Daniel Boone no match for Gov. Mifflin

SHILLINGTON >> Governor Mifflin’s emergence from its early-season funk is complete. One of the final ingredients the Mustangs needed to click was the passing game.

Check that box.

Junior quarterback Kolbie Reeser threw for three touchdowns, on 7 of 8 passing for 196 yards, and ran for a fourth as the host Mustangs rolled over Berks League Section 1 foe Daniel Boone 49-0 on Friday night.

Reeser displayed pinpoint accuracy on a trio of throws that tore the heart from the Boone defense: scoring tosses of 41, 18 and 50 yards – the first two of those to wide out Bryce Stubler. The 50-yard strike perfectly led Michael Franks on a post that split Boone’s safeties and put an exclamation point on the proceedings.

It was glorified pitch and catch, with Reeser the sniper.

“What we were looking at in practice all week was the way they were setting up on defense,” Reeser said. “When I came to the line, I’d take my scans of the secondary and just the way they were playing off our guys, Franks and Stubler, I knew we were going to be able to have over-the-top.

“After those first three games, against Cedar Cliff, Wilson and Cocalico (all losses), we knew we needed to clean up the mistakes and clean up the turnovers. I knew we’d be fine. We needed to have a good couple of games in the section and we got that and I think we’re headed in the right direction.”

Freshman back Nick Singleton continued his steady emergence with 110 yards rushing on 17 carries, with touchdown scamper of 3 and 16 yards.

The victory was Mifflin’s fourth straight and inched the Mustangs (4-3, 4-0 Berks 1) closer to section showdowns with Exeter and Conrad Weiser at the close of the regular season, a pair of games that appear increasingly likely to settle the issue.

For the Blazers (3-4, 0-3), it was a second consecutive setback and third in four games after a bright start to the campaign. There was not much to garner from the showing.

The Blazers netted 34 yards of total offense Friday, which a pair of teams losses for minus-25 and minus -17, respectively, eating into that number. Signal-caller Tommy Buchert was 2 of 6 for 21 yards and a pair of first-half interceptions, both of which led to Mifflin touchdowns.

“This one got out of hand for us fast,” head coach Rob Flowers said. “We turned it over on the first drive; it was tough. Very, very unfortunate. We’re on a two-game losing streak. We know that. We have to play the game at a much higher level. We have to have a really good practice week coming up.

“Mifflin never surprises me. They are a very physical football team and we know that. They’re rolling right now and they’re gonna keep rolling and do what they do.”

Mifflin’s Brandon Strausser picked Buchert off on the game’s fourth snap, at the Boone 44. Five plays later, Reeser hit Stubler in stride on a fly for 41 yards and the game’s opening score.

Franks provided a case of deja vu, as safety, on the next series by doing the same from almost the exact spot on the field as Strausser’s pick. Mifflin set up at the Boone 40 and eight plays later, Singleton went over from 3 for the first of his two scores and a 14-0 lead.

The teams exchanged a pair of fumbles — the first by Reeser, in which Matt Okuniewski appeared to have a clear field for a return down the left sideline before Stubler tracked him down from behind with a burst of blazing speed at the Mifflin 19.

But one play later, the Blazers gave it right back with a fumble of their own, a 25-yard hot potato loss finally settled near midfield. Singleton carried on five consecutive snaps worth 50 yards, a third score and his second for a 20-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The conversion failed.

A six-play, 73-yard foray pushed it to 26-0 when Reeser found Stubler from 18 for the touchdown and then Jacob Gelvin for the 2-point conversion to expand the lead to 28-0. Franks’ 50-yarder on Mifflin’s next possession with 1:13 left it half made it 35-0 and set the mercy clock in motion for the final 24 minutes.

Reeser kept it for an 18-yard score on the initial drive after halftime; Jaiden Quiles closed the book with a 50-yard jaunt to paydirt early in the fourth quarter after the starters had been pulled.