Mustangs hope they’ve reached end of a rough road after loss to Buckskins
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
Following a 2-1 start to the season, Gov. Mifflin had to run the gauntlet.
First up was undefeated Exeter, followed by upstart Muhlenberg and archrival Wilson.
The Mustangs absorbed the final blow in that tough stretch with a 51-21 loss to undefeated Conestoga Valley Friday night in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 matchup in Shillington.
| Final | |
| Conestoga | 51 |
| Mifflin | 21 |
“Our coaching staff and our kids have fought all year long,” Gov. Mifflin head coach Nick Morrissey said. “Almost every team we’re playing has one loss or is undefeated.”
After recovering back-to-back onside kicks following 1- and 33-yard touchdown runs by quarterback Lebron Leaf, the Mustangs had possession in the Buckskins’ territory only trailing 35-21 early in the fourth quarter.
They ended up turning the ball over on downs but forced Conestoga Valley’s first punt of the game on its next possession. Mifflin had another chance, even if it was pinned inside its own 10 with 9:29 left in the game.
Leaf gained 2 yards before coming out for a play after being shaken up. Enter 5-9 freshman quarterback Jack Miller, who is listed as five inches shorter than the 6-2 Leaf. The ensuing snap went sailing over Miller’s head with the freshman smartly diving on the ball in the end zone for a safety.
The brief surge of momentum was gone and the Buckskins (3-0, 7-0) pulled away with two touchdowns in the fourth. That’s just how Mifflin’s season has gone.
“I’m proud the kids are sticking together,” Morrissey said. “They’re coachable. We’re just playing against some really tough teams week in and week out. So it’s been a battle.”
The goal for the Mustangs (0-3, 2-5) remains making the playoffs, but they have their work cut out for them. They finish the season against Lebanon, Elizabethtown, and Ephrata.
“That’s the goal now, make the district playoffs,” Morrissey said. “We have three games left. I think they’re three winnable games if we come out and play like we’re capable of. We just have to take it one game at a time.”
Conestoga Valley senior quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade was the star against a Mifflin defense that entered the game allowing 372 yards per game, the most in the L-L.
Esbenshade passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns to keep the Buckskins in a first-place tie with Exeter in Section 2. After the first quarter, he had three TD passes and 156 yards with a 21-yard TD strike to Cordell Bair, a 16-yarder to Josiah Garcia, and a 64-yarder to Konner Fisher.
“He can throw it all over the field,” Morrissey said of Esbenshade. But the bottom line is we knew it was going to be near impossible to stop them. We were going to have to, at best, slow them down. They’re well coached, great athletes, and then a kid who can throw it from hash to hash.”
Leaf scored the first of his three rushing touchdowns from 14 yards out in the first quarter.
| SECTION 2 | League | Overall |
| Exeter | 4-0 | 7-0 |
| Con. Valley | 3-0 | 7-0 |
| Muhlenberg | 3-1 | 6-1 |
| Ephrata | 1-2 | 4-3 |
| E-town | 1-2 | 4-3 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 0-3 | 2-5 |
| Lebanon | 0-4 | 0-7 |
Conestoga Valley scored the only points of the second quarter on Esbenshade’s 4-yard strike to Garcia with 1:27 left before halftime.
Mifflin started the second half with a solid kickoff return to midfield before losing a fumble. Conestoga Valley capitalized with Teagan Ruble’s 1-yard plunge at the 9:39 mark.
Leaf finished a 65-yard drive for the Mustangs with a 1-yard TD sneak with 3:38 left. Then Mifflin recovered the first onside kick at Conestoga Valley’s 37-yard line.
Five plays later, Leaf went for the 33-yard TD to cut the lead to 14 before the Buckskins pulled away with the safety and 2- and 25-yard touchdown runs by Garcia in the fourth.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Conestoga Valley | 21 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 51 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 7 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Bair, 21 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 9:03 |
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 16 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 4:52 |
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Leaf, 14 run (Koenig kick) | 1:11 |
| 1 | Conestoga Valley | Fisher, 64 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 0:52 |
| 2 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 4 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 1:27 |
| 3 | Conestoga Valley | Ruble, 1 run (Erb kick) | 9:39 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Leaf, 1 run (Koenig kick) | 3:38 |
| 3 | Gov. Mifflin | Leaf, 33 run (Koenig kick) | 1:12 |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Safety, Miller tackled in end zone | 8:34 |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 2 run (Erb kick) | 5:15 |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 25 run (Erb kick) | 1:33 |
Team statistics
| CONESTOGA | MIFFLIN | |
| First downs | 20 | 14 |
| Rushes-yards | 23-126 | 37-135 |
| Passing yards | 318 | 69 |
| Total yards | 444 | 204 |
| Passes | 20-24-0 | 9-17-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-31 | 2-31.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-65 | 5-50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Conestoga Valley: Ruble 14-64, Garcia 3-28, Conaway 1-25, Justiniano 2-9, Esbenshade 3-0.
Governor Mifflin: Leaf 21-97, Steuer 11-42, Kalis 1-8, Kreider 2-3, Team 2-(-15).
PASSING
Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 20-24-0–318.
Governor Mifflin: Leaf 9-17-1–69.
RECEIVING
Conestoga Valley: Garcia 5-55, Fisher 4-101, Co. Bair 4-64, Justiniano 4-52, Conaway 2-26, Ruble 1-20.
Governor Mifflin: Murray 4-34, Campitelli 2-20, Dinatale 2-16, Steuer 1-(-1).
INTERCEPTIONS
Conestoga Valley: Garcia.
