Nick Singleton becomes Berks’ all-time rushing king as Mifflin crushes Cocalico
By Jason Guarente — MikeDragoSports.com senior correspondent
DENVER — Even the guys who open the holes that Nick Singleton turns into touchdowns sometimes catch themselves watching and marveling.
How could they not? Every run has a chance to go the distance. Every week seems to bring another milestone.
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime season for Gov. Mifflin’s football team and all-world running back.
“Honestly,” guard Jose Landrom said, “it’s crazy to see his ability to run the ball and just keep on going. Making that possible for him makes it all worth it in the end.”
Singleton broke another record and added to one he already owned Friday. The 6-foot, 218-pound senior became Berks’ career leader in rushing yards while helping Mifflin defeat Cocalico 56-0 at Eagle Stadium.
With a 39-yard TD sprint in the second quarter, Singleton passed Wilson’s Iggy Reynoso for No. 1 on the all-time list. He carried 10 times for 153 yards and raised the new mark to 4,844. It’ll keep climbing.
“Obviously it’s my line doing their job,” Singleton said. “My receivers doing their job. The coaches making the right calls. I can’t do it without them.”
Singleton entered the night needing 87 yards to surpass Reynoso and it only took him six carries to get there. Five of his 11 touches resulted in touchdowns.
One week after setting the county touchdown record at 80, Singleton pushed it to 85.
“I’m definitely going to tell people I played with the best running back in the nation,” Landrom said. “It’s just insane to be part of this. It’s very humbling, for sure.”
Mifflin (3-0), the No. 2-ranked team in Class 6A, opened with victories over York High and Wilson by a combined 77 points. The Mustangs entered this matchup with a little extra incentive.
Cocalico has handed them some of their most crushing defeats in recent years. The Eagles beat the District 3 runner-up team by 21 points in 2017. They beat the 2019 team twice, including a 28-point drubbing in the playoffs.
The sophomores from that year are seniors now. They remembered. The coaches wouldn’t let them forget.
“It came up all week,” Lang said. “ We can’t come here again and lay an egg.”
Cocalico turned the ball over on its first two possessions and Mifflin racked up four touchdowns in the opening 15 minutes. All four came on runs by Singleton.
Hanging with the Mustangs was going to be a huge challenge for Cocalico under normal circumstances. It became impossible when the main contributors to the Eagles’ dangerous veer attack disappeared. Wing Steven Flinton was injured last week. Top rusher Anthony Bourassa got hurt on his second carry Friday and didn’t return.
If Cocalico (1-2) was going to keep it close it needed some of those long, punishing drives that are the Eagles’ trademark. Those never came.
Ayden Martin raced for a 39-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Chase Rapp added scoring runs of 63 and 35 yards in the fourth. Mifflin invoked the mercy rule against an opponent that has caused it so much grief.
Singleton’s record-breaking run was like many others in his career. One move and he was off to the races.
“Once I cut it up, I saw this green light and I ran to the end zone,” he said.
After Lang congratulated his team during the postgame huddle, he held up a game ball that was about to be added to Singleton’s vast collection.
“We’re running out of footballs,” Lang said. “Are there any more records?”
Singleton owns the big ones. The question now is how high he’ll set them.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Gov. Mifflin | 14 | 21 | 7 | 14 | 56 |
| Cocalico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 42 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 14 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 39 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 24 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Singleton | 14 pass | D. McNeil | Schools kick | |
| Gov. Mifflin | Martin | 39 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Rapp | 63 run | Schools kick | ||
| Gov. Mifflin | Rapp | 35 run | Schools kick | ||
Team statistics
| Gov. Mifflin | Cocalico | |
| First downs | 20 | 6 |
| Rushes-yards | 42-494 | 40-78 |
| Passing yards | 28 | 24 |
| Total yards | 522 | 102 |
| Passes | 2-3-0 | 2-6-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 5-27.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-55 | 6-40 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Gov. Mifflin: Singleton 10-153, Rapp 2-98, Johnson 7-62, Rock 9-54, Martin 2-45, D. McNeil 3-25, Morris 2-24, Wunderlich 2-14, Pagan 1-8, Jones 2-7, Harter 1-6, Team 1-(-2).
Cocalico: Weaver 14-39, B. Flinton 2-27, Steffey 5-13, Bourassa 2-7, Longenecker 1-2, Angstadt 1-1, Eppinette 9-0, Myer 3-(-1), Nash 1-(-2), Taddei 2-(-8).
PASSING
Gov. Mifflin: Johnson 1-2-0–14; D. McNeil 1-1–14.
Cocalico: Taddei 1-4-1–9; Myer 1-2-0–15.
RECEIVING
Gov. Mifflin: Singleton 1-14, A. McNeil 1-14.
Cocalico: Longenecker 2-24.
INTERCEPTIONS
Gov. Mifflin: Martin.
