Even in defeat Muhls can see foundation they’ve laid for program
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
SPRING GROVE — It’s never easy to put a season into perspective after a loss. The emotions take over. If you don’t win a state championship, your season ends with pain.
Muhlenberg’s season ended that way on Halloween night with a 35-0 loss to Spring Grove in the District 3 Class 5A playoffs at Papermakers Stadium.
The scoreboard didn’t show the depth of the journey the Muhls took this year. What just playing this late into the season meant for a program that has spent the better part of a decade searching for any kind of success.
| Final | |
| Spring Grove | 35 |
| Muhlenberg | 0 |
It was the Muhls’ first playoff appearance in 12 years and head coach Rob Flowers knew this team had given its all to lay the groundwork for sustained success in the future.
“This is exactly where we’re supposed to be at this time,” Flowers said. “This is a reminder of what we have to continue to work on, how we have to continue to grow.”
Flowers and Muhlenberg’s star senior trio of Cameron Small, Michael Miller Jr., and Freddie Lacey elevated the program to heights it hasn’t reached since 2013.
No one trusted the process more than Miller Jr., a senior wideout/defensive back who’s been with the program since he was a freshman — back when the Muhls went 2-8. They went 1-9 the following year.
“It’s been a cultural change,” Miller said. “It’s been an overall amazing and blessed change that my junior and senior year I got to be a part of.”
Miller Jr. stuck it out through the hard days, when crowds were sparse and expectations were low and an entire program was searching for one positive to build upon.
Then the positives started to add up.
Flowers took over as head coach. Small transferred from Reading High. Lacey transferred from Daniel Boone. The Muhls won an Eastern Conference title to finish 4-7 last year.
They started 6-0 this season before losing to Exeter, winning twice more, and falling to Conestoga Valley to end the regular season. They secured their first District 3 playoff berth in the process with the last appearance coming when the current players were in kindergarten or younger.
That’s more positivity to foster as the younger players step into larger roles next season.
“We have a lot of good underclassmen that are gonna be great high school football players,” Miller Jr. said. “And I’m excited to see it.”
Flowers recognizes what this year’s senior class meant to this program and how their legacy will be remembered and hopefully continued.
“This senior class is special,” Flowers said. “For what they were able to accomplish this year. It’s special, man, considering where they were just two seasons ago.”
The outcome on Friday night hurts, but the progressive journey also matters. The Muhls are on the right path.
“We don’t have 100 percent recognition yet,” Flowers said, referring to both what the Muhls have done this season and the respect as a perennial contender. “But we’re getting there. That’s part of building up a program.”
The tears flowed when the turnaround season finally came to an end with the hosting and eighth-seeded Rockets (8-3), who advanced to face top-seeded New Oxford in the quarterfinals next Friday, beating the Muhls (8-3) at their own game.
Both teams entered the game with run-heavy offenses and it was the Rockets, in their first district playoff game in four years, who imposed their will.
The freshman backfield duo of Brody Redding (116 rushing yards) and Kade Gibbs (100 rushing yards) found space throughout and gashed the Muhlenberg defense for big gains. Each scored on the ground as Spring Grove controlled the line of scrimmage.
“I said at the beginning of the game, the team that can establish the run is going to be the team that wins,” Flowers said. “They did that. We did not.”
Muhlenberg struggled to get all-time leading rusher Cameron Small and its high-powered rushing attack going. He was held to a season-low 48 yards and finished the season with 1,756 yards.
The 48 yards were his lowest in two seasons and 22 games with Muhlenberg.
Spring Grove senior quarterback Davis Baum had 170 all-purpose yards (118 passing, 52 rushing) and accounted for three touchdowns.
Gibbs scored the first touchdown of the game on a 7-yard run with 9:04 remaining in the first quarter. Baum ran one in from 11 yards out with 45 seconds left in the opening frame.
Redding scored from 18 yards 2:01 into the second half to put the Rockets up 21-0. Jordan Eisenhart caught a slant from Baum and took it 26 yards for a touchdown with 4:40 left before halftime. Baum added the final touchdown on a 1-yard QB sneak with 5:53 left in the third.
By the final whistle, Spring Grove had 20 first downs to Muhlenberg’s five and outgained the Muhls by more than 300 yards.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Spring Grove | 14 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Spring Grove | Gibbs, 7 run (Brooks kick) | 9:04 |
| 1 | Spring Grove | Baum, 11 run (Brooks kick) | 0:45 |
| 2 | Spring Grove | Redding, 18 run (Brooks kick) | 9:59 |
| 2 | Spring Grove | Eisenhart, 26 pass from Baum (Brooks kick) | 4:40 |
| 3 | Spring Grove | Baum, 1 run (Brooks kick) | 5:53 |
Team statistics
| MUHLENBERG | SPRING GROVE | |
| First downs | 5 | 20 |
| Rushes-yards | 21-32 | 48-283 |
| Passing yards | 64 | 118 |
| Total yards | 96 | 401 |
| Passes | 6-13-0 | 5-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-35.6 | 1-35 |
| Penalties-yards | 8-75 | 7-45 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Small 11-48, Lacey 1-8, Miller 1-(-4), Team 2-(-9), Baez 6-(-11).
Spring Grove: Redding 17-116, Gibbs 14-100, Baum 9-52, Smith 3-7, Bechtel 2-7, Melbourne 3-1.
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Baez 6-13-0–64.
Spring Grove: Baum 5-7-0–118.
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Miller 4-51, Lacey 1-13, Small 1-0.
Spring Grove: Lawrence 2-61, Eisenhart 2-33, Smith 1-24.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Spring Grove: Brooks 23, 26.
