In some ways, it’s almost funny. Yes, for as dynamite as the Week 10 slate across the Lancaster-Lebanon League ended up being considering this week given that it featured games with head-to-head divisional title implications nearly the entire way down the gamut from Sections One thru Five respectively, there was one matchup hiding in the brush that very same week that not many were paying attention to. Funny in the sense then that it had been a headline-stealer for the last two years most specifically.
Over the last two seasons, most every high school football fanatic in the mid-state had been clamoring to see Governor Mifflin and Warwick eventually do battle in what would have been postseason play being that the Berks League and L-L League had yet to formally merge into one at that juncture. In 2020, both the Mustangs and Warriors appeared to have their eventual matchup seem to all but be a certainty with both teams looking on from a distance against one another. Hard to argue too with both teams featuring offenses that were scoring points in bunches against the opposition, not to mention major college football talent found on both of their respective rosters. Suffice to say, the District 3-5A championship bout was shaping up to be one for the books.
Well, that was of course until it wasn’t.
Unfortunately, in the most 2020 of ways possible, a COVID outbreak at Warwick that game week meant that the much-anticipated contest would not only be called off, but perhaps most cruelly of all as far as those with a highly competitive drive on either side would surely admit, Governor Mifflin found themselves prevailing as District 3 champions by way of an unintended measure of a forfeit that was outside of anyone’s collective prevention.
Then, last year, the much-ballyhooed matchup finally came into view albeit a year later.
Granted, while it wouldn’t come in the form of the district title game, a playoff bout nonetheless between Warwick and Governor Mifflin proved memorable regardless in the sense that future Penn State Nittany Lion, Nick Singleton, would gallop for a record-setting 326-yard performance that came complete with seven touchdowns, all of which helped lead to an eventual 63-35 Mustangs’ triumph in Shillington.
However, for as much as Warwick and Governor Mifflin had rightly served as the arguably the most-anticipated game in all of District 3 football here of late, both the Mustangs’ and Warriors’ collective 2022 campaigns have been a bit of a deviation from those recent seasons.
Of course, when starting with Governor Mifflin, losing what many feel was the best high school football player in the United States in the aforementioned Singleton –who is quickly making good on those acclaims in becoming a household name in the multi-billion-dollar industry that is college football – is certainly a good place to start. However, even with he and his fellow senior departures, Governor Mifflin began the year ranked in the top 10 of the statewide rankings by most prognostications given what they had coming back in tow. That said, this year has admittedly been a bit of a struggle despite those preseason accolades as the Mustangs stumbled out of the gate with an 0-2 record before picking up their first win of the season against Boyertown in Week 3, but then proceeding to drop four of their next six contests before entering their regular season finale at Warwick on Friday night.
Speaking of those Warriors, has anyone in the entire state of Pennsylvania had a funkier season that than of the group hailing from Lititz? Hard to argue when you consider that a massive reconstruction project currently underway on the school’s campus along with the worldwide supply chain issues meant that the Warriors would play just two games physically on their home field, and even that miniscule number was up to interpretation heading into the season. However, rather than gripe and complain about their circumstances –surely remembering how just two years ago a championship game was taken out of from under them that not one could have prevented — the Warriors trudged onward and began life on the road this year before finally starting to find their mojo considering that they appeared to be playing their best football of the season heading into the final furlong of the regular season. For that, look no further than their current two-game winning streak which they brought with them into the curtain-closer against Mifflin.
And so, with a rare home game being awarded to them along with all that momentum achieved in their last two outings, surely Warwick wouldn’t let this opportunity pass them by. Well, thanks to good ol’ fashioned complimentary football, the Warriors ended a long and winding 2022 road with a clear and defining statement.
In terms of their initial offensive drive of the contest, things couldn’t have started out much better for the homestanding Warriors had they been given the opportunity to involve their very own scriptwriter into the process. Sure, while there was the initial, curious case of fielding the opening kickoff that almost seemed destined to eventually trickle harmlessly out of bounds which would have given Warwick stellar field position to begin the evening, the men in red had no qualms whatsoever about beginning with it at their own 11-yard line nonetheless.
And the one doing the bulk of the damage? None other than senior quarterback, Jack Reed.
For a player who most opposing defensive coordinators almost surely feel is still operating the controls of the offensive attack in Lititz for what feels like his 17th-year now, Reed displayed all the intangibles that he has gained with such a litany of experience already under his belt on just Warwick’s first series alone. Case in point, Reed using his legs to elude the oncoming Governor Mifflin pursuit to move the sticks following a 3rd & 3 pickup on their own 18-yard line, before then following that up with a 23-yard dart across the middle to junior tight end, Thomas Jeanes, on the very next play from scrimmage.
Speaking of third down conversions, those would be plentiful as Warwick’s opening salvo continued to gather steam.
