At the end of the day, it really doesn’t matter how exactly you got there, just so long as you ultimately make it to the party in the end. For high school football teams from both near and far inside the state that found themselves still playing this week, there was perhaps no better logic than that right there. Sure, when you move the conversation exclusively to that of District 3 within the mid-state most specifically — particularly when it comes to the 6A classification rank most of all — you could of course say, “Yeah, but you ideally would want to be sitting idly by this weekend while being awarded a bye and a higher seed.” Yeah, you could of course say that, but don’t forget—before you can play Week 12, you first must get through Week 11 whether you happen to be playing this Friday night or not. And for both Cumberland Valley and Governor Mifflin in particular, they both had to be overjoyed at having the chance to extend their season right here in this moment.
There are some programs inside District 3 that you could rank right up there with a royalty-like status if you will. Simply put, the Cumberland Valley Eagles could comfortably fit the description of one such program given their illustrious history over time, chief among their accomplishments being a state title won back in 1992 of course. But within this particular arena, the District 3 playoffs, there have been few better than the CV Eagles –three to be precise in Manheim Central, Bishop McDevitt and Steel High respectively—that have hoisted district championship trophies into the air more times than Cumberland Valley, doing so on 13 such occasions. This season though, while fate remains to be seen as to whether this 2024 group of Eagles help the program reach the summit for the 14th time, it will admittedly take a bit of a longer run through the 6A field this time around.
That’s not to underestimate CV of course. Go ahead, you try lining up in the Mid-Penn Commonwealth for nine straight weeks and see how you make it out. For CV though, illustrious history and all, 2024 thus far has admittedly been a bit of bumpy ride. There was the 2-1 start out of chute, highlighted by back-to-back shutout victories, but Cumberland Valley would then proceed to go 1-3 in the weeks that followed, firmly having this mammoth-sized school district on “bubble watch” for the playoffs over the final few weeks of the regular season campaign. And to their credit, CV ultimately went 2-1 down the stretch when put to task, an achievement most certainly highlighted by a feat not many can boast about, beating Harrisburg on a Saturday afternoon at Severance Field which the Eagles did by a 24-21 final count back in Week 8, before then ultimately lowering the curtain on the regular season slate with a commanding 24-point win on the road at Cedar Cliff last Friday to lock up the #8 seed in the 6A bracket and a home game this week against a foe who largely had a similar season by and large.
Make no mistake- it’s not as if this was exactly newfound territory for the Governor Mifflin Mustangs either. Well, check that. In some ways, it was. But more on that later. Anyhow, similar to that of their counterparts in the opening round of district play this weekend, Governor Mifflin doesn’t have one lonely District 3 championship trophy sitting all by itself in their trophy case either, something evidenced by the five in which the Mustangs currently have ownership of. Now, as far as that aforementioned “new” part comes into play when it comes to Mifflin, this marks the first season in which the Mustangs have been elevated up into the 6A ranks after having been a devilish crew for the rest of the 5A contingent to try and contend with as most would readily admit. Nick Singleton, Cam’ron Stewart and other high-level Division 1 talent would like to say hello.
Yet just like Cumberland Valley, so too has the Mustangs’ 2024 journey been filled with its share of peaks and valleys. Then again, when you consider that this game itself was a #8 vs #9 affair between a pair of teams sitting squarely at .500 in sharing identical 5-5 overall marks, perhaps that was inherently already baked in the cake. Maybe, but in terms of high-water marks achieved for the group from Berks County this season, there was the lone triumph against a fellow 6A outfit that made the playoff field this year, Hempfield, in a 28-23 decision in which Mifflin largely dictated the terms of engagement on before a valiant Black Knights’ comeback effort down the stretch made things far more tense. There was then the decisive two-game winning streak at the hands of Lebanon and E-town respectively, all of which came before what was surely a bitter pill to swallow in their last time out in what felt like a make-or-break scenario for either Mifflin or Ephrata heading into their regular season finale matchup between those two, although Ephrata was eventually left out of a District 3 playoff berth once the dust had finally settled despite their 35-21 victory one week ago against Mifflin. However, thanks the sheer breadth of quality teams now hanging out at the 6A level this season locally, the Mustangs weren’t even the last team invited in considering that group from Hempfield was awarded with the #10 and final slot into the field after finishing two games below .500 ironically enough.
All that is to say, regardless of what you did these past ten weeks, while it’s not totally all for not and the whole body of work to be totally tossed aside altogether, Week 11 here certainly allows for a level-set of sorts when it comes to how teams’ 2024 narratives will eventually be written in due time. And considering that this affair would be taking place at Chapman Field on the sprawling Cumberland Valley campus, the very same field in which six state champions from around the state will eventually be crowned a month from now, what better place to get the postseason festivities started?
