Elizabethtown keeps playoff hopes alive; dashes Mifflin’s
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Dave Byrne — LNP/Lancasteronline
ELIZABETHTOWN — Week 9 of the high school football regular season is a time when the die has been cast for most teams. If you’re on the bubble, your bubble is about to burst.
| Final | |
| Elizabethtown | 34 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 16 |
Elizabethtown burst Gov. Mifflin’s bubble Friday night at the Bears Thompson Field with a 34-16 victory in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 game.
The Mustangs (1-4, 3-6) came in 12th in the District 3 Class 6A power ratings; 10 teams make the playoff field.
While the Mustangs’ slim hopes faded, the Bears (2-3, 5-4) kept their Class 5A playoff hopes alive. Coming into Friday night, E-town was 18th in a 12-team field, but will move up after a turmoil-filled evening of football across the district.
Senior quarterback Trent Kauffman had a career night, completing 23-of-32 passes for 257 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for a 4-yard score.
“I want to give it out to my receivers,” he said. “They did an awesome job. They did everything perfect.”
Kauffman and the Bears came out throwing, with a 27-yard completion to Prince Wratto on the first snap of the game. They never let up.
| SECTION 2 | League | Overall |
| Con. Valley | 5-0 | 9-0 |
| Exeter | 4-1 | 7-2 |
| Muhlenberg | 4-1 | 8-1 |
| Ephrata | 2-3 | 5-4 |
| E-town | 2-3 | 5-4 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 1-4 | 3-6 |
| Lebanon | 0-6 | 0-9 |
“It was a great night for everybody,” Kauffman said.
“It was important we did a nice job for our seniors,” Elizabethtown coach Tom Gallagher said. “There are some things we have to clean up, and we have to capitalize on opportunities as they arise. But we did well enough tonight to give us the victory.”
Turning point
On Mifflin’s first possession of the second half, with the Bears holding a 20-13 lead, E-town held on fourth-and-goal at the 8. Mifflin kicked a 25-yard field goal to cut it to 20-16 but it could’ve been worse.
It definitely got worse for the Mustangs on E-town’s first snap as Wratto burst through the A-gap and dashed 65 yards for a back-breaking touchdown.
“The H-(back) came across on the snap and I just went straight through the middle,” said Wratto, who finished with 99 yards rushing and two touchdowns on 14 carries, and five receptions for another 44 yards. “I got great blocking too. After I got past the free safety, I knew.”
Key statistics
The Bears had 427 total yards. In addition to Wratto’s scores and Kauffman’s run, they got TDs on an 8-yard catch by Carter Burgos and a 12-yard grab by Brody Yohn.
Mifflin totaled 304 yards, 230 on the ground. Junior Patrick Steuer kept the Mustangs in the game with 149 yards and a score on 27 bruising carries. Starting quarterback Lebron Leaf broke free down the right sideline for an 81-yard TD in the first half, but left the game shortly after with an injury.
Up next
Elizabethtown takes its playoff hopes on the road to Exeter next Friday. Mifflin closes out the season hosting Ephrata.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 0 | 13 | 3 | 0 | 16 |
| Elizabethtown | 7 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 34 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Elizabethtown | Kauffman, 4 run (N’Dikwe kick) | |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Steuer, 35 run (kick failed) | |
| 2 | Elizabethtown | Burgos, 8 pass from Kauffman (kick failed) | |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Leaf, 81 run (Koenig kick) | |
| 2 | Elizabethtown | Yohn, 12 pass from Kauffman (N’Dikwe kick) | |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Koenig, 25 FG | |
| 3 | Elizabethtown | Wratto, 65 run (N’Dikwe kick) | |
| 4 | Elizabethtown | Wratto, 3 run (N’Dikwe kick) |
Team statistics
| MIFFLIN | ELIZABETHTOWN | |
| First downs | 13 | 18 |
| Rushes-yards | 35-230 | 25-170 |
| Passing yards | 74 | 257 |
| Total yards | 304 | 427 |
| Passes | 7-17 | 23-32 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 3-38.7 | 2-38.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-35 | 4-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Governor Mifflin: Steuer 27-149, Leaf 3-88, Krieger 1-(-2), Miller 4-(-9).
Elizabethtown: Wratto 14-99, Kauffman 9-49, Burgos 1-19, Shank 1-3.
PASSING
Governor Mifflin: Leaf 1-7-0–11, Miller 6-10-0–74.
Elizabethtown: Kauffman 23-32-0–257.
RECEIVING
Governor Mifflin: Murray 3-37, Campitelli 1-23, DiNatale 1-15, Overley 1-2, Kalis 1-(-1).
Elizabethtown: Capello 8-116, Wratto 5-44, Beck 4-51, Yohn 3-24, Shank 1-12, Burgos 1-8, Kauffman 1-2.
