Gov. Mifflin and Manheim Twp. have not battled on the gridiron since the 2007 District 3 quarterfinals. These former conference rivals went at it tooth and nail in a hard fought struggle Friday night. The Gov Mifflin defense was the determining factor, and the Mustangs moved to (2-1) by handing the Blue Streaks a 22-13 defeat Friday night in Shillington.
The Gov. Mifflin Defense forced four Manheim Twp (1-2) turnovers, sacked their QB Eric Benjamin three times and Benjamin was intercepted three times. The Blue Streak running game was no where to be found. Evan Pollack was the standout for the Mifflin D. Pollack had three interceptions on the night. On his third, he dodged and weaved his way to a spectacular 85 yard TD, the only score Mifflin would put on the board in the second half.
Gov. Mifflin did move the ball effectively on the ground in the first quarter. A turnover on the Twp, 25 and a controversial turnover on downs inside the Blue Steak 10 left Mifflin nothing to show for a first quarter of domination. After an Evan Pollack interception, Jan Johnson hit Ried Hoff on a 42 yard TD strike, and the Mustangs took the lead 7-0 with 6:38 left in the half. On the ensuing possession, Twp. was forced to punt. The Blue Streaks kick was blocked out of the end zone by Mifflin’s Jan Johnson for a safety, and now Gov. Mifflin led 9-0 with 4:33 left in the half.
Again the Gov. Mifflin defense rose to the occasion and forced a three and out. Following the punt, the Mustangs moved the ball to the Blue Streaks one. From there, QB Johnson sneaked the ball in for the score for the Mustangs. Gov Mifflin went into halftime with a 15-0 advantage over Manheim Twp.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle. Neither team was able to mount any kind of an offensive threat. Opening the fourth quarter the Blue Streaks marched the ball into Mifflin territory. Then came the game changer moment.
Evan Pollack stepped in front of a Benjamin pass at the Mifflin 12, and raced 88 yards to make it 22-0 Mifflin with 11:39 left. Manheim Twp. did not quit. A half back flee flicker pass from 40 yards made it 22-7 with 8:30 left. Following a three and out by Mifflin, a Twp. TD pass from QB Benjamin to Davis Carr made things exciting. It was 22-13 with 3:55 to play . The Miffflin defense made their presence felt once again. They stopped the key two point try. A wild last few minutes of onside kicks and exchanges of fumbles, and Gov. Mifflin came out on top with the 22-13 victory.
“Our kids were resilient,” said Gov. Mifflin Head Coach Mick Veccio. “They (ManheimTtwp.) made a lot of good adjustments to stop us in the second half. We are pretty darn happy because they (Manheim Twp) are good.” Coach Vecchio also praised his defensive coaches, “Our defensive coaches had a real good plan to stop the running game and keep him(QB Eric Benjamin) in check.”
Manheim Twp. faces Conestoga Valley next week. Gov. Mifflin now moves in to a difficult part of the schedule. A three game road swing begins with a tough test at a resugent Reading High next week. These road games will truly test the “resilience” of the 2014 Gov. Mifflin Mustangs.
SCORING & STATS
2nd
- GM-Reid Hoff 36 pass from Jan Johnson (Johnson kick)
- Safety Blocked punt out of end zone
- GM-Johnson 1 run (2 pt run)
3rd
- GM-Evan Pollock 88 interception return (Johnson kick)
4th
- MT-Isaac Vazquez 37 pass from Cartier Morton (Daniel Zeswitz kick)
- MT-Davis Carr 10 pass from Eric Benjamin (pass failed)
Offensive
Manheim Twp.
| Player | TOT-PTS | TOT T/Ds | YDS |
| Erik Benjamin | – | – | 139 |
| Davis Carr | 6 | 1 | – |
| Cartier Morton | – | – | 44 |
| Isaac Vazquez | 6 | 1 | 7 |
| Jacob Zug | – | – | 4 |
Governor Mifflin
| Player | TOT-PTS | TOT T/Ds | YDS |
| Wilson Fontanez | – | – | 101 |
| Lucas Garner | – | – | 16 |
| Phillip Henry | – | – | 15 |
| Reid Hoff | 6 | 1 | – |
| Jan Johnson | 8 | 1 | 118 |
| Eliseo Ortiz | – | – | -1 |
| Evan Pollack | 6 | 1 | – |
Passing
Manheim Twp.
| Player | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | CMP_PCT | NCAA |
| Erik Benjamin | 15 | 20 | 98 | 1 | 3 | 75% | 102.7 |
| Cartier Morton | 1 | 1 | 37 | 1 | 0 | 100% | 740.8 |
Governor Mifflin
| Player | CMP | ATT | YDS | TD | INT | CMP_PCT | NCAA |
| Jan Johnson | 5 | 10 | 66 | 1 | 0 | 50% | 138.4 |
Receiving
Manheim Twp.
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | AVG |
| Davis Carr | 5 | 19 | 1 | 3.8 |
| Quinn McLasky | 1 | 5 | – | 5 |
| Olufisayo Oluleye | 6 | 53 | – | 8.8 |
| Michael Sharpe | 1 | 9 | – | 9 |
| Isaac Vazquez | 3 | 49 | 1 | 16.3 |
Governor Mifflin
| Player | REC | YDS | TD | AVG |
| Reid Hoff | 3 | 53 | 1 | 17.7 |
| Evan Pollack | 2 | 13 | – | 6.5 |
Rushing
Manheim Twp.
| Player | ATT | YDS | TD | AVG |
| Erik Benjamin | 13 | 41 | – | 3.2 |
| Cartier Morton | 11 | 7 | – | 0.6 |
| Isaac Vazquez | 1 | 7 | – | 7 |
| Jacob Zug | 2 | 4 | – | 2 |
Governor Mifflin
| Player | ATT | YDS | TD | AVG |
| Wilson Fontanez | 20 | 101 | – | 5. |
| Lucas Garner | 2 | 16 | – | 8 |
| Phillip Henry | 1 | 15 | – | 15 |
| Jan Johnson | 13 | 52 | 1 | 4 |
| Eliseo Ortiz | 7 | -1 | – | -0.1 |
Game
| STATISTIC | MANHEIM TWP. | GOVERNOR MIFFLIN |
| 1ST-DWNS | 9 | 14 |
| RUSH-ATT | 27 | 43 |
| RUSH-YDS | 59 | 183 |
| PASS-YDS | 135 | 66 |
| CMP | 16 | 5 |
| PASS-ATT | 21 | 10 |
| INT | 3 | 0 |
| FUM | 1 | 1 |
| FUM-LOST | 1 | 1 |
| PUNTS | 2 | 1 |
| PUNT/AVG | 37.5 | 26 |
| PEN | 5 | 3 |
| PEN-YDS | 50 | 40 |
| YDS | 194 | 249 |
