In the end, Mustangs can’t find defensive stops, see season end
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Cumberland Valley 44, Gov. Mifflin 12
By Mick Reinhard — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
MECHANICSBURG — Things couldn’t have started any better for Gov. Mifflin in its District 3 Class 6A first-round matchup at Cumberland Valley Friday evening.
Showcasing its ground-and-pound offense, The Mustangs marched down the field in its opening possession, burning nearly 10 minutes off the clock.
Workhorse Grady Garner rushed 13 times for 70 yards, converting two fourth-and-short carries to keep the chains moving. Quarterback Javien Pletz capped the drive, punching it in from 1-yard out to give the Mustangs an early lead.
Ninth-seeded Gov. Mifflin couldn’t sustain that momentum as it was all Cumberland Valley after that, as the eighth-seeded Eagles scoring on their first seven possessions to soar past the Mustangs 44-12.
Cumberland Valley (6-5) attacked the Mustangs’ porous pass defense as freshman quarterback Colton Stamy responded to the opening touchdown through the air with pass after pass.
Mifflin (5-6) appeared to force the Eagles to a fourth down when an attempt fell incomplete, but a poorly timed roughing the passer penalty extended the drive. Stamy evened the score, linking with Brody Pines, who galloped in from 24 yards. Andrew Rice’s PAT put the Eagles up 7-6.
Cumberland Valley mixed it up in its next two possessions but the result was the same. The Eagles scored on an Erik Barbacci 9-yard run and another Stamy to Pines touchdown to go into halftime ahead 21-6.
“We had trouble stopping them tonight,” Mifflin head coach Nick Morrissey said. “They have great athletes all over the place, and their coaching staff did a great job getting us out of our rhythm because of how fast they were able to score. We had to stick to and commit to what we were doing. Some nights it’s going to work out, and some nights it’s not.”
The break did little to slow down the Eagles, who drove for their fourth straight touchdown after receiving the kickoff to start the second half. This one was a floater from Stamy’s arm that Elijah Sherman was able to run under and secure.
Governor Mifflin surrendered more passing yards this season than anyone in the 37-team Lancaster-Lebanon League, and Cumberland Valley took advantage. Stamy, under center for only his second start, completed 16-of-25 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns as he spread the ball around to six different receivers.
“When we decided to go with Colton, we felt like it was time,” Cumberland Valley head coach Josh Oswalt said. “It has a lot to do with the leadership around him. Not just at the coaching level, but also the player level.”
Mifflin’s run-heavy offense struggles to play from behind but the Mustangs kept plugging away on the ground behind Garner. The senior fullback gained 32 yards rushing and another 23 on a pass reception to march down the field. Pletz, once again, barreled in from the 1-yard line to cut into the Cumberland Valley lead, but the deficit was too much, and there was too little time remaining.
During the drive, Garner went over 104 yards rushing in the game, becoming only the sixth player in program history to top 1,400 yards in a season. The senior finished with 157 yards on 31 carries.
“Grady’s such a tough kid,” Morrissey said. “He’s a Mifflin kid through and through. We’re just so proud of him and his effort.”
Cumberland Valley added a field goal and two more touchdowns in the fourth quarter to finalize the scoring and advance to the quarterfinals next Friday against No. 1 Manheim Township at Kruis Stadium.
Morrissey’s favorite television show is “The Sopranos,” and a quote from an episode in the second season rang true to the first-year head coach as he led the Mustangs back to the district playoffs after two disappointing campaigns.
“You steer the ship the best way you know,” he said. “Sometimes it’s smooth. Sometimes, you hit the rocks. In the meantime, you find your pleasures where you can.”
For Morrissey, those pleasures have been all about the relationships he has forged with his team in his first season at the helm.
“First and foremost, it came from this senior class that they believed in me through thick and thin,” he said. “We had some rocky situations at the beginning of the year, and they could have fallen apart or questioned things. But those kids standing by me and always being loyal to me, it’s something I’ll never forget. And it’s something we can definitely build upon.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 12 |
| Cumberland Valley | 7 | 14 | 7 | 16 | 44 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Pletz, 1 run (kick failed) | 2:34 |
| 1 | Cumberland Valley | Pines, 24 pass from Stamy (Rice kick) | 0:07 |
| 2 | Cumberland Valley | Barbacci, 9 run (Rice kick) | 5:14 |
| 2 | Cumberland Valley | Pine, 13 pass from Stamy (Rice kick) | 1:06 |
| 3 | Cumberland Valley | Sherman, 24 pass from Stamy (Rice kick) | 8:01 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Pletz, 1 run (run failed) | 2:05 |
| 4 | Cumberland Valley | Rice, 30 FG | 11:55 |
| 4 | Cumberland Valley | Sherman, 59 pass from Stamy (kick failed) | 9:35 |
| 4 | Cumberland Valley | Barbacci, 18 run (Rice kick) | 4:27 |
Team statistics
| Gov. Mifflin | Cumberland Valley | |
| First downs | 15 | 23 |
| Rushes-yards | 52-229 | 19-163 |
| Passing yards | 52 | 234 |
| Total yards | 281 | 397 |
| Passes | 3-8-1 | 16-25-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-26.0 | 0-0.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-75 | 9-90 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Gov. Mifflin: Garner 31-157, Pletz 14-48, Leaf 5-17, Miranda 1-5, Steuer 1-2.
Cumberland Valley: Barbacci 15-172, Stamy 1-6, Shepley 3-(-15).
PASSING
Gov. Mifflin: Pletz 3-8-1–52.
Cumberland Valley: Stamy 16-25-0–234.
RECEIVING
Gov. Mifflin: Garner 1-23, Leaf 1-18, Murray 1-11.
Cumberland Valley: Pines 6-78, Sherman 5-114, Smith 2-38, Green 1-7, Senos 1-0, Barbacci 1-(-3).
INTERCEPTIONS
Cumberland Valley: Rose.
