Late TD by Bears foils huge night by Muhls’ 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 Kyle Kutz — LNP/Lancasteronline
ELIZABETHTOWN — Coming off a tight loss to Ephrata in Week 5, Elizabethtown bounced back with a hard-fought 36-34 football win Friday night over visiting Muhlenberg in Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 play.
It was the Bears’ first victory and the Muhls’ second straight loss after a promising 3-1 start.
Early in the first quarter, Elizabethtown kicker Caleb Fuge knocked in a 21-yard field goal to give the Bears a quick 3-0 edge, their first lead of the season.
Muhls junior Fred Lacey then returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the end zone, putting Muhlenberg up 6-3.
Bears freshman Prince Wratto responded with a 69-yard scoring scamper midway through the second quarter, reclaiming a 10-6 lead for Elizabethtown (1-1, 1-5).
Muhls junior Cameron Small, who entered ranking third in the league in rushing yards, pounded in a TD on the goal line late in the second to place Muhlenberg (1-2, 3-3) up 14-10 — his first of four scores.
Elizabethtown chose to substitute its starting quarterback Gannon Shank, normally a backup, in favor of Brayden Huber, who missed last week’s game due to injury, on the next drive.
Huber steadied the inconsistent Elizabethtown offense to execute a last-minute scoring drive, connecting with senior Alexis Cintron on a 7-yard TD pass to recapture a 17-14 Bears lead.
Small answered by galloping 56 yards to score with one second left on the clock, allowing the Muhls to enter halftime up 20-17.
Shank re-entered the game to open the second half, capping off a quick drive for the Bears on an 8-yard TD toss to Cintron that reclaimed Elizabethtown a 24-20 advantage.
Muhlenberg, ranked No. 2 in the league in rushing, responded on the ground when Small dashed 11 yards to score on the ensuing drive, giving the Muhls a 28-24 edge.
Elizabethtown then positioned Fuge to kick a 28-yard field goal to close out the third quarter and a 29-yarder midway through the fourth to boot the Bears back into the lead, 30-28.
Small (22 rushes for more than 250 yards) galloped 49 yards to advance the Muhls deep into Bears territory, pounding in a 1-yard TD to retake a 34-30 Muhlenberg advantage.
Late in the fourth quarter, Bears senior Brady Moran (22 runs for 141 yards and a TD) sprinted 7 yards to finish out a lengthy scoring drive, snapping the Bears’ seven-game slide dating back to 2023.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 6 | 14 | 8 | 6 | 34 |
| Elizabethtown | 3 | 14 | 10 | 9 | 36 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Elizabethtown | Fuge, 21 field goal |
| 1 | Muhlenberg | Lacey, 90 kickoff return (kick failed) |
| 2 | Elizabethtown | Wratto, 69 run (Fuge kick) |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | Shupp, 1 run (Baez run) |
| 2 | Elizabethtown | Cintron, 7 pass from Huber (Fuge kick) |
| 2 | Muhlenberg | C. Small, 56 run (run failed) |
| 3 | Elizabethtown | Cintron, 8 pass form Shank (Fuge kick) |
| 3 | Muhlenberg | C. Small, 11 run (Baez run) |
| 3 | Elizabethtown | Fuge, 28 field goal |
| 4 | Elizabethtown | Fuge, 29 field goal |
| 4 | Muhlenberg | C. Small, 1 run (run failed) |
| 4 | Elizabethtown | Moran, 7 run (kick failed) |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | Elizabethtown | |
| First downs | 11 | 17 |
| Rushes-yards | 30-259 | 42-383 |
| Passing yards | 40 | 59 |
| Total yards | 299 | 442 |
| Passes | 2-10 | 7-16 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-29 | 1-47 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-35 | 7-45 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Small 22-257, Miller 1-6, Lacey 1(-1), Baez 5-(-3).
Elizabethtown: Wratto 6-151, Moran 22-141, Conteh 1-37, Shank 10-36, Huber 2-13, Yohn 1-5.
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Baez 2-10-0–40.
Elizabethtown: Shank 5-13-0–54, Huber 2-3-0–5.
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Miller 1-32, Ortiz 1-8.
Elizabethtown: Cintron 4-51, Engle 2-10, Capello 1-(-2).
