Gov. Mifflin and Wilson, Hamburg and Lancaster Catholic face off in Week 6 of high school football

Sep. 29—Week 6 of the high school football season will feature some high-profile matchups, as Gov. Mifflin will host Wilson on Saturday, and Hamburg travels to Lancaster Catholic on Friday night for a clash of unbeaten Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 5 teams.

The Mustangs (1-1, 2-3) are coming off a 42-8 win over Muhlenberg in which quarterback Delsin McNeil rushed for three touchdowns and threw for one. On the other side, the Bulldogs (2-0, 4-1) defeated Cedar Crest 36-13 in Week 5.

The two teams will face off on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Shillington, with the game serving as the centerpiece of Gov. Mifflin's annual homecoming celebration. Wilson holds an 11-7 record in the series with the Mustangs dating back to 2006.

With each team coming off a league victory and plenty of history between the two sides, the non-league matchup for the coveted Gurski-Linn Trophy will be a major test for both teams, according to both Wilson coach Doug Dahms and Gov. Mifflin coach Jeff Lang.

"It's gonna be a big game," Dahms said. "It's Mifflin week, you try to get the kids psyched up. They (the Mustangs) got a big offensive and defensive line. You got a battle in there of who is gonna stand up and take the punch and give it back. They got some skilled (running) backs (and quarterback) Delsin McNeil is pretty slick with the ball, so they're gonna be a threat. They're gonna give us a contest."

The Bulldogs enter the game having outscored their first five opponents 153-75 and have put up 1,329 yards of total offense (811 yards rushing, 518 passing).

Wilson senior Cameron Jones leads the Bulldogs with 14 touchdowns, three of which he has scored on punt returns. He has rushed for 327 yards on 37 carries and has caught nine passes for 102 yards.

"He worked really hard in the offseason getting stronger and getting faster, and he's in great shape," Dahms said about Jones. "He's a great team leader, but as far as on-the-field is concerned, he just has a really high football IQ. He understands what's going on, understands how blocking schemes are set up, understands offensive and defensive schemes and puts them a step ahead of most of the kids."

Lang said his team is well-aware of the firepower that Jones and the Bulldogs bring to the table. However, the Mustangs are more focused on limiting their own mistakes.

"Wilson is playing great football right now," Lang said. "They got some really good athletes and some really mobile lineman. Cameron Jones has stepped up even more so than in years past. So we know our opponents, but we're worried about ourselves. That's the biggest thing and that's been everything — taking care of ourselves and taking care of the ball. Taking care of penalties, and executing our offense and defense is the main focus."

McNeil leads the Mustangs in scoring with six rushing touchdowns and one passing touchdown, and fullback Brayden Reis leads Gov. Mifflin with 318 yards. Reis also has two touchdowns.

With confidence from its win against Muhlenberg, Lang said he believes a win against Wilson would give his team even greater momentum heading into the four remaining league games on the Mustangs' schedule.

"Right now we're just focused on Wilson and trying to find a way to beat Wilson," Lang said. "Everybody knows if we can pull that off, we're gonna have some pretty good confidence going into the rest of the section."

Elsewhere around the league, the Hawks (2-0, 5-0) take on the Crusaders (2-0, 5-0) on Friday at 7 p.m. in what could prove to be a decisive matchup in determining the Section 5 champion. Hamburg is coming off a 42-7 victory against Kutztown, but lost standout running back Pierce Mason to an apparent leg injury in the fourth quarter.

Mason leads the Hawks with 18 touchdowns and has recorded 841 rushing yards on 61 carries.

Hamburg coach Matt Hoffert said he believes that Mason's status will be a game-time decision on Friday night after the senior did practice on Thursday.

"Pierce was a little banged up on Friday," Hoffert said. "I call it a game-time decision because I want to make sure he's ready to go before we actually play him."

Quarterback Xander Menapace has thrown for 705 yards and eight touchdowns as well as rushed for four scores. He has helped the Hawks' offense put up a 258 points through five games.

Heading into a key game against an equally-matched divisional opponent, Hoffert said the Hawk's success has been the result of a total team effort. He added that, despite the undefeated records, his team is focused on taking things one game at a time.

"It's been a total team effort and all the guys have been doing a great job," Hoