Muhls end season with 6th straight loss but get another huge effort from Cameron Small
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Dave Byrne — LNP/Lancasteronline
WITMER — It was a special night for a special group of football players.
Conestoga Valley defeated Muhlenberg 52-22 Friday night, becoming the first Buckskins team to finish the regular season undefeated since 1985.
| Section 2 | ||
| Conestoga | 6-0 | 10-0 |
| Exeter | 5-1 | 9-1 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 3-3 | 5-5 |
| Ephrata | 4-2 | 6-4 |
| Elizabethtown | 2-4 | 2-8 |
| Muhlenberg | 1-5 | 3-7 |
| Lebanon | 0-6 | 0-10 |
“It’s pretty cool,” said head coach Jon Scepanski, “even better to do it with the guys on the coaching staff. Without them, and without the kids that are out there putting in the hard work, this isn’t here.”
“It’s crazy,” said Jayden Johnson, “but coming up we always played together and I knew we were going to be a special team. Not this special but, it’s not a surprising thing. It’s just, like, surreal.”
Muhlenberg (1-5, 3-7) ended the season with its sixth straight loss but got one last highlight from junior Cameron Small. The league’s leading rusher ran for 290 yards on 35 carries and scored three touchdowns despite the defense keying on him.
He picked up many of his yards on second, and third, effort, driving and carrying tacklers with him as he went.
Small finished the season with 1,842 yards, second-most in program history. Jason Reinhart set the record with 1,883 ayrds in 1998.
The game started on a surreal note as sophomore Jayden Conaway set the tone. He fielded the opening kickoff at his 26, immediately cut to his right and dashed down the right sideline for a 74-yard touchdown.
“Before the game even started I was telling everybody this feels like a take-it-to-the-crib type of night,” Conaway shared. “Coach said they don’t kick it that far and they kick it where I line up.
“Once I got the ball everything was happening so fast. I ran (right), saw a big hole and I trusted my speed and ability to get past people,” he said. “I was like, ‘I got this easy.’ ”
“It took the pressure off and just helped us play our game,” said junior quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade. “Our first offensive drive and we’re already up 7-0.”
It certainly set the tone for the evening for the Bucks (6-0, 10-0), who wrapped up the section title they took command of last week with a controversial 28-27 win over Exeter.
On their first offensive set of downs the Bucks went 49 yards to the Muhlenberg 9 before stalling. Colson Erb split the uprights from 25 yards and CV led 10-0, eight minutes in.
Muhlenberg made its best bid to stay in the game on its next possession, driving 56 yards in nine plays. Quarterback Adriel Baez fumbled at the CV 19 on the first play of the second quarter, after a four-yard pickup.
Garrett Daniels covered it and the Bucks took over there. Esbenshade found Teagan Ruble for a three-yard pickup, then hit a wide-open Jayden Johnson in stride in the middle of the field at the Mules 40. Johnson did the rest for a 78-yard TD and the momentum swung, permanently, to the CV sideline.
“It was actually a fade route,” Johnson said. “I saw the coverage and I bent it (the route) a little bit, made it a post because the safety was playing a little (off). Sawyer threw a good ball and I did the rest.”
Esbenshade threw more than one good ball on a night when he completed 9-of-15 for 251 yards and four touchdowns. On the next series it was a 53-yard TD to Cordell Bair on a flag route down the right sideline.
Just before halftime he looked off the secondary on the left side of the field and threw, at the last moment, to Isaiah Sensenig out in the right flat. Sensenig carried it in for a 52-yard touchdown.
“I knew I was going to have time to look off and come back to (Sensenig),” said Esbenshade. “Our line, that’s why I’ve been to do what I’ve been able to do.”
That line: center Justin Corson, guards Cam Zoll and Tal Stoltzfus (the upperweight hammers for the Bucks wrestling team) and tackles Liam Price and Jay Stauffer have been key to the Bucks offensive prowess, both in the air and overland.
Their blocking on CV’s scheme of dives, counters and jet sweeps have been the perfect counterpoint to Esbenshade’s passing.
The offense benefited from the return to action, last week, of Jayden Johnson after missing half the season with an injury.
“I hated watching every week,” he said, “but the team took care of everything while I was out. They kept the winning streak going and I’m just happy to be back contributing.”
Johnson finished with three catches for 106 yards and a score. He also rushed three times for 33 yards and a 19-yard TD. Esbenshade finished his evening throwing a ten-yard TD to Elijah Tlumach on a screen pass, midway through the third quarter. Isaiah Dentel capped the Bucks scoring on a four-yard run with just under five minutes to play.
Small became even more valuable when Baez went down with an injury with 1:42 left in the first half and did not return. From that point, Small ran what had all the makings of a single wing offense.
He’d put the Muhls on the board on a 14-yard run at the start of the second quarter. Running from the wing in the second half he scored on a 3-yard run and a 59-yard burst. In all seven of his 35 carries went for double digit yardage.
Now the Bucks can turn their attention to the District 3 Class 5A tournament which begins next weekend. The brackets won’t be finalized until late Sunday, but CV should enter as no worse than the No. 5 seed.
“This group of seniors, when I got here they were sophomores and it was kind of like they were coming into the high school program with me,” Scepanski said. “I was told by the freshman coach that, ‘Hey, you have a special group coming up.’ It’s just been a fun ride and it’s a great group to do everything with.”
And it isn’t over.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 0 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 22 |
| Conestoga Valley | 10 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 52 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Conaway, 74 kickoff return (Erb kick) | 11:47 |
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Erb, 25 FG | 4:05 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 78 pass from Espenshade (Erb kick) | 11:11 |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Small, 14 run (run failed) | 10:17 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Bair, 53 pass from Espenshade (Erb kick) | 8:59 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Sensenig, 52 pass from Espenshade (Erb kick) | 1:24 |
| 3 | Conestoga Valley | Tlumach 10 pass from Espenshade (Erb kick) | 8:32 |
| 3 | Conestoga Valley | Johnson, 19 run (Erb kick) | 5:19 |
| 4 | Muhlenberg | Small, 3 run (Ortiz run) | 9:18 |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Dentel run (Erb kick) | 4:41 |
| 4 | Muhlenberg | Small, 59 run (Cruz run) | 2:35 |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | Conestoga Valley | |
| First downs | 15 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 50-306 | 25-169 |
| Passing yards | 24 | 251 |
| Total yards | 330 | 420 |
| Passes | 3-7 | 9-15 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-31.0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-45 | 2-10 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Small 35-290, Miller 5-11, Ortiz 6-2, Baez 3-1.
Conestoga Valley: Book 1-50, Johnson 3-35, Ruble 6-31, Dentel 5-23, Williams 2-23, Garcia 1-5, Bair 1-5, Byers 1-2, Esbenshade 3-0.
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Baez 3-7-0–24.
Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 9-15-0–251.
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Miller 2-16, Cantres 1-8.
Conestoga Valley: Johnson 3-106, Bair 2-69, Sensenig 1-52, Ruiz 1-11, Tlumach 1-10, Ruble 1-3.
