Gov. Mifflin goes up top to beat Harrisburg, passes biggest test

Gov. Mifflin sent a message to everyone Friday night: You want to stack the line and try to take away Nick Singleton, we’ll throw it over the top of you.

With the Harrisburg Cougars hellbent on not letting the Penn State recruit take charge, quarterbacks Eden Johnson and Delsin McNeil burned them with the pass in a 49-13 non-league victory at Mifflin Stadium.

Johnson threw two scoring passes, both to Ayden Martin, and McNeil threw one to Aidan Young. The Mustangs quarterbacks attempted just five passes and hit on all of them. Even with all the attention, Singleton finished with three TDs and 155 yards to reach 5,000 for his record-setting career. He also had a 62-yard TD run nullifield by a penalty.

Penn State coach James Franklin was on the sidelines taking his first live look at Singleton, his prize recruit.

Harrisburg did little on offense in the first half yet trailed just 14-7.

The Cougars were limited 69 total yards and one first down in the first half but benefitted from a Singleton fumble to set up their only score.

They were playing without starting quarterback Shawn Lee, who was injured last week and did not dress.

The Mustangs scored on their first two possessions to go up 14-0.

Aiden Gallen capped the opening drive with an 8-yard TD run just 5:15 into the game. A fourth-down penalty by Harrisburg kept the drive alive in the red zone.

Singleton made Mifflin’s second possession a short one. He took a toss and raced 53 yards to the end zone to make it 14-0 with 5:17 left in the opening quarter.

The game features two of the best teams in the state: Harrisburg is ranked No. 9 in Class 6A by PennLive.com, Mifflin is No. 1 in Class 5A.

The match-up wasn’t made until Wednesday when Mifflin was informed that Cedar Crest couldn’t keep its scheduled commitment because of a COVID issue.

Harrisburg had been scrambling to find a game since Monday, when it was notified that Mid-Penn Conference Commonwealth rival Central Dauphin couldn’t play this week (also because of COVID).

The dream match-up was finalized in a matter of minutes and created an instant buzz throughout District 3, and beyond.

“The kids were really excited when they found out we were playing Harrisburg,” said Mifflin head coach Jeff Lang. “You could see a little more pep in the step yesterday at practice, that’s for sure.”

The Mustangs ripped through three opponents, outscoring them 153-20. They ascended to No. 1 in the state for the first time after burying Cocalico 56-0.

The Cougars’ journey to this point has been a little more precarious. They didn’t come into the season with the same kind of high expectations that Mifflin did.

In their season-opener at Pine-Richland they fell behind 14-0 before coming back for a 26-21 win.

They beat Hazleton 31-21 in Week 2 and edged Manheim Township 20-17 in overtime last week. That game also was thrown together at the 12th hour when each team’s opponent was struck down by COVID issues.

“We have a bunch of young guys, and they just work hard and they’re trying to get better each and every day,” Everett said. “That’s the biggest thing. We’re still in the process of trying to find out who we are and what our identity is, but it’s a process.”

The teams haven’t met since 2017, when Mifflin pulled off one of the greatest upsets in District 3 playoff history. It went to Harrisburg and knocked off the No. 1 team in the state 26-14. The Mustangs ended the game with 26 unanswered points in beating the 11-0 Cougars and ending Parsons’ high school career.

(This story will be updated later tonight with details and quotes from players and coaches.)