And whether or not Friday night would indeed be the last game the Eagles end up playing in their home confines this fall as only time will tell, rest assured that Cumberland Valley certainly made a lasting impression nonetheless on Friday night. In fact, you might even be able to slide the word “perfect” in there when describing it in a very literal sense.
Truth be told, while the end result would produce a difference that was nothing if not strongly in the Eagles’ favor come the game’s conclusion, Governor Mifflin’s opening offensive drive certainly left that eventual narrative open to interpretation.
To be sure, the Mustangs’ initial foray offensively could not have been drawn up any better than if the Mustangs’ coaching staff themselves were tasked with writing the opening script of the story.
Behind the work of their bruising senior fullback found shouldering the bulk of the load who is the unquestionably the straw that stirs the drink of the Mustangs’ option-based attack, Grady Garner, Mifflin took off on a sensational opening march that in and of itself was a bit of perfection. And once the drive concluded –thanks in no small part to three separate third and/or fourth down conversion runs during its span courtesy of Garner – the visitors from Shillington capped off a nearly ten-minute opening salvo that spanned 80 yards in length, none of which came through the air, before a 1-yard Javien Pletz quarterback sneak over the mass of humanity allowed Mifflin to draw first blood at 6-0 with just 2:34 left on a hemorrhaging first quarter clock after the PAT was blocked.
Suffice to say, while Cumberland Valley certainly wasn’t out of it by any stretch, that dominating opening salvo authored by Governor Mifflin most certainly did its part when it came to awaking the Eagles from any sort of early slumber. In fact, one only need to look at CV’s first series for proof of that.
While their guests may have opted for a more traditional and methodical approach when it came to matriculating the ball down the field, Cumberland Valley on the other hand was far more explosive by comparison. Case in point, the Eagles’ very first play from scrimmage which saw the hosts move into Mifflin territory following a 19-yard pitch and catch from Colton Stamy to Elijah Sherman which set the ball at the Mustangs’ 48-yard line. From there, after a bit of ill-timed generosity on Mifflin’s part courtesy of a roughing the passer call on a 3rd & 10 in no man’s land essentially at the 36-yard line, the Eagles made the most of the hospitality as Stamy went back to the air and found his reliable junior wideout, Brody Pines, as the impressive freshman quarterback tallied the first of what figures to be many postseason touchdown passes over the next few seasons as this 24-yard hookup from Stamy to Pines made it a 7-6 CV lead following an Andrew Rice PAT with all of seven seconds remaining in the opening frame.
And not to spoil things from there on out, but that prove to be a lead which Cumberland Valley would never relinquish the rest of the way.
Remember that emphatic opening march that Governor Mifflin had levied against Cumberland Valley from the outset? Yeah, well it became evident that the Eagles had remembered so too, this time far more eager to make amends.
On this occasion, the Mustangs’ second series would end in a punt, thanks in no small part to CV senior linebacker, Jake Sines, coming up and sticking the Mustangs’ ball carrier right in the hole on a 3rd & 4 attempt which then sent the Mifflin punt team onto the field following an extended bit of deliberation from the Mustangs’ sidelines.
Here, after taking over just a smidgen past the midfield stripe at their own 41-yard line following the exchange in possession, Cumberland Valley went right back to work offensively. And once he clocked in for duty, Erik Barbacci was so clearly up for the assignment when it came to toting the rock. In fact, the CV senior lightning bolt of a back dashed his way through the line of scrimmage for a 20-yard jaunt to begin the proceedings with the field once again tilted in CV’s favor in essentially after one lone play from scrimmage. Yet even when he had a spectacular 32-yard touchdown run taken away from him following a holding call whistled back behind the play, Barbacci and the CV offense at large remained totally unphased in the plays that followed, not the least of which included a Stamy to Pines hook up once more, this time moving the ball down to the Mustangs’ 9-yard line. Fittingly, Barbacci got his just desserts after all as Cumberland Valley’s #37 was good for six as Barbacci’s 9-yard touchdown gallop put the home team up by eight, 14-6, following Rice’s second PAT of the evening with 5:14 still yet to be played in the first half.
So, if the CV defense had given up a workmanlike touchdown-scoring series to begin the contest before then promptly following that up by turning away Governor Mifflin with a punt their next time out, would you then consider this drive to be their best of three in a sense? If so, let’s just say that the Eagles’ defensive troops would be moving on if that were the case seeing as how the Mustangs were turned away following three plays and out, highlighted by a nice tackle by way of CV junior defensive lineman, Martin Francis, on a 3rd & 8 play which halted any possible extension of this current Mifflin series.
