Manheim Central ends Governor Mifflin’s season, 51-14, in D-3 5A quarterfinal
MANHEIM >> A rematch of last season’s District 3 5A championship game took place in this year’s quarterfinal round. The end result was the same; the means to acquire it differed greatly.
Manheim Central booted Governor Mifflin by a point a year ago in the 5A title game at Hersheypark Stadium and needed a late touchdown to do it.
There was no such suspense in the rematch Friday night at a soggy Rettew Stadium. The Barons, receivers of a first-round bye, commenced defense of their D-3 crown with a 51-14 victory over the Mustangs in a 5A quarterfinal.
Unbeaten Manheim Central (11-0) used a 20-point outburst late in the second quarter as springboard to a semifinal meeting next week with Cedar Cliff, winners over Warwick. Mifflin, which had shut out Elizabethtown last week in its postseason opener, wraps its 2018 campaign at 7-5.
“It was big plays,” Mifflin head coach Jeff Lang said. “We just couldn’t stop them.”
The Mustangs were burned — somewhat unexpectedly — by the legs of quarterback Evan Simon, who ran for 133 yards on 15 carries with two scores. It was not as though Simon was seemingly incapable of doing so; far from it. It’s just that Manheim Central had not particularly made a habit of featuring their quarterback as a constant running threat this fall. That burden usually fell upon running back Tyler Flick.
The Barons went big at the line Friday night, with a double-tight end set for much of it, and unleashed Simon in that manner. He ran for touchdowns of 13 and 50 yards, the latter coming during during a 20-point outburst late in the first half that turned a tight 3-0 ballgame into something more along the lines to which the home crowd was expecting.
Simon’s 50-yard dash was an untouched foray off left end and down the sideline that daggered the Mustangs, pushing the lead to 16-0 at a time when Mifflin was still competitively in the contest.
“I knew he was capable of that, from last year, too,” Lang said of Simon. “I thought we’d have our hands full stopping 24 (Flick) and they’d have to resort to passing, but that kid’s a great athlete. … Hat tip to those guys. They had answers.”
Flick got his yards as well, just not as the featured threat. Flick ended with 58 yards on 14 carries, including a late 6-yard jaunt to pay dirt for his 29th touchdown of the season, breaking the single-season school mark held by former Penn State fullback Dan Kreider.
Offensively, the Mustangs struggled greatly to establish any traction in the trenches. They were held to 46 total yards in the first half, with just two completions worth a net 12 yards.
Nick Singleton scored a second-half touchdown from 5 yards out and did much of the heavy lifting, with 85 yards on 23 totes, but none of it felt significant. His TD run made it 30-7 contest early in the second half — only to watch as Central drove right back down the field on the ensuing possession to make it 37-7.
Quarterback Kolbie Reeser threw for 103 yards but was picked twice, including a 47-yard return to the house by Central’s Colby Wagner midway through the third quarter, a play that stretched the margin to 44-7 and set the mercy clock in motion.
Wagner had made it a 30-0 game 24 seconds into the second half on the other side of the ball, with one of two scoring strikes from Simon’s arm — a 46-yard pitch and catch in single coverage on the corner with no help. Once Wagner beat his man, he was home free for the final 35 or so yards.
Manheim Central opened the contest by engineering a 10-play, 66-yard drive that stalled a t the Mifflin 17 and resulted in a 34-yard field goal by Niko Gavala for a 3-0 lead. Three possessions later, the Barons took advantage of a short field set up by a short punt, taking the football 54 yards in six plays and ending with Simon going in from 13 for a 10-0 edge.
The 50-yard dash from Simon happened two offensive snaps later; Will Rivers then picked off Reeser at midfield on the ensuing Mifflin series and returned it to the Mustang 16.
Two plays later, Simon rewarded Rivers for his defensive prowess by finding him in the corner of the end zone from 11 yards out for a touchdown and a 23-0 lead heading into the break.
District 3 5A quarterfinal
Manheim Central 51, Governor Mifflin 14
GM – 0 0 7 7 — 14
MC – 3 20 21 7 — 51
First quarter
MC – Niko Gavala 34 FG, 6:31
Second quarter
MC – Evan Simon 13 run (Gavala kick), 5:07
MC – Simon 50 run (kick failed), 2:45
MC – Will Rivers 11 pass from Simon (Gavala kick), 1:35
Third quarter
MC- Colby Wagner 46 pass from Simon (Gavala kick), 11:38
GM – Nick Singleton 5 run (Robert Turner kick), 9:40
MC – Jake Harnach 1 run (Gavala kick), 7:17
MC – Wagner 47 int return (Gavala kick), 6:23
Fourth quarter
MC – Tyler Flick 6 run (Gavala kick), 8:02
GM – Michael Franks 9 pass from Kolbie Reeser (Turner kick), 1:58
First downs
MC 16, GM 7
Rushing
MC 36-215, GM 33-99
Passing
MC 7-12-168, GM 5-12-103-2
Total yards
MC 383, GM 202
Fumbles-lost
MC 1-0, GM 2-0
Penalties-yards
MC 2-20, GM 5-40
Punts-ave.
MC 1-44.0, GM 5-36.3
