Four Downs: Four big takeaways from Week 2 in Berks Football
Four takeaways from Week 2 of the high school football season:
1. The Mustangs are the real deal
If you asked former Arizona Cardinals coach Denny Green about Gov. Mifflin he’d likely say: “They are who we thought they were!”
Everyone expected the Mustangs to be good but they stamped themselves as true state-title contenders with the way they dispatched Wilson Friday, 42-12.
The Mustangs were fast and furious and dismantled a good Wilson team in a matter of minutes. They had strong line play, a secondary that blankets the field and legit play-makers at every skill position.
Nick Singleton, of course, is the centerpiece of this team but he’s got a lot of very good football players around him, enough for the Mustangs to make a run similar to last season, when they won a district title, reached the PIAA semifinals and were within a play or two of winning it all.
They were ranked No. 3 in the state in Class 5A last week and there’s no reason to think that isn’t legit.
We’ll learn more about them Friday at Cocalico, when Singleton goes for the all-time Berks rushing record, but right now there don’t appear to be too many teams that will challenge the Mustangs.
2. It was nice to be in a packed football stadium once again
Fans were lined up outside the gates at Mifflin Stadium 90 minutes before kickoff Friday.
The stands were packed at kickoff. People ringed the field two and three deep. The crowd was estimated at 5,000. Hundreds more viewed the game from outside the stadium.
“I knew it was a big game from last year, I didn’t know the crowd was gonna be this big, though,” said Gov. Mifflin quarterback Eden Johnson. “I looked around, it just felt good. It turned us up, it made us want to go even more. I was just excited to play; this was pretty cool.”
It was an electric atmosphere, and it was wonderful to experience that again.
3. Don’t write off the Bulldogs
It’s not often Wilson is mercy-ruled, as it was Friday against Gov. Mifflin in a 42-14 defeat. They trailed 35-0 entering the fourth quarter. The Mustangs did that to them last year, and they’ll do it to a bunch more teams this year.
The Bulldogs were able to rebound last season, winning their final six games. Expect another similar bounce-back this season.
They’ve got a tough Exeter team this week, Manheim Central two weeks after that, then the big one, against Manheim Township in Week 10.
There’s no reason to think the Bulldogs can’t win the rest of their games and head back to the district playoffs as one of the top seeds. They’re solid up front on both sides of the ball, have talented skills players and plenty of depth.
Plus, they’ll never have to play Nick Singleton again.
4. Tanner Maddocks is worth a watch
Fleetwood football doesn’t get a lot of attention but it has a hidden gem in Tanner Maddocks, a do-it-all quarterback who almost never comes off the field.
He can sling it as well as anyone around — he’s ranked among the top quarterbacks in the state — and he makes plays in every phase of the game, as a runner, linebacker and kicker.
Maddocks didn’t throw it much the other night in a win over Annville-Cleona, because they didn’t need him to, but he’ll have to in coming weeks against Conrad Weiser and Wyomissing. Both will be challenged to stop him. He can make every throw in or out of the pocket and has the kind of escapability that drives defenses nuts.
Villanova saw all of this and offered him a scholarship earlier this summer, and he quickly accepted.
By the way: Programs looking to get more exposure for their players should schedule Thursday night games, as Fleetwood did last week. The competition for eyeballs is tough on a Friday night but setting yourself apart, on a Thursday or Saturday night, or Saturday morning, is a way to draw a little more attention.