Now, after having successfully weathered the initial Governor Mifflin onslaught, it was obvious that Cumberland Valley was eagerly looking to insert any kind of early dagger. Or, at the very least, heading into the intermission with what could construed as an ample bit of breathing room no doubt.
Sensing a flair for dramatics perhaps, so too would the first play from scrimmage on this Eagles’ offensive drive begin with a bit of a splash. At least that’s the adjective being used here to describe a 26-yard reception by CV’s Zayden Smith — most of which came exclusively following first contact –as the Eagles’ sophomore wideout drug Mustang defenders onto Mifflin’s side of the field with him, this time down to the 36-yard line. Then, in the aftermath of another spectacular run courtesy of Barbacci, Cumberland Valley was knocking on the door once again at the Mustangs’ 15-yard line. But in all reality, the Eagles only needed to traverse just two more yards from scrimmage before ultimately finding paydirt once again as Colton Stamy made good on his second TD toss of the opening two dozen minutes on this windy Friday night with a picture-perfect, drop-in-the-bucket type throw to Brody Pines in the front corner of the endzone, helping to vault the Eagles’ into recess with what felt like a commanding 21-6 cushion once the final 66 seconds bled off the second quarter clock following said score.
The only problem for Governor Mifflin once the third quarter rolled around? Cumberland Valley remained just as potent in the second half as they had been in the first as fate would have it.
In comparison to the three consecutive scoring drives they tallied back in the first and second quarters respectively, the Eagles’ opening drive to begin the third frame was far more pedestrian and less high-flying if you will.
Sure, there was of course the dose of explosion sprinkled in, such as the case when Erik Barbacci ran with the pill and picked up a shade past 20 yards on one such carry. And lest we forget about Ke’Aune Green getting loose in a phonebooth against a host of Mifflin defenders before picking up a key 3rd & 6 chain-mover following the CV senior wideout’s remarkable exploits that were on full display along the Mustangs’ sideline. From there, the cherry on top of this CV-led excursion came when Elijah Sherman worked himself free and unaccounted for behind the Mustangs’ secondary unit as Colton Stamy’s third touchdown pass of the night made it a 28-6 Cumberland Valley advantage on the heels of a fourth Andrew Rice PAT with 8:01 left in the third frame as the Eagles’ 9th grader seen operating the controls at quarterback was looking nothing if not comfortable in dissecting the opposition.
By this juncture, it was rather obvious that not only was Cumberland Valley themselves proving to be a worthy adversary to Governor Mifflin, but so too was the game clock being equally unkind considering the method of rushing attack that the Mustangs love to employ. Unfortunately for those who made the hour-and-a-half drive west into Cumberland County, it was clear that they would need to alter some things in hopes of trying to play catchup given the circumstances. And hey, if passing isn’t exactly the first and foremost tool in your arsenal, it might as well be effective when you do bring it out, yes? In that respect, the Governor Mifflin braintrust drew up the absolute perfect play while facing a key 3rd & 23 near the midfield stripe on their ensuing offensive series as a wonderfully-timed screen play from the senior duo of quarterback Javien Pletz to fullback Grady Garner not only gave the Mustangs a fresh set of downs to prolong the opportunity, but it also saw them now sitting just outside the CV redzone once all was said and done. From there, after going back to their bread and butter of ground and pound football, Garner and his mates steadily moved the Mifflin onslaught down near the goal line once again. Speaking of once again, Javien Pletz found himself the beneficiary of having the touchdown honors one more time as his second 1-yard sneak across the chalk on the night cut the CV lead down to a 28-12 difference with 2:05 left to be played in the third quarter once the two-point conversion try went awry.
Four drives, four scores. If you’re keeping track at home, that was the current batting average for Cumberland Valley offensively heading into the waning stages of the third stanza. In fact, it could reasonably be argued that perhaps the only thing that could deter the Eagles would be well, the Eagles, in the event they trip themselves up somehow someway. And as if to be right on cue from a negative perspective, here indeed came the hosts getting in their own way somewhat when it came to ill-timed penalty calls all while despite being on the precipice of punching in yet another touchdown to add to already stellar night at the office offensively speaking. Yet even when they weren’t adding six up on their fancy state-of-the-art scoreboard, they had no qualms when it came to adding three, such as the case when Andrew Rice knocked home a 30-yard field goal on the opening play of the fourth quarter, upping the Eagles’ cushion out to a 31-12 count just five seconds in to the final period.
