Mustangs ring up another big win; Nick Singleton has another big night
GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
You couldn’t tell by the final score, or by the start of the game, which saw Gov. Mifflin score the first 30 points, but for a change the Mustangs got tested Friday. A little.
They were never threatened by Exeter in their 54-21 Berks Football League Section 1 victory at Don Thomas Stadium, not for a moment, but they never completely put the Eagles away, either.
For the first time the Mustangs (1-0, 6-0) had to play an entire 48-minute game. No running clock, which seemed automatic the first five weeks of the season.
“Exeter’s obviously a great team,” said the always-respectful Nick Singleton after another four-touchdown performance that saw him run for 246 yards in the GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week. “They came up to hit. We went up by a lot in the first half but they never quit. They kept putting points on the board. We knew it would be a good game.”
The Eagles (1-1, 4-3) were overwhelmed by Mifflin’s array of weapons.
Tyler Minick took the opening kickoff back 75 yards for a touchdown.
Quarterback Eden Johnson turned a fourth-and-2 into an 11-yard TD run of Mifflin’s first offensive possession.
Singleton took a toss around left end and raced 64 yards for a score on the next possession.
It was 30-0 after defensive end Nate Goodman blocked a punt back through the end zone and Singleton struck from the 43.
“Our offense is just unstoppable,” offered fullback Trey Rock, who scored the last of Mifflin’s seven TDs. “We have so many weapons.”
The Eagles, to their credit, continued to fight on. They moved the ball a little better in the second half, punched in a couple touchdowns and gained a measure of respect from the top-ranked Class 5A team in the state.
“Exeter’s a really tough football team,” said Mifflin coach Jeff Lang. “Every year its that same way. We’ve been in games where we’re way ahead at half, and they come out in the second half. They just come back. They’re a strong, physical football team that never gives up. That’s what you’re always gonna get playing an Exeter football team.”
The Mustangs surrendered a season-high 319 total yards, and it would’ve been a lot more had Goodman and Rock not stormed the pocket all night, making life tough for Exeter quarterback Colin Payne.
Payne was sacked four times, chased out of the pocket several times and was hit while throwing half-a-dozen times. He paid the price for his 166 passing yards.
“That’s what we needed to do,” said Lang, “because if we didn’t get pressure on him, they’re gonna pick you apart.”
“We wanted to get pressure all game, make sure he didn’t get comfortable in the pocket,” said Goodman, who had 2 1/2 sacks and forced a Payne fumble with one of his hits.
Defensive back Ayden Martin, who’s drawing Division I offers, spent much of the night draped all over Exeter wide receiver Joey Schlaffer, a 6-7 junior who’s got nearly a dozen big-time offers. Schlaffer managed to pull in five passes for 117 yards, the last couple helping set up the Eagles’ final score.
“The quarterback put the ball on the dime,” Lang said. “I mean, he’s throwing bullets in there. We had (Schlaffer) covered well, and he did a good job throwing the ball, and their receivers did a good job catching the ball.”
Despite the big numbers Singleton didn’t have an easy night. Linebacker Ty Yocum and the Exeter defense made sure of that. He was stopped for no gain four times and for 3 yards or less on half his 18 carries.
Go Big Recruiting.com is a user-friendly website that allows
athletes to submit their profile information along with
their videos to colleges and universities
Of course, when he did break contain it was a different story. The Penn State recruit is up to full speed by his second big stride and at that point its unlikely he’s going to get taken down. He scored on runs of 64, 43, 8, and 28 yards, and also had runs of 38 and 28 yards.
“The corner had him dead to rights (on the first long TD run) and he just out-ran him,” Lang said. “That’s just the kind of thing that kid does for you. Most other running backs, they get pushed out of bounds (on that play); Nick just ran by him.”
“You stop him one, two, three plays, then boom!” Rock said. “He has that explosive hit, and he’s gone. It can destroy a team. It can have them all hanging their heads.”
The Mustangs went into halftime leading 33-7 after Jackson School’s 28-yard field and pushed the lead to 40-7 on Singleton’s 97th career touchdown, and third of the night, less than 90 seconds into the third quarter.
Exeter’s a good football team. It scored a big win over Wilson earlier this year and is a strong bet to make the District 3 Class 5A Tournament. It may not lose another game in the regular season.
Mifflin, however, is on a different level. It’s so strong it makes even very good teams look pedestrian.
“They’re a very good team,” said Rock of the Eagles. “They stayed in it the whole way. We’re a good football team (too); we just keep battling to the end.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 21 | 12 | 7 | 14 | 54 |
| Exeter w | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Gov. Mifflin | Minick | 75 kickoff return | Schools | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Johnson | 11 run | Schools | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 64 run | Schools | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Safety | Punt blocked out of end zone | |||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 43 run | Schools | Kick | |
| Exeter | Yocum | 1 run | Moser | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Schools | 28 FG | |||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 8 run | Schools | Kick | |
| Exeter | Yocum | 2 run | Moser | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 28 run | Schools | Kick | |
| Exeter | Nangle | 5 run | Moser | Kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Rock | 6 run | Schools | Kick | |
Team statistics
| Gov. Mifflin | Exeter | |
| First downs | 15 | 12 |
| Rushes-yards | 44-383 | 35-153 |
| Passing yards | 20 | 166 |
| Total yards | 403 | 319 |
| Passes | 1-4-0 | 9-21-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 1-32.0 | 5-19.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-45 | 8-61 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Gov. Mifflin: Singleton 18-246, Rock 10-56, Johnson 7-16, McNeil 3-13, Jones 1-10, Gallen 2-18.
Exeter: Nangle 19-102, Woody 5-26, Robinson 2-19, Yocum 4-7, Payne 5-(-1).
PASSING
Gov. Mifflin: Johnson 0-2-0–0, McNeil 1-2-0–20.
Exeter: Payne 9-21-0–166.
RECEIVING
Gov. Mifflin: Singleton 1-20.
Exeter: Schlaffer 5-117, Yocum 2-43, Hollis 1-9, Strauss 1-(-3).