Game of the Week: Gov. Mifflin (3-2) vs. Wilson (3-2)
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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Gov. Mifflin (3-2) vs. Wilson (3-2)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Gurski Stadium.
Series: Bulldogs lead 38-27.
At stake: The Gurski/Linn Trophy.
Trophy series: Bulldogs lead 8-3.
Last year: Bulldogs won 32-14 as Cam Jones scored three first-half touchdowns, one on a 56-yard punt return. Wilson led 25-7 at the half. Jones finished with 139 yards rushing. Tommy Hunsicker completed 7-of-12 passes for 113 yards and a TD to Edison Case, who had five receptions for 99 yards. Mustangs were held to 137 total yards.
Fast fact: The visiting team has won 5 of the last 10 games.
| 2022 | Wilson | 32-14 |
| 2021 | Gov. Mifflin | 42-14 |
| 2020 | Gov. Mifflin | 48-7 |
| 2019 | Wilson | 61-14 |
| 2018 | Wilson | 42-28 |
| 2017 | Gov. Mifflin | 21-14 |
| 2016 | Wilson | 38-7 |
| 2015 | Wilson | 14-3 |
| 2014 | Wilson | 35-34 OT |
| 2013 | Wilson | 38-7 |
Mustangs update: Scored 5 touchdowns and a safety in the first half on the way to 49-7 win last week over Muhlenberg. . . Brandon Jones, Grady Garner and Reese Hohl each scored two TDs and Mustangs rushed for 356 yards. . . Hohl had 93 yards on 7 carries. . . Garner leads team with 498 rushing yards and 5 TDs. . . Jones is averaging 6.2 yards per carry. . . No. 5 in the league in rushing, averaging 262 yards per game. . . Defense limited Muhls to 32 rushing yards on 19 carries. . . Hohl, Jones and Lamarion Northan each had an INT. . . Jones leads team with 32 tackles. . . Kabine Toure is second with 18 tackles and leads team with 7 QB pressures and 2 sacks. . . Moved up to No. 11 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings; top 12 make the field.
Quotable: “It’s bizarre. You’re used to it being the first game or the last game, now they throw it in the middle (of the season). Because it’s such a rivalry it still plays well; the kids get ready. It’s always gonna be (a big game) no matter when we play.” – Bulldogs coach Doug Dahms, on meeting the Mustangs in Week 6.
Bulldogs update: Beat Cedar Crest 21-13 last week for third straight win. . . Defense came up with 3 red zone stops, the last an INT in the end zone by Edison Case. . . Soph Correl Akings scored 2 TDs, one on a run, one on a catch, and totaled 103 yards from scrimmage. . . With Anthony Matta making return at RT following preseason injury offensive line stabilized and set the way for best run-game production of the season in the second half. . . Nick Fiorini rushed for season-high 71 yards, part of team total of 148 yards on the ground. . . Tommy Hunsicker threw for 162 more. . . Moved up to No. 7 in District 3 Class 6A power ratings; top eight qualify.
Did you know? The teams met 11 times in season-openers, with Wilson winning eight of them.
Fast fact: Nick Singleton gained just a small portion of his 6,326 career rushing yards and 114 career touchdowns against Wilson. In four head-to-head meetings with the Bulldogs the all-time Berks rushing and scoring leader rushed for 492 yards and scored seven TDs. All of those scores came in the last two meetings, each of which Mifflin won. In four games against Wilson he rushed for 97, 35, 160 and 137 yards.
About the trophy: The Gurski/Linn Trophy was added for the 2012 game. It honors two men who shaped each school’s program.
John Gurski coached the Bulldogs from 1964-82 and transformed the program from an also-ran into the most powerful in Berks history. He retired as the winningest coach in program history with 151 victories in 19 seasons.
Ray Linn took the Mustangs to great heights during his first run with the program, from 1956-73; they were a dominant force in the Tri-County League throughout the 1960s. He returned to coach from 1985-87 and retired as the winningest coach in program history with 124 victories in 21 seasons.
The trophy travels to the winning school and remains there until the next game, where it is displayed on the sideline.
It has spent considerable time in West Lawn; the Bulldogs have won 8-of-11 trophy games, including the first five (playoff meetings do not count in the trophy series).
About the series: Games have gotten out of hand several times recently. Wilson won 61-14 at Mifflin in 2019 and 38-7 in both 2016 and 2013. Mifflin won 42-14 in 2021, Nick Singleton’s senior year, and 48-7 the year before.
Two of the games have gone to overtime. Mifflin won 34-28 at home in 2011 and Wilson won 35-34 at home in 2014. In the latter game the Bulldogs trailed 28-13 with 10 minutes left before QB Jake Templin rallied them with his third and fourth TD passes. Jake Gehman caught a TD pass, then ran for the two-point conversion to tie it with 15 seconds remaining in regulation.
