR Delsin McNeil, RB/H-back Ayden Martin, FB Trey Rock, FB Aiden Gallen, WR Braylon Stewart, C Jacob Lopez, G Jose Landrom, T Nate Goodman, T Jonah Naugle.
Top defensive players: E Nate Goodman, E Daxsen Washington, T Jose Landrom, all-league second-team LB Trey Rock, LB Braylon Stewart, LB Jordan Kershner, all-league S Ayden Martin, S Eden Johnson, all-league second-team CB Nick Singleton, CB Delsin McNeil, DB Gerrell McNeil, DB Amir Rodriguez.
Notable: The Mustangs have 397 victories in 67 seasons. They will join Wilson, Reading High, Muhlenberg and Wyomissing as Berks’ only 400-game winners.
Did you know? Nick Singleton doesn’t own the program record for most rushing yards in a game — at least not yet. Dustin Manz became the only Mifflin player to top 300 yards when he went for 352 in a 2006 district playoff game vs. Conestoga Valley. Singleton’s best game: 248 yards vs. Exeter last season.
Quotable: “Cam’Ron Stewart was a two-way guy, and he was a game-changing type of person; Brandon Strausser was a two-way guy, and he was a game-changing type of person. We lost our whole defensive line, our offensive line, so we’ve got a lot of pieces of the puzzle that we’ve gotta find.” — Mustangs coach Jeff Lang.
Outlook: The Mustangs must replace the best linebacker, best defensive lineman and best offensive lineman in the league, as well as nine other starting positions from its District 3 Class 5A championship team, but the glass is hardly half-empty in Shillington. It’s still overflowing with talent; there’s a reason they’re ranked No. 2 in the state to open the season.
True, most of the key components from arguably the best team in program history are gone but the returning talent is top-shelf, starting with senior Nick Singleton, the Penn State recruit who’s regarded as one of the top backs in the nation.
You know all about him, and his pursuit of Berks’ all-time rushing and scoring records.
The key for another long playoff run comes at the quarterback spot, and on the offensive line.
Senior Eden Johnson and junior Delsin McNeil battled for the QB job throughout the offseason and both have performed well; head coach Jeff Lang says he’ll enter the season splitting that spot and has no qualms about a job-sharing situation the entire season. Each is a dual-threat guy and will figure prominently on offense even when not behind center.
Opposing defenses will be facing a pick-your-poison type dilemma because Singleton isn’t the only dangerous weapon. Senior FB Trey Rock took it to the house on the first carry of the scrimmage against Penn Manor and he’s more than capable of filling the huge hole left by All-State pick Brandon Strausser. Junior Ayden Martin may be, pound-for-pound, the strongest player in the league. He was a WR last season but will line up in the backfield, maybe as an H-back, maybe as a TE. He can push people around or fly past them.
Aiden Gallen, a transfer from Berks Catholic, will see time at FB and on defense, where he figures to be part of a strong unit. The concern, like on offense, comes up front; Nate Goodman is the lone return starter there. Rock will be just that at LB, a rock, and the defensive backfield has the potential to be lethal, what with Singleton at one corner and Martin and Johnson at safety.
The Mustangs weren’t tested last season until they reached the PIAA semifinals, where they lost an epic battle to Pine-Richland, 48-44. They were a play or two away from winning a state championship. They could well be in the same position this season.
At the wire: Looking for another league and district title, and more.