Gov. Mifflin football star Nick Singleton is named Athlete of the Year finalist

Jun. 25—Matt Bauer has coached high school football for nearly 25 years and has never seen a running back quite like Nick Singleton.

"I would say he's the best I've seen," said Bauer, the longtime Exeter coach. "Absolutely. He's definitely a cut above the rest."

Now a 6-0, 219-pound freshman at Penn State, Singleton ran for 2,059 yards last fall, scored 44 touchdowns and led Gov. Mifflin to a 10-1 record, the Berks Football League Section 1 title and the District 3 Class 5A final.

Not surprisingly, he has been selected as one of the five male finalists for the Reading Eagle Athlete of the Year award.

Singleton was named the 2021 Gatorade National High School Player of the Year and the Maxwell Football Club National High School Offensive Player of the Year, unprecedented honors for a Berks athlete.

Four veteran Berks head coaches who faced Gov. Mifflin and Singleton discussed what they think made him the county's career rushing leader and how they tried to slow him.

"Nick spent a lot of time with Dane Miller and Garage Strength," Berks Catholic coach Rick Keeley said of the gym in Maidencreek Township. "With the work ethic that he has, that made him bigger and stronger. Because of his offseason work, he reaped the rewards during the season.

"When they (the Mustangs) gave him the ball, he had great speed to outrun everybody to the outside and he was bullish enough running up the middle that he could hurt you there as well and break tackles."

Two years ago, Singleton carried 14 times for 186 yards and three scores in a 62-7 win over Berks Catholic. Last year, Keeley and his assistant coaches came up with a game plan they hoped would be more effective.

The Saints stayed within two touchdowns in the first half before Mifflin rolled to a 42-13 victory. Singleton ran 16 times for 108 yards and three TDs, but Aidan Gallen gained 213 yards and scored twice with all the attention the Saints paid to his running mate.

"We knew if we were going to have any chance of beating them, Nick was the guy we had to stop," Keeley said. "Whatever way he stepped first, we wanted our entire secondary to roll that way. They were going to be looking for him. It worked pretty good for us (for a while).

"Once they put in the quicker fullback (Gallen), he rushed for more than 200 yards. We really didn't want Nick to be the one who was going to beat us. We wanted them to go to something else and they did."

Against Muhlenberg, Singleton gained at least 124 yards in each of four lopsided wins and scored 13 touchdowns. John Lorchak, who has coached football for three decades, has been with the Muhls the last two seasons. He ranks Singleton among the best running backs he's seen and as talented as any one of them.

"Nick has a rare combination of speed, size, strength, explosiveness and just athleticism," Lorchak said. "He definitely has all the tools as a running back, but he also has the ability to catch the ball.

"You are going to have to designate the front seven or eight to concentrate on stopping him. In the playoffs, teams were doing that and he still was breaking tackles left and right. He has the ability to run through defenders, even if there are two of them hitting him simultaneously."

Bauer and Wilson's Doug Dahms are two coaches who found ways to beat Mifflin and contain Singleton.

Against Exeter, Singleton ran for 248 yards and two touchdowns in a 56-14 win two years ago and for 248 yards again and four TDs in a 54-21 rout last year.

Several weeks later, however, in the District 3 Class 5A title game, the Eagles held him to 40 yards on eight carries and one reception for a 51-yard TD in a stunning 31-28 triumph. Exeter kept the ball away from Singleton and the Mifflin offense and controlled the clock by running for 238 yards and passing for 158.

"The thing that's so difficult to prepare for is his sheer speed and explosiveness," said Bauer, who coached against Singleton five times. "There's really no way you can simulate that in a practice, especially when you (only) have a week to do it. What kid do you have who could even come close to that speed?

"If you miss a tackle and he gets to the second level, no one's catching him. He's gone. We thought the best way to give us a chance was to keep him off the field as much as possible."

Wilson slowed Singleton in its first two games against him, both decisive victories for the Bulldogs in 2018-19. But Singleton led the Mustangs to blowout wins the last two years against Wilson, rushing for 297 yards and seven touchdowns.

"The key against somebody like that is to not let him outside," Dahms said. "That's his bread and butter, utilizing his speed. We obviously didn't do a very good job of it. Their fullback (Trey Rock) hurt us, too. If you focus on one, somebody else gets in the way.

"He has a nice combination of speed and power. What he wasn't was a cutter. That's something he's going to have to learn to do at the next level. He's going to be facing a lot of speed and power. I'm sure he'll learn how to do it."

All four coaches praised Singleton for the way he conducted himself during his high school years and for his commitment to the game.

"He has a lot of natural ability and a terrific work ethic," Dahms said. "I don't think his head got too big. Some kids who have that kind of ability, their heads get in the way.

"From all my dealings with him, I thought he was very down to earth and very team-oriented. He was the hardest worker in the weight room for their team. That was the difference."

Mifflin coach Jeff Lang has called Singleton "the complete package" as a running back and "just an average Joe" because he's so grounded. He was a five-star prospect who recruiting outlets rated the No. 1 high school running back in the country and who chose Penn State over Notre Dame, Alabama, Wisconsin and Texas A&M, among others.

His parents, Timmy and Nichole, have described him as a homebody who enjoys being around his three siblings and other relatives.

"Nick's a great kid who comes from a great family," Bauer said, "He's always been very respectful. You could tell he was raised the right way."