SHILLINGTON — Not once has Pottsville High football coach Tom McGeoy made excuses for the failure of the Crimson Tide to win a game during the last two seasons.
Still, one would expect the Tide to get a break sooner or later. Well, last weekend they got a break, and man, it was a doozy.
Sophomore Ian Renninger, a 6-foot-7 two-way end, broke his foot and is lost for the season. And while it is a stretch to say the presence of a player with all-county talent would have made a difference in the outcome of Friday’s 28-0 Berks Football League Section 1 loss at Governor Mifflin, he clearly was missed.
“I’ll have to see the films to see what effect it had on our blocking, but once again we were inconsistent offensively, and that’s where we’re at right now,” McGeoy said. “Certainly, we can’t replace his size and the threat he presented as a receiver.
“He was also having a solid year on defense. He was having an all-league type of season.”
Although the four-touchdown margin would seem to indicate the Tide (0-6, 0-3 Berks 1) was never in the game, that’s not the entire story. Pottsville, though, was unable to mount any semblance of a drive against the Mustangs until its final possession, which ended with an interception with 57 seconds remaining.
Mifflin (3-3, 2-0 Berks 1) scored on just two of its seven first-half possession, losing a fumble for a touchback and missing a 43-yard field goal. Still, the Mustangs were in control at the half with a 14-0 lead and an even bigger margin of domination in the statistics.
At the half, the Mustangs had 182 yards rushing and six first downs. Pottsville was minus-1 yard rushing and failed to get a first down until 10:13 remained in the game when on consecutive plays quarterback Eric Wapinsky completed a 6-yard pass to Kory Kleckner and then scrambled for 9 yards.
On Mifflin’s second possession, Aaron Grill turned a second-and-7 into a 60-yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead. That lead doubled on the second play of the second quarter when Lucas Garner scored on a third-and-goal run from the 8 to cap a six-play, 45-yard drive.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, Garner capped the scoring with a 55-yard that capped a three-play, 60-yard drive. He finished with 11 carries for 133, and Grill finished with five carries for 81 yards.
Neither of those two long touchdown runs were the biggest plays of the game, however, for the Mustangs. Midway through the third quarter tight end Dylan Harr got open in the secondary, catching a pass from quarterback Hunter Reeser at the 35 and then running into the end zone untouched for an 84-yard touchdown reception and a 21-0 lead.
Reeser completed just 4-of-13 passes for 156, but two of them were good for 127 yards to Harr, who was stripped of the ball before scoring on a 43-yard completion in the first quarter. That was the first of two fumbles the Tide forced while defending their end zone.
A 53-yard punt return by Shavan Prince gave the Mustangs the ball at the 19 and his 16-yard run set up first-and-goal at the 3. On the next play he was stripped of the ball, which resulted in a fumble that was recovered at the 4 by Mitch Robison.
Pottsville then went on a 13-play drive that gained 53 yards before a run lost 2 yards and Ajay Sczepkowski ended the drive with an interception at his 18. Before the interception, Wapinsky had completed 5-of-8 passes in the fourth quarter for 42 yards.
Leading rusher Darion Jacoby led the Tide with 11 carries for 26 yards, but sacks and negative runs resulted in a net team total of 24 yards on 30 carries. Kleckner was the leading receiver with three receptions for 22 yards.
Game Summary
Pot (0-6, 0-3) 0 0 0 0 — 0
GM (3-3, 2-0) 7 7 7 7 — 28
GM — Grill 60 run (Myers kick)
GM — Garner 8 run (Myers kick)
GM — Harr 84 pass from Reeser (Myers kick)
GM — Garner 55 run (Myers kick)
Pot GM
First Downs 5 11
Rushes-Yards 30-24 36-271
Passes 7-19-1 4-13-0
Passing Yards 54 156
Total Yards 78 427
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 5-2
Penalties 2-20 7-57
INDIVIDUAL LEADERS
RUSHING: Pottsville — Jacoby 11-26, Murhon 4-2, Futchko 1-(-2), Wapinsky 14-(-2). Governor Mifflin — Garner 11-133, Grill 5-81, Reeser 11-31, Prince 7-21, Santiago 1-4, Baker 1-1.
PASSING: Pottsville — Wapinsky 7-19-1, 54. Governor Mifflin — Reeser 4-13-0, 156.
RECEIVING: Pottsville — Kleckner 3-22, Jacoby 1-12, Heckler 1-10, Angelichio 1-7, Murhon 1-3. Governor Mifflin — Harr 2-127, Prince 1-17, Bortz 1-12.
INTERCEPTIONS: Governor Mifflin — Sczepkowski