Muhls’ Adriel Baez: Wyomissing Physical Therapy Player of the Week

By Mike Drago Last updated Sep 9, 2025

Rob Flowers has seen a lot of good things from his young quarterback this season but a play Adriel Baez made in Muhlenberg’s latest win brought a true sense of satisfaction to the Muhls head coach.

Baez, a sophomore and second-year starter, looped pass over a defender’s head to find tight end Christian Coley for a touchdown early in a 51-0 win at Daniel Boone.

It’s a throw, Flowers said, Baez could not make last season. He threw only fastballs as a freshman. Everything was hard, no matter where his receiver was or where defenders were stationed.

“He showed great touch (with that pass),” Flowers said. “Without his work this offseason that ball is not possible.”

Baez made a lot of good decisions against Boone, throwing for 225 yards and three touchdowns to earn Wyomissing Physical Therapy Player of the Week honors for the first time. He completed 9-of-10 passes without an interception.

That kind of accuracy wasn’t part of his game a year ago but Baez put in extra work during the offseason to improve his timing and ball placement; the results are evident in the Muhls’ 3-0 start and in his statistics.

He’s completing 60 percent of his passes and ranks fourth in the Lancaster-Lebanon League in passing efficiency. He’s tied for third in the league with six touchdown passes and is second in passing yards at 625.

Against Boone he threw as many touchdowns as he did all of last season, when he started nine games. Two games into this season he had already topped last year’s passing numbers.

“He’s put a lot of work into the passing game,” said Flowers, a former Muhlenberg quarterback. “He used to throw a very heavy ball, with no touch. He’s really worked on the touch of the ball, the timing, the placing of it. (Last year) everything was thrown a thousand miles per hour; no touch.”

Baez was forced into the lineup last season when Coley, the starter at quarterback, was injured during a Week 2 loss to Reading High. Baez’s quarterbacking skills were limited but he showed enough athleticism and poise to remain in the lineup the rest of the season.

“He was so nervous (that first game),” Flowers said. “He said it felt like Madden (Football) when the stadium is shaking and everything is moving fast. Since then the game has slowed down for him.”

Flowers made it Priority No. 1 during the offseason to improve the passing game. Baez made that evident in a season-opening win at Schuylkill Valley when he threw for a career-high 233 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The highlight was a 73-yard bomb to Michael Miller Jr.

“You can’t throw it much better,” Flowers said, “you can’t run (your route) much better. They’ve been getting in work all summer, and they ran it the correct way, and it was so beautiful to see.”

The 5-10, 170-pound Baez is an all-around athlete and an exceptional student. He’s a pole vaulter in the spring. As an eighth-grader he set a Muhlenberg junior high record by completing 80 push-ups in one minute.

Baez carries a 4.0 GPA. Flowers says that knack for the classroom carries over to the field.

“He’s got the juice,” he said. “He’s able to make checks, understand schemes; he’s able to communicate what he’s seeing to the coaches.”

Players considered for Player of the Week honors are nominated by their coaches or by members of the MikeDragoSports.com coverage team.

This is the fifth consecutive season that Wyomissing Physical Therapy has sponsored a Player of the Week award.

Christian Coley gets in on the scoring in Week 3 for @MuhlenbergFball on The Muhl Sports Network!!@MuhlsAthletics @RobFlowers5 @adrielbaez04 @Camsmall28 #HighSchoolFootball #FridayNightHIGHlights #PAFootball #Muhlenberg pic.twitter.com/s7oTQ9dIpY
— Jerry Geleff Media (@JGMediaUS) September 7, 2025