Mustangs hoping their season isn’t over after gutsy win over Warriors
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matt Hagy — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Gov. Mifflin took controlled what it could Friday night, forcing three turnovers — including a key late interception by Reese Hohl — and dominating time of possession in topping Warwick 19-14 in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2 finale Friday night at Shillington.
The Mustangs (3-3, 5-5) couldn’t stop wins by Greencastle-Antrim or Dover over West York, which will likely keep them out of the District 3 5A playoffs. They should end up with an Eastern Conference berth.
“Our kids really dug deep tonight and pulled their weight to get the win,” Mustangs coach Jeff Lang said. “We were missing our starting center and running back but I am proud of how they handled adversity to take care of business.”
The two injured players Lang was referring to was center Gavin Kelly and running back Grady Garner. Garner suited up but saw extremely limited action; he had just one carry for minus-1 yard.
Despite the injuries, Gov. Mifflin went to the ground game early and often to set the tone by controlling possession time. The Mustangs did not score on their first drive but used excellent field position from a short Warrior punt to their advantage.
Hohl ran untouched into the end zone on the right side from 12 yards out to make it 6-0 with 13 seconds left in the first quarter.
Lamarion Northan intercepted Warwick quarterback Trevor Evans on the Warriors’ first play on the ensuing drive and ran it back for a touchdown but an illegal blindside block penalty on the return wiped out the score.
Despite the touchdown being taken off the board the Mustangs drove 35 yards to make it 12-0 after quarterback Javien Pletz punched it in from 1 yard out.
Gov. Mifflin did not add to its lead in the remainder of the first half but kept the Warriors at bay with their consistent rushing attack and forcing turnovers. Elias Acevedo Torres intercepted Evans early in the second quarter for the second Warriors turnover of the half.
“Controlling the clock is what our offense is about,” Lang said. “We try to build this team off controlling the ball, control possession, control first downs, and score to win.”
Warwick (2-4, 3-7) shrugged off its offensive struggles on the opening drive of the second half as it needed just five plays to score to make it 12-7 with 10:26 left in the third quarter. The Warriors ran a double-reverse flea-flicker that went for 39 yards to open the half and capped the quick march with an 8-yard TD run from Keldyn Loraw.
The Mustangs responded with a decisive 17-play, 69-yard drive that took 10:04 off the clock and ended with Pletz sneaking it into the end zone from 1 yard out on fourth-and-goal to put Gov. Mifflin up 19-7.
Pletz converted two long-down situations with his arm, the first being a 29-yard completion to Nolan Morris on a third-and-12 that put the Mustangs in Warwick territory. He then hit tight end Derek Dinatale for 13 to the Warriors 3 yard line on fourth and 6.
“Javien came up big for us tonight,” Lang said. “He has had his struggles this season, but he has all the confidence in the world and stepped up to make some huge plays.”
Gov. Mifflin stopped the Warriors on downs just inside their own territory in the early minutes of the fourth quarter and was seeking to once again take off clock to lock up the win. However, an interception from Pletz plus a personal foul penalty on the return midway through the fourth quarter gave the Warriors some life as they cut the Mustang lead to 19-14 with 7:07 left in regulation.
Loraw added his second touchdown of the game on that drive and finished with 109 yards on 21 carries primarily running out of a wildcat formation.
The Mustang defense needed to stand tall one last time and they came through when Hohl intercepted Evans off a deflection at the Mustangs’ 30 to seal the victory with just over a minute left in regulation.
“It was just a great team win for us tonight,” Hohl said. “We came out motivated to make a statement early and we did. I am proud how my teammates stepped up tonight.”
Hohl totaled 83 of the Mustangs 149 rushing yards.
“Reese has really come into his own this season,” Lang said. “He got a lot stronger and quicker in the offseason. He is just a great athlete.”
The Mustangs are hoping their season isn’t over.
“We would be thankful to play next week no matter who the opponent is and what the stakes are,” Lang said. “This has been a fun group to coach this year from the winter into the summer and they have worked their tails off. They have faced adversity but fought through that and picked it up for us.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Warwick | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 6 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 19 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Gov. Mifflin | Hohl, 12 run, (kick failed) | 0:13 |
| 2 | Gov. Mifflin | Pletz, 1 run (pass failed) | 8:04 |
| 3 | Warwick | Loraw, 8 run (Schoffstall kick) | 10:26 |
| 4 | Gov. Mifflin | Pletz, 1 run (Koenig kick) | 0:15 |
| 4 | Warwick | Loraw, 4 run (Schoffstall kick) | 7:10 |
Team statistics
| Warwick | Gov. Mifflin | |
| First downs | 13 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 25-124 | 50-149 |
| Passing yards | 71 | 61 |
| Total yards | 195 | 210 |
| Passes | 4-9-3 | 4-10-2 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-32.0 | 3-34.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-58 | 10-88 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Warwick: Loraw 21-109, Care 2-22, Evans 2-(-7).
Gov. Mifflin: Hohl 12-83, Jones 13-54, Alvarez 4-19, Pletz 19-1, Garner 1-(-1), Leaf 1-(-7).
PASSING
Warwick: Evans 2-7-3– 63, Loraw 2-2-0–8.
Gov. Mifflin: Pletz 4-10-2–61.
RECEIVING
Warwick: Jeanes 2-8, Willard 1-39, Care 1-24.
Gov. Mifflin: Huber 2-19, Morris 1-29, Dinatale 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
Warwick: Evans, Koons.
Gov. Mifflin: Hohl, Northan, Torres.
