Mifflin’s fast start doomed by miscues in season-ending loss to Pleasant Valley
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Pleasant Valley took advantage of Gov. Mifflin penalties and turnovers to rally past the Mustangs 28-19 Friday night in Shillington to win the Eastern Conference 5A/6A championship.
The Mustangs (5-6) hurt themselves with 10 penalties for 62 yards and three turnovers and finished below .500 for the second straight season.
“Turnovers and penalties,” lamented disappointed Mifflin coach Jeff Lang. “It’s been a problem all year. We stress it at practice. We do up-downs for it. We beat ourselves. (If) we don’t jump offsides so many times, we don’t turn the ball over, we win the game. It’s as simple as that.”
The typically run-oriented Mustangs got a huge lift from their passing game in the opening half. Quarterback Javien Pletz hit tight end Derek Di Natale with a beautifully designed screen pass for a 40-yard touchdown and 7-0 lead.
Later in the half Pletz found a wide-open Nolan Morris for a 46 yard touchdown pass to put the Mustangs up 19-0 with just 2:53 left in the first half.
The Mustangs held the Bears (6-5) to 29 yards through the first 21:07 and appeared to be on their way to possibly mercy rule victory.
Bears running back Alexander Ecker had other ideas. The 6-2, 215-pound senior running back broke off a 56-yard run to the Mustangs 4 yard line. On the next play he scored from 4 yards out to cut the Mustangs lead to 19-7 just before halftime.
Mifflin opened the second half with a drive that stalled around midfield. Pletz came up big again by delivering a perfectly executed 45-yard pooch punt that was downed at the 1.
Pleasant Valley executed a 14-play, 99-yard scoring drive. Quarterback Valentino Byers-Robinson went the final 41 yards on a nifty touchdown run to cut the deficit to 19-14 with just 53 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Mustangs went on a 12-play, 49-yard drive to the Bears 12-yard line with just 6:29 to play. Mifflin appeared to be ready to score the clinching touchdown. However, on a first-and-10 from the 12 the Mustangs committed an illegal procedure penalty. On the ensuing play a botched handoff was recovered by Pleasant Valley at the Bears’ 17.
After a first down, Robinson threw his first and only completion of the night, 49 yards to Aaron Haden to the Mifflin 25. On the next play Ecker broke multiple tackles and rambled into the end zone to give the Bears a 20-19 lead. Ecker then ran in the 2-point conversion to make it 22-18 with just 4:12 remaining.
On Mifflin’s next possession Ecker struck again, intercepting Pletz’s pass on a third-and-13. Ecker then scored form 13 yards out to increase the lead to 28-19.
Despite the loss, Lang had high praise for his senior class.
“They are a great bunch of kids; a real pleasure to coach,” he said. “We had a rough year last year and they stuck together. They led the young kids and showed them the ropes. We love them.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Pleasant Valley | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 6 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 19 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Dinatale, 40 pass from Pletz (kick blocked) | 7:02 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Jones, 7 run (run failed) | 9:26 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Morris, 46 pass from Pletz (Koenig kick) | 3:11 |
| 2 | Pleasant Valley | Ecker, 4 run (Pandolfo kick) | 2:35 |
| 3 | Pleasant Valley | Robinson, 41 run (Pandolfo kick) | :53 |
| 4 | Pleasant Valley | Ecker, 25 run (Ecker run) | 4:12 |
| 4 | Pleasant Valley | Ecker, 13 run (kick failed) | 2:15 |
Team statistics
| Pleasant Valley | Gov. Mifflin | |
| First downs | 10 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-223 | 38-182 |
| Passing yards | 49 | 113 |
| Total yards | 272 | 295 |
| Passes | 1-4-0 | 4-11-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-29 | 1-45 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-30 | 10-62 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Pleasant Valley: Ecker 18-168, Robinson 13-39, Lucas 1-15, Rehrig 1-8, Walters 1-(-2), Schaeffer 1-(-5).
Gov. Mifflin: Garner 5-53, Huber 4-51, Pletz 13-27, Hohl 7-22, Jones 5-16, Alvarez 2-7, Leaf 2-6.
PASSING
Pleasant Valley: Robinson 1-4-0-49.
Gov. Mifflin: Pletz 4-11-2-113.
RECEIVING
Pleasant Valley: Haden 1-49.
Gov. Mifflin: Morris 1-46, Dinatale 1-40, Hohl 1-19, Jones 1-8.
INTERCEPTIONS
Pleasant Valley: Ayers, Ecker.
