GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Gov. Mifflin vs. Wilson
GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
Wilson (1-0) vs. Gov. Mifflin (1-0)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Mifflin Stadium.
Series: Bulldogs lead 37-26.
Last meeting: Nick Singleton’s flea flicker set up a first-minute TD and the Mustangs went on to a 48-7 victory last year, recording the most-lopsided win ever for Mifflin in a series that began in 1954.
It was the Mustangs’ first win at Gurski Stadium in 14 years and the worst regular season defeat for the Bulldogs since a 44-2 body slam by Reading High in 2003; it was the most points they had allowed in a regular season game since a 56-28 loss to Hempfield in 2005.
Singleton finished with 160 yards on 19 carries and scored on runs of 5, 2, 1 and 68 yards.
It was close for a while, the Bulldogs tying it 7-7 in the first quarter after Kaleb Brown hit Troy Corson for a 39-yard TD pass. They had a chance to go into the half down just a score after Mason Lenart’s kickoff return to the 17 and had a first down at the 3 with 13 seconds to go before being stuffed on two runs and an incompletion as time expired.
It was a costly game for the Bulldogs, who saw Brown and Lenart knocked out of the game with injuries; neither was able to play the following week at Manheim Township.
The Mustangs were able to hold aloft the Gurski-Linn Trophy for just the second time; it had remained in West Lawn seven of the previous eight years.
About the Bulldogs: Looked good in their opener against Central Dauphin, building a 20-point lead before giving up a pair of late TDs in 27-21 win. Cam Jones returned a punt 70 yards for a score, Jadyn Jones ran effectively, going for 110 yards and a TD, and the offensive line gave him and the other backs room to operate.
They rebounded from the season-opening loss to Mifflin last season by winning their final six games and collected their record 27th Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 1 title. They were left out of the truncated District 3 Tournament for the first time since 2015, and for the first time in Doug Dahm’s tenure as head coach.
They are replacing 14 all-league players but have been bolstered by the addition of Berks Catholic transfer Brad Hoffman at quarterback.
About the Mustangs: Picked up where they left off last season, devastating York High 55-6 in their season-opener. The showed why they’re ranked No. 2 in state in Class 5A.
Nick Singleton rushed for a career-high 281 yards and scored five TDs. He pushed his career total to 4,548 yards, 230 short of the Berks record which Iggy Reynoso set while playing with Wilson. His 77 career TDs are two short of Reynoso’s Berks record.
Eden Johnson, who battled Delsin McNeil throughout the offseason for the starting QB job, took the majority of snaps last week. He ran 10 times for 70 yards and scored a TD but did not throw a pass. McNeil attempted one pass and had no carries.
About the trophy: The Gurski/Linn Trophy was added for the 2012 game. It honors two men who shaped each school’s program.
John Gurski coached the Bulldogs from 1964-82 and transformed the program from an also-ran into the most powerful in Berks history. He left as the winningest coach in program history, with 151 victories in 19 seasons.
Ray Linn took the Mustangs to great heights during his first run with the program, from 1956-73; they were a dominant force in the Tri-County League throughout the 1960s. He returned to coach from 1985-87 and retired as the winningest coach in program history, with 124 victories in 21 seasons.
The trophy travels to the winning school and remains there until the next game, where it is displayed on the sideline.
It has spent considerable time in West Lawn; the Bulldogs have won seven of the nine trophy games, including the first five (playoff meetings do not count in the trophy series).
About the series: Games have gotten out of hand the last two seasons, and several times recently. Wilson won 61-14 at Mifflin in 2019 and 38-7 in both 2016 and 2013. Mifflin won 48-7 last year.
Two of the games have gone to overtime. Mifflin won 34-28 at home in 2011 and Wilson won 35-34 at home in 2014. In the latter game the Bulldogs trailed 28-13 with 10 minutes left before QB Jake Templin rallied them with four TD passes. Jake Gehman caught a TD pass, then ran for the two-point conversion to tie it with 15 seconds remaining in regulation. Jan Johnson ran for two TDs and threw two TDs in that one.
Fast fact: The Mustangs once had a 12-1 lead in the series.
Did you know? From 2006 to 2016 Wilson and Mifflin opened the season against each other. In recent years, after the PIAA added the “Zero Week” option, they met in Week 2.
Next year, when the Mustangs join the Lancaster-Lebanon League, they will meet the Bulldogs in Week 6 as a non-mandated, non-league crossover game. Mifflin will play in Section 2; Wilson will remain in Section 1.
GoBigRecruiting.com key to the game: Wilson defensive ends must effectively read the Mustangs’ option game, and Bulldogs must wrap up Nick Singleton and not allow breakaway runs.