Four Downs: Four big takes from Week 1
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Four biggest takeaways from Week 1 of the 2024 high school football season:
1ST DOWN
No. 1 on this list is a layup.
Muhlenberg sent shock waves across the Lancaster-Lebanon League Friday when it opened the season with a 29-20 upset of Schuylkill Valley, a senior-laden team with big ambitions.
Not many saw that coming.
It’s a great story because the Muhls have struggled in recent years and they turned to one of their own, Rob Flowers, to provide hope. The former Muhlenberg quarterback has breathed life into the stagnant program and created an energy not seen there in years.
The Muhls exploited the Panthers up front – and area of concern for Schuylkill Valley coach Bruce Harbach coming into the season – and beat them with their speed.
It helped that Mike Miller Jr. is healthy again; he ran for 136 yards and a TD. Two transfers, Fred Lacey and Cameron Small, made an immediate impact: Lacey returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD and Small rushed for 88 yards, caught a pass for 47 yards, and scored a late TD.
“We’ve got kids who can run,” said Flowers.
The story gets only better from here: Week 2 sees Muhlenberg heading to Reading High, Flowers’ first stop as a head coach.
This time next week the Muhls could be 2-0; that hasn’t happened in more than a decade.
2ND DOWN
Any question marks Wilson had about quarterback were erased Saturday when Madyx Gruber played effectively and efficiently in his first start there.
The converted wide receiver completed 15-of-21 passes for 172 yards and rushed for 52 yards.
Wilson coach Doug Dahms handed the ball to Gruber in part because he’s proven he can come through under those Friday night lights – in the fall and during basketball season – and he did not disappoint.
He delivered a 37-yard touchdown pass to Michael Glover on the final play of the first half – a play that turned out pivotal in the 28-20 win over Cheltenham.
The only question in West Lawn now is how much to use Gruber as a defensive back and kick returner in order to keep him fresh at quarterback.
3RD DOWN
Gov. Mifflin needed to get off to a good start and it did, dominating Pleasant Valley 35-0.
The Mustangs came into the season as a team on the fence; it’s season could go either way. Days before the season-opener they were rocked by the news that their new head coach, Nick Morrissey, wouldn’t be with them for the first two games (he was suspended days before the season-opener for a matter that should have been taken care of by school administration months ago).
The Mustangs were determined not to let that interrupt their focus: They were a physically superior team than the Bears and they took it to them with their big front line.
“(We weren’t) gonna (let that) stop us,” senior center Gavin Kelly said of the coaching situation. “It was not gonna distract from the game, we we’re still gonna do what we do.”
What the Mustangs do is block for fullback Grady Garner; if they keep doing that they’ll be a tough out the rest of the way.
4TH DOWN
Justice Hardy was the least concerned guy on the field Saturday when he got pinned behind the line of scrimmage with a couple of Southern Columbia defenders ready to pounce on him and turn the play into a big loss.
“We had him dead to rights,” Southern coach Jim Rother said of Wyomissing’s cool-thinking sophomore sprinter.
Hardy’s a little bit of a different cat; he wasn’t looking at those big guys in his face, he was looking downfield, setting up his next couple of moves. He knew he’d spin, cut, and fake out the first two guys and he did, setting up a brilliant 46-yard touchdown run that went a long way in Wyomissing’s 35-21 win.
“He plays at a different speed than anybody else,” said Spartans coach Bob Wolfrum.
Hardy rushed for 119 yards and four touchdowns even though he spent more time lined up as a split end than as a halfback.
The Spartans threw only three times because they had the game in hand early but Hardy will prove to be a dynamic weapon in the passing game, too. Not a lot of people have seen that yet, but they soon will.
