Game of the Week: Gov. Mifflin vs. Exeter, presented by Kevin Miller of Berkshire Investment Group
Governor Mifflin (2-1) vs. Exeter (3-0)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Don Thomas Stadium.
League records: Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 opener for both.
Series: Mustangs lead 21-9.
Last meeting: All-State tailback Jayden Zandier ran for 216 yards and scored on runs of 81 and 54 yards as Exeter won last season’s meeting 34-13 at Mifflin Stadium. Carter Redding also ran for a pair of scores as the Eagles dominated, pounding out 450 total yards. Exeter QB Riley Martinez completed 8-of-10 passes for 180 yards. Grady Garner scored both Mustangs TDs and rushed for 146 yards.
Mustangs update: Hung on for a 20-19 victory last week over Hempfield as Joe Murray blocked a short field goal attempt in the final minute. . . Murray also caught a 13-yard scoring pass. . . Patrick Steuer, Nick Kalis, and Lebron Leaf each rushed for over 70 yards as part of a 229-yard ground attack. . . Leaf ran for two TDs, opening the scoring with a 43-yard run. . . Steuer is averaging 7.6 yards per carry and leads the team in rushing. . . Leaf, a senior QB, leads team with four rushing TDs. . . DT Dylon Worley leads team with 17 tackles. . . LB Derek Dinatale has 13 tackles. . . Defense has allowed more yards per game (370) than any team in Section 2 and more than all but two teams in the entire 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League. . . Last win in the series came in 2021, 54-21.
Did you know? Exeter has won four in a row in the series for the first time since the teams first met in 1978. Gov. Mifflin was a member of the Lancaster-Lebanon League at the time and the two teams did not start playing on a regular basis until 2004 when the Mustangs joined the Berks Football League.
Eagles update: Playing without starting quarterback Riley Martinez, who suffered an undisclosed injury to his non-throwing shoulder on the first series of Week 2 win over Boyertown. . . He is out indefinitely according to head coach Matt Bauer; the injury has not been ruled season-ending, despite a report to the contrary. . . Jake Hafer, who started seven games in Martinez’s place last season, started last week at QB and will remain in that spot. . . Soph Stephon Fuller moves up to No. 2 on the QB depth chart. . . Martinez suffered a lower leg injury in Week 7 last season and didn’t start another game. . . Hafer led the Eagles to five wins and a spot in the District 3 Class 5A championship game. . . Leo Brown ranks sixth in the league in rushing with 382 yards after going for 140 yards and four TDs in last week’s win. . . LB Braylon Reinert leads team with 16 tackles. . . LB Aidan Dauble has 15 tackles. . . DT Joel Ummarino leads team with 3 ½ tackles for loss and 3 hurries. . . He has also forced two fumbles. . . Jake Franek is 16-for-16 on PATs. . . Have outscored opponents 134-17. . . Have led 64-0, 21-3, and 27-0 at halftime the past three weeks against Daniel Boone, Boyertown, and Pleasant Valley. . . Ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A.
Fast fact: This is the fourth straight year the Mustangs and Eagles are meeting in a league-opener, and the seventh time since 2005.
Series flashback — 2021: Seven weeks after getting mercy-ruled on its home field, Exeter pulls off one of the greatest upsets in Berks football history, beating Gov. Mifflin 31-28 in the District 3 Class 5A championship game at Mifflin Stadium. The Mustangs, unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in the state, were bidding for a second straight district title. Berks Player of the Year Nick Singleton was limited to a season-low 40 yards on eight carries.
Series flashback — 2015: Michal Menet blocked a punt and Exeter rallied from an early 14-point deficit to snap a nine-game losing streak in the series and win 35-21 at Don Thomas Stadium. The win propelled the Eagles to their only Berks League Section 1 title, ending the Mustangs’ five-year reign as champs.
Series flashback 2014: Jan Johnson ran for three first-half touchdowns as the Mustangs built a 28-6 lead en route to a 31-28 victory. Johnson finished with 168 rushing yards, 97 passing yards, kicked a career-best 40-yard field goal and blocked a PAT. The Eagles mounted a fierce comeback, scoring three fourth-quarter TDs, the last a 2-yard run by Chase Yocum that cut the lead to three with 8:08 left. They never got the ball back as the Mustangs ran out the clock.
Quotable: “The biggest problem with Mifflin is trying to get ready for that type of (option) offense and that level of physicality in (only) a week. For sure, it’s a challenge. Obviously the quarterback (Lebron Leaf) is very dynamic. He does a lot of nice things. He’s a difference-maker. If we’re not gap-sound he can take it the distance on any play.” – Exeter coach Matt Bauer
