Season Preview: Gov. Mifflin Mustangs
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Classification: Class 5A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 2-4 league, 3-7 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2021.
Head coach: Jeff Lang, sixth season, 46-20.
Key losses: All-League DE Mykell Ford (transferred to Roman Catholic), all-league C Damien O’Brien, QB Delsin McNeil, HB Ayden Martin, WR Gerrell McNeil, G Clayton Reynolds, T Aden Krause, all-league PK Jackson Schools.
Top offensive players: QB Javien Pletz, QB Bryce Wunderlich, all-league second-team FB Brandon Jones, FB Grady Garner, HB Travis Jenkins, HB Reese Hohl, SB Chase Huber, SB Dan Bonfadini, RB/WR Lebron Leaf, TE Derek Dinatale, WR Nolan Morris, all-league second-team T Gavin Kelly (moving to C), G Presley Rinker, G Dylon Worley, T Kabine Toure, T Stewie Janowski.
Top defensive players: E Kabine Toure, E Stewie Janowski, T Gavin Kelly, T Presley Rinker, ILB Brandon Jones, ILB Aidyn Cannon, LB Javien Sanchez, all-league second-team DB Jason Howland (moving to LB), LB Dan Bonfadini, LB Chase Huber, S Travis Jenkins, S Reese Hohl, CB Chase Rapp, CB Javien Pletz, CB Antonio Alvarez.
Did you know? This is Gov. Mifflin’s 70th season of football. Mifflin, formed by the jointure of Shillington and Mohnton high schools, played its first game in 1954 and finished 1-8. By their third season, and first under Ray Linn, the Mustangs had a winning record. In Linn’s fourth season the Mustangs won their first of seven Tri-County League championships. They have won 14 league or section titles since, including one in Section 1 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League in 1996 when they tied with Wilson.
For the record: About the only program rushing or scoring record Nick Singleton doesn’t own is the one for rushing yards in a game: 352, by Dustin Manz in a 2006 district playoff game against Conestoga Valley. Singleton’s top game was 330 yards, against Warwick in 2021.
Quotable: “It was very frustrating, and something we don’t want to see happen again. It was a major wake-up call.” — Mustangs coach Jeff Lang on the program’s first losing season in 19 years.
Outlook: The Mustangs built a dynasty in the Berks Football League, winning 13 Section 1 championships in 15 seasons. They made the postseason 18 straight years, won their first district championship, and reached the District 3 Class 5A title game two straight years. They entered last season with a 21-game regular season winning streak.
That all seemed like ancient history when they lost their first two games and were thrashed by old Section 1 rival Exeter 36-6 in their Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 debut.
They went into last season needing to replace 18 starters, including the greatest RB in Berks history, Nick Singleton. Their top all-around player, Ayden Martin, limped into the season with an injured toe and was never able to perform to his top level.
“It was a recipe for disaster,” Mifflin coach Jeff Lang said of having so many new faces thrown up against a tough schedule that included Spring-Ford and Carlisle at the front end and LL stalwarts Wilson and Manheim Central deeper into the season.
It ended as up as the program’s first losing season since 2003.
The Mustangs took their lumps but also gained a lot of experience; they’re hoping that pays off. They return about a dozen starters and bring back several experienced players in each of their offensive and defensive units.
One place they don’t have experience is at QB, where junior Javien Pletz and senior Bryce Wunderlich have competed throughout the spring and summer. Each did well in Saturday’s scrimmage vs. Pottsgrove so each will see time behind center Friday against Spring-Ford; they could end up splitting the job, something the Mustangs have done successfully before.
They have a nice-sized offensive line to play behind and some good backs behind them.
Senior T Kabine Toure had a tremendous offseason and is expected to be Mifflin’s top lineman on both sides of the ball. He’s getting PSAC looks.
“He’s powerful, quick, and aggressive,” Lang said. “You’re gonna see his best football to come.”
Leading rusher Brandon Jones returns to FB after averaging 6.0 yards per carry as a junior. The Mustangs are deep and athletic in the backfield, with the return of Travis Jenkins and Reese Hohl.
Jones is the leader on defense, where he had a team-best 76 tackles in 10 games. Toure is expected to be a force there as well.
Mifflin will be missing ILB Aidyn Cannon for several weeks after he dislocated his elbow; he was also slated to start at TE.
It is also missing all-league DE Mykell Ford, who transferred to Roman Catholic. He was a two-way starter who led the team with 12 tackles for loss and was second overall with 74 tackles.
The defense will be hard-pressed to replace him, though Mifflin does have good size and depth on the lines. 300-pound junior Presley Rinker is expected to emerge there on both sides, as is soph Derek Dinatale, who will start at TE.
At the wire: Should move up but unlikely to challenge favored Manheim Central or defending champ Exeter.