Ironically, following an opening drive that could’ve easily spelled doom given the way in which it had unfolded against them to begin the evening, the collective work put forth by the Cumberland Valley defensive unit in the aftermath of Mifflin’s opening haymaker landed against them is deserving of ample amounts of kudos. And the fourth quarter was perhaps their finest hour.
Here, on yet another instance of Governor Mifflin finding themselves boxed into a do-or-die situation given time and score, Cumberland Valley shut the door by holding the Mustangs on downs, something certainly spurred on by way of a sack registered to CV junior defensive lineman, Carson Davis, forcing the guests into a fourth and long play that ultimately went begging.
But if hadn’t already done so by now, the dam was on the verge of getting ready to burst.
The detonation as it were would come in the form of a 59-yard touchdown reception hauled in Elijah Sherman, the second such successful TD connection between Colton Stamy and Sherman on the night as a whole, as Sherman broke would-be tackles from what felt like the entire town of Shillington itself on his way to the endzone, making it a 37-12 Eagles’ buffer with 9:35 still left to play by that point.
Yet the Cumberland Valley defense only continued to remain in tip-top shape from there on out.
Case in point, a takeaway in the form of a fumble recovery pounced on by CV sophomore linebacker, Jaydin Holmes, to thwart Mifflin’s ensuing offensive drive, seeing the Eagles set up shop once more with the outcome nothing more than a formality by that stage.
Speaking of which, it only seemed justified that Erik Barbacci helped to lower the curtain on a torrid offense showcase he himself put forth in this playoff lid-lifter as Barbacci’s 18-yard untouched touchdown scamper saw the Cumberland Valley advantage swell out to a 44-12 margin with 4:27 left to play at that point.
However, that wouldn’t be the last bit of thievery demonstrated by the Cumberland Valley defense albeit with time running out.
No, not when 6’1 senior defensive back, Owen Rose, climbed the ladder while working in coverage to snare an interception for his side, drawing what was arguably the loudest ovation heard from the patrons all evening long.
And technically speaking, while this would officially go into the history books as one last CV offense series following Rose’s interception, the Eagles wound up taking knees to wind the clock out. So, while the letter of the law may state that Cumberland Valley didn’t exactly pitch a perfect game in terms of scoring points at the end of every single drive, the fact of the matter was that they essentially did, riding an absolutely marvelous offensive showcase to a commanding 44-12 victory against Governor Mifflin, firmly riding into a District 3-6A quarterfinal date next up where the Eagles draw an old familiar foe, Manheim Township, the very same Blue Streaks squad that knocked CV off on the opening weekend of the season.
NEXT UP: As mentioned, this seems like it’s one of those matchups that can set your watch to in terms of Cumberland Valley and Manheim Township matching wits against one another. In fact, you wouldn’t be wrong to think so considering that next week’s matchup between the Eagles and Streaks marks the third consecutive year in which the two will have faced off twice in a season, first to begin the year with the opening tilt, then again a few months later come the playoffs. And if you’re keeping track at home, it’s Manheim Township who currently finds themselves owning the four-game winning streak over those previous five encounters, with CV’s last triumph in this informal rivalry coming all the way back on a thunderstorm-delayed August 26, 2022. Rest assured, while Cumberland Valley will arrive in Neffsville next Friday night with an invigorated pep in their step given this performance most all of against Governor Mifflin, so too do the Blue Streaks figure to be up the challenge considering they sat idly back with a bye this week while having to ruminate on surrendering the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section One title to Wilson, on their own home field no less, their last time out.
Unfortunately, from Governor Mifflin’s standpoint, aside from the pure result here on the west shore Friday night, this was understandably not the way in which the Mustangs wanted to close the book on their 2024 story. However, once the pain eventually subsides from this season-ending loss at the hands of Cumberland Valley, there will be ample signs as to why Mifflin will be back contending in the ranks of Lancaster-Lebanon League Section Two both next year and beyond. Yes, the Mustangs will have to fill the voids left from Javien Pletz, Grady Garner, Reese Hohl, Stephen Mayo to name just a very select few thanks to graduation, but the fact of the matter is that Mifflin is well positioned –especially being one of the very few 6A outfits in that grouping—to contend for section supremacy with their fellow brethren in L-L Section Two moving forward. Simply put, as Cumberland Valley found out on the opening drive on Friday night alone, having to contend with Governor Mifflin’s triple-option attack on a routine basis is certainly not for the faint of heart. For that reason, while there will be some fresh faces occupying key spots next fall for the Mustangs, don’t exactly count on Mifflin finding themselves competing on the opening weekend of districts –and nothing more– on a routine basis without having the benefit of having earned a first-round bye. As they’ve demonstrated over time, this is a program who has the lineage and potential to be a long-term headache for both the L-L and District 3 at large for years to come.