First, a 3rd & 1 pickup via the work of the Warriors’ offensive line as junior running back, Andrew McClune, was able to give Warwick a fresh set of downs with his jaunt between the tackles which preceded a 3rd & 6 pickup from Reed to another fellow senior classmate, wideout Andrew Christophel, as the Warriors had suddenly moved their advance all the way down to the Governor Mifflin 36-yard line. From there, with Reed now starting to flash that moxie in terms of dissecting defenses that can only come with years of gained experience, a pair of connections to Christophel once more along with one to yet another senior, Brendon Snyder, suddenly propelled the Warriors down to the Mustangs’ 12-yard line.
And yet even when it may have appeared as if Governor Mifflin had the antidote to what Warwick was currently throwing at them, such as the case when Mustangs’ up-and-comer, sophomore Mykell Ford, tallied himself a sack from defensive line position to help take the wind out of Warwick’s collective sails, Mifflin’s eventual demise on this defensive series would come with yet another successful third down conversion authored by their opponent, Warwick’s fourth of the opening series, as a 3rd & 9 ultimately ended with points as a 17-yard touchdown dime from Reed to Snyder in the corner of the endzone put the hosts up by a 6-0 count following the PAT being blocked as the Warriors had also been able to gobble up nearly nine minutes of game action with just 3:31 left to play in the opening period following their opening score.
Once the second quarter finally rolled around a short time later, Governor Mifflin was already moving the ball down the field via their primary weapon of choice – the ground and pound game.
Simply put, it was easy to see as to why considering Governor Mifflin senior quarterback, Delsin McNeil, was seen doing his best Houdini impression by eluding defenders in tight spaces throughout the entire evening while running the Mustangs’ option-based offensive attack. Fittingly, with he himself already tabulating the bulk of the visitor’s yards on their initial offensive series of the contest as well –including a 4th & 1 quarterback sneak to extend the drive along with a scamper down to the Warriors’ 5-yard line not long afterwards – Governor Mifflin finally hit paydirt right then and there as a 5-yard touchdown run by sophomore running back, Travis Jenkins, gave the guests by way of Shillington their first lead of the evening, 7-6, following Jackson School’s PAT with 7:43 left to play in the opening half.
Little did they know it at the time, but that would prove to be Governor Mifflin’s final opportunity playing with a lead for the remainder of the season.
Ironically, for as sound and methodical as Warwick’s opening drive had been, the Warriors’ second foray with the ball was anything but. In fact, following another successful third down conversion, this of the 7-yard variety resulting in a Reed to McClune 40-yard pickup on said play which ushered the hosts down to the Mustangs’ 1-yard line in a flash, McClune was then able to finish out what he had a large hand in helping create as the junior’s 1-yard touchdown plunge on the very next play put Warwick up 13-7 following an Ian Jerchau PAT a mere 1:59 following Mifflin’s previous touchdown.
It would be a lead the Warriors would never relinquish.
But just as their adversaries had done themselves, Governor Mifflin was determined to punch Warwick right back following the Warriors’ go-ahead score moments prior.
Fortunately, as far as the patrons who had made their way over the Berks County line and into Lititz were most concerned, their Mustangs seemed destined to ultimately cross the chalk line themselves given how their ensuing offensive drive following the McClune touchdown seemed to develop. For proof of that, long no further than McNeil proceeding to pick up 16 of the Mustangs’ next 20 yards from scrimmage over the span of the next three plays as Mifflin then found themselves residing on Warwick’s side of the field with the ball now resting on the Warriors’ 40-yard line. And once Governor Mifflin junior fullback, Brandon Jones, was able to cash in on a 3rd & 3 attempt at Warwick’s 33-yard line, the downhill running attack that the Mustangs love to employ against all comers might as well have served as coaching clinic tape.
Of course, that was before Warwick’s Jack Koons had anything to say about it of course.
With the Mustangs making no bones about how they wished to continue this march in earnest, the Warriors’ junior linebacker opted to take matters into his own hands to try and intervene. It turned out to be a smart decision on his part considering how his timely sack not only put a damper on Mifflin’s consistent body blows, but it also more importantly booted the Mustangs out of field goal territory, eventually helping to lead to a 4th & 21 attempt for the white-clad guests with the ball now starting to flirt with the midfield stripe. And once the subsequent Mifflin pass on fourth down sailed incomplete, Warwick wisely opted to play it relatively safe inside the final 36 seconds of the opening half as the Warriors would carry a six-point advantage into the locker room by virtue of their ownership of a 13-7 cushion at the intermission.
Suffice to say, being able to score coming out of the halftime recess would be nothing if not optimal for Governor Mifflin once the third frame got underway. Well, as far as the first few plays were concerned, the Mustangs certainly appeared to be up for said proposition.
With Brandon Jones promptly picking up 10 yards at a clip from his fullback position to begin this initial drive for Mifflin, the visitors certainly seemed prime to strike. Well, that was of course until the Warwick defense had a rebuttal to make as a host of Warriors’ defenders surged through the Mifflin offensive line like knives through hot butter on a 4th & 2 attempt at the Warwick 37-yard line, promptly halting the Mustangs dead in their tracks.
And while Warwick would not be able to generate anything in terms of points following their defensive stop, the Warriors’ offensive unit still had something up their sleeve before the third stanza was over with.
