Muhls go out with a win, a trophy, and a record-setting running back
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Muhlenberg 24, William Allen 0
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
ALLENTOWN — It was a true full-circle moment for Rob Flowers.
In 1998 he was playing quarterback for Muhlenberg when he watched teammate Jason Reinhart set the program’s single-season rushing record of 1,883 yards.
Friday he looked on from the sideline as running back Cameron Small broke Reinhart’s record, running for 209 yards as the Muhls defeated William Allen 24-0 in the Eastern Conference Class 5A/6A title game at J. Birney Crum Stadium.
“Cam’s a very, very tough runner,” Flowers said. “Man, he does an excellent job running the ball in front of his pads. Really proud of him.”
The game ended 10 minutes early after a fight broke out on Allen’s sideline following a run play. No Muhlenberg players left the bench area.
“If you’re losing the game, sometimes that kind of negative stuff happens,” Flowers said. “What I was really proud of was our sideline and our bench and our program for handling it the best they can.”
Small ends his junior season with 2,051 yards, becoming the 10th Lancaster-Lebanon League back to eclipse the 2,000 yard mark.
His total is third-highest in Berks history, behind David Gilmore and Nick Singleton.
“It feels amazing,” Small said. “I didn’t feel like I would ever achieve this. But now that I have, I’ve got to get better and better for next year.”
The moment would have been unthinkable just a year prior when Small was playing at Reading and Flowers was taking time off after resigning at Daniel Boone.
Not to mention the fact that the Muhls (4-7) were playing their first postseason game since 2017 after winning only two games in the previous two seasons.
“We didn’t know that we had something special with Cam until we saw him working in the offseason,” Flowers said. “Obviously, we were super-impressed with the way he moved.”
It is the first time that the Muhls have ended a season with four wins since 2017, when they won seven. It was also the team’s first shutout win since 2013 – when current freshman quarterback Adriel Baez hadn’t even started grade school yet.
“It’s great,” Small said. “We’re all excited.”
On the drive where Small set the program record in the second quarter, he bounced out to the left for a 12-yard touchdown run. Baez ran for the two-point conversion. After a fumble recovery in the end zone by Cooper Burr, Mike Miller Jr. ran for a 19-yard score on the next drive. Small ran for the conversion.
After the Muhls were stopped at the 1-yard line on a fourth-and-goal try in the third quarter, Samson Evans tackled a ballcarrier in the backfield for a safety. On the first play of the ensuing drive, Small ran for a 45-yard score.
The Muhls’ defense came up big. Three times they stopped the Canaries (3-8) on fourth down. On top of Burr’s fumble recovery, Josiah Urbaez also came up with a red zone interception to prevent a score.
“It was a great night for our guys defensively,” Flowers said. “I’m just so proud of what they were able to do tonight.”
The Muhls end the season how few do – with a win and a trophy. They’ll use the victory as a springboard into next season when they’ll have 14 starters back, including Small.
“It’s super-huge for our program,” Flowers said. “It’s an opportunity for us to set the stage for what our program should look like.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 0 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 24 |
| William Allen | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| 2 | Muhlenberg | C. Small, 2 run (Baez run) | 7:46 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Miller Jr., 19 run (C. Small run) | 1:54 |
| 3 | Muhlenberg | Evans, tackle for safety | 0:54 |
| 3 | Muhlenberg | C. Small, 45 run (pass failed) | 0:38 |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | William Allen | |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-322 | 29-139 |
| Passing yards | 0 | 100 |
| Total yards | 322 | 239 |
| Passes | 0-2-0 | 7-11-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-43 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-75 | 7-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: C. Small 20-209, Ortiz 7-58, Miller Jr. 5-48, Baez 2-7.
William Allen: Johnson 12-77, Wimberly 14-67, Thor 1-(-1), Watkins 2-(-4).
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Baez 0-2-0–0.
William Allen: Thor 6-10-1–79, Johnson 1-1-0-21.
RECEIVING
William Allen: Walker 2-42, Wimberly 2-7, Santana 1-21, Rodriguez 1-21, Watkins 1-9.
INTERCEPTIONS
Muhlenberg: Urbaez.
