Week 5 high school football: Muhlenberg-Gov. Mifflin features potent ground games
Week 5 in Lancaster-Lebanon Football League season features several matchups with teams atop of their divisions looking to add to their resumes.
Squaring off in Berks County, Muhlenberg will host Gov. Mifflin at Albright College in a Section 2 contest of teams that showcase strong running games.
The Muhls (1-0, 3-1) have not played at their home stadium in Laureldale since their Week 1 win against Schuylkill Valley due to unsafe field conditions on Muhlenberg's recently renovated turf.
"They're high school kids and of course they would like to play at home," Muhls coach Rob Flowers said. "As adults, we want to play at home too. It's our home field. We don't have to travel, pack bags or have to get on the bus. But the reality is, that's an uncontrollable for us. So the Muhls go on the road.
"I talked to these guys about this last week, we get to play football games. I referenced 2020 and 2021 when people were still losing games because of COVID. That's not the case, and we get to play football games. That's very important and we understand that."
A week ago, Muhlenberg defeated Lebanon 55-36 on the road at Lebanon. The Muhls combined for 503 total yards of offense and rushed 37 times for 418 rushing yards.
Javiehn Ortiz rushed four times for 108 yards and three touchdowns, while Cameron Small rushed 16 times for 194 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Freddy Lacey added to the impressive ground attack with four carries for 68 yards and a touchdown. Muhlenberg allowed just 76 rushing yards and 189 passing yards, and held a 47-12 lead at the half.
During a 40-29 win against Daniel Boone in Week 3 at Kutztown University, the Muhls also eclipsed the 400 rushing yard mark and Small rushed 23 times for 295 yards and four touchdowns.
"Cam's a very, very hard worker and he's been doing an excellent job for us on both sides of the ball," Flowers said. "He's patient. He understands the importance of being patient when running the ball. Also, I like to highlight the guys in the box: The offensive line and defensive lines have been doing a pretty decent job of accepting coaching and sticking to the game plan and communicating, and that's important.
"I'm super proud of Javiehn Ortiz getting some carries last week and doing really well."
For Muhlenberg, keen attention to detail and a commitment to a culture of togetherness has produced success early in the season.
"For me, the key to us, regardless of what's taking place, is the fact that we're doing this together," Flowers said. "Before we came in here, we came in with a plan. We came in with the understanding that we have to love our young men first, and our program first, and then we have to do some football stuff. So it's the love, it's the consistency and it's our efficiency. Those are things that have been contributing to us having three wins, and that's how we have to continue to be each and every day.
"We have to make sure we're on time for school, on time for the weight room, on time for practice, on time for post practice activity, so we have to make sure we're doing those things at a high level. That's what the difference is."
On the other side, Gov. Mifflin looks to bounce back after a 34-13 loss to Exeter. The Mustangs (0-1 2-2), also with a potent rushing game plan, rushed 50 times for 220 yards against the Eagles and had 347 yards of total offense. Grady Garner led the way for the Mustangs (0-1, 2-2), rushing for 146 yards and two touchdowns on 31 attempts.
In a 28-23 win against Hempfield in Week 3, Gov. Mifflin ran 56 times for 386 yards, and Garner had 207 rushing yards on 32 attempts and four touchdowns.
The Mustangs allowed 71 rushing yards and 306 passing yards against the Black Knights, and against the Eagles, allowed 270 rushing yards and 180 passing yards. They also lost two fumbles against Exeter.
"I'm an offensive lineman at heart and we're always gonna run the football," Gov. Mifflin coach Nick Morrissey said. "Everybody knows what we're going to do, we're going to line up, we're going to run the football, and for us to be successful, we can't turn the ball over, which against Exeter, it was the first time all year we turned the ball over.
"So we've been fine with that (turnovers), but everybody knows what you're getting when you play Mifflin. You're going to get a physical team that lines up and runs the ball and it's we're going to put our chips in and see where it falls."
With two teams that love to run the football, the play up front between the offensive and defensive lines could prove pivotal. On the Mustangs' defensive line, 375-pound Ismael Ayala Vargas provides a dominant presence at defensive tackle, as the senior has four sacks and 10 solo tackles through four games.
"I think that it's going to come down to the trenches," Morrissey said. "They definitely have the skilled kids that can compete. They can run kids out in space. We'll see how the trenches match up with one another."
A 2003 Muhlenberg grad and former player, Morrissey made a point to compliment the success that Flowers and the Muhls have had in their first year with Flowers at the head of the program. Equally in kind, Flowers has plenty of respect for Gov. Mifflin's potential to earn a win on the ground.
"I definitely feel coach Flowers and his staff have done an amazing job," Morrissey said. "I'm just proud to see all the hard work putting in and how hard those kids are playing, and how excited that community is to play for him (Flowers). All the credits to that staff for what they've been able to do in a year; it's just been incredible to watch."
"We have to make sure we're ready to roll from our end," Flowers said. "We have to account for their ability to run and account for their ability to be physical in a box. We talked about the keys to victory being physical dominance and we have to make sure we're doing that."
Elsewhere in Berks, Wilson hosts Cedar Crest in a matchup of teams atop the Section 1 standings. The Bulldogs defeated Reading High 50-6 last week, while the Falcons are coming off a 58-7 win over Penn Manor.
Wilson has rushed for 740 yards and thrown for 785 through four weeks, while giving up 315 rushing yards and 689 passing yards. The Bulldogs have outscored opponents 130-68.
Correll Akings leads the rushing attack with 337 rushing yards on 66 attempts, and quarterback Madyx Gruber is 47-for-71 passing for 648 yards and six touchdowns. Mike Glover has caught 16 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns. E.J. Brownback leads the defense with 21 solo tackles and six tackles for loss.
In another Berks against Berks matchup, Kutztown travels to Hamburg to take on the Hawks (1-0 Section 5, 3-1). In Week 4, the Cougars (0-1 Section 5, 0-4) fell 20-14 against Octorara and Hamburg won by forfeit after Fairfield was unable to play.
The schedule
At 7 p.m.
Berks Catholic at Lancaster Catholic Manheim Central at Conrad Weiser Exeter at Lebanon Fleetwood at Garden Spot Kutztown at Hamburg Daniel Boone at Lampeter Strasburg Reading High at Penn Manor Schuylkill Valley at Pequea Valley Twin Valley at Octorara Cedar Crest at Wilson Wyomissing at Elco
Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Gov. Mifflin and Muhlenberg at Albright