Yet again, just like their opening drive to begin the contest, Warwick’s next scoring march would prominently feature the legs of quarterback Jack Reed once they regained possession at the Governor Mifflin 48-yard line with 2:42 left to tick off the third quarter clock. Case in point, his 14-yard scramble out of the pocket which would usher the hosts down to the 21-yard line, before yet another Reed rush in evading the oncoming Mifflin defensive troops which gave the Warriors a fresh set of downs now inside the Mustangs’ red zone. And while Reed’s running ability helped lay a majority of the concrete to help lay the foundation on this drive, it would be those same skills utilized by backfield mate, Andrew McClune, which would serve as the punctuation as McClune’s 5-yard touchdown gallop upped the Warwick lead to a 19-7 difference which is where things remained just 9 seconds later once the third quarter eventually expired.
By this point, especially given how fast the game clock had been moving all night long, Governor Mifflin needed to score on their ensuing drive following the McClune touchdown should they continue to have any sort of aspirations of being within shouting distance heading into the final few minutes of play. However, those same chances grew exponentially even more slim following yet another Warwick defensive stand on downs which would finish off this ensuing Mustangs’ drive off as well, as Warwick went back out on offense eager to land that knockout punch.
Turns out they wouldn’t have to wait long at all for that TKO.
In fact, it took Warwick all of one play to get the job done as a 63-yard touchdown bomb lobbed over top of the Governor Mifflin secondary following the change in possession from Jack Reed to Brendon Snyder seemed to seal the deal for good as the Warriors’ senior tandem’s second such TD connection on the evening helped to make it a 25-7 Warwick lead following the failed two-point conversion attempt moments later with 8:57 still left to play in the contest.
Yet even with the outcome of the game seeming to serve as nothing but an eventual formality as the game clock continued to churn down even further from there, it was not as if the Warriors’ senior class was done making plays on the Grosh Field turf, especially given that this was their second chance all year long to do so. And perhaps the fitting of ways of possible –especially given the output he had been able to put on display from his wide receiver position on this night— it seemed apropos that Brendon Snyder’s defensive knockdown of a would-be Governor Mifflin touchdown pass in the waning minutes both literally and figurately served as the final death-nail in the Mustangs’ chances to try and rally around one last frantic charge, as the Warwick’s defensive unit so clearly rued the day for the nearly the entire 48 minutes on Friday night, eventually having their earnings translate into a 25-7 final verdict over Governor Mifflin in both team’s respective season finales.
UP NEXT: Simply put, 2022 was the not the season that anyone in and around Governor Mifflin’s camp had hoped, nor expected to see given the seismic highs that the program had been coming off of in just the last few seasons as the Mustangs went on to finish this campaign with a 3-7 overall mark. Okay, fair point perhaps, but if what was put on display on Friday night is to serve as any future indication, Governor Mifflin may not be all that far off in terms of returning up near the top of the divisional heap. Yes, while losing the senior talents of Ayden Martin and Delsin McNeil will certainly leave voids to fill heading into 2023 to name a small few, the stable of backs coming back into the fold next year for Mifflin’s always-potent rushing attack looks nothing if not promising given the likes of Brandon Jones and Travis Jenkins helping to carry the mail, along with a physical mismatch waiting to happen in Nolan Morris on the outside flanks whenever they do choose to put the ball the air. And while those are just a few names of returners who produced on this specific night in Lititz, a quick glance over the Mustangs’ roster which lists scores of underclassmen would lead one to believe that 2022 may be more of an aberration rather than the expectation as a program as proud as Mifflin’s simply won’t be content with continuing to reside near the middle to lower part of the collective pack. Simply put, hopefully those that got their shots in against the Mustangs did so in earnest this season as those windows of opportunities may just as quickly be closing right up.
For Warwick, the year that featured life being almost exclusively out on the road finished off with a bang considering that Friday night’s triumph over Mifflin made it three consecutive wins to end the season for the Warriors. And hey, in terms of those precious home game opportunities, Warwick finished with a perfect 2-0 mark in such outings. But for as weird and wonky as this season had understandably been for the Warriors’ football program, there is surely a sense of comfort that comes along with the offseason narrative heading into 2023 in that it feels like most every other year around these parts. That of course being that no longer is Warwick simply a “flash in the pan” type program. Yes, while there will be graduation losses that they will have to account for yet again –namely fellas like Jack Reed, Brendon Snyder, and Colin Winters as just three examples — the reserves of talent in the Warriors’ pipeline aren’t exactly in short supply either. No, not with guys the likes of Trevor Evans, Andrew McClune, Thomas Jeanes, and Jack Koons entering back into the fold come next season. And when you get right down to it, what more could a program possibly want? Like their counterparts whom they had just vanquished on Friday evening, the bar and overall standard for their program too has so clearly been elevated and raised that anything but an upper-tier finish might be viewed as somewhat of a “down” year. And if that doesn’t help to define progress and success working in tandem with one another, I’m not really sure what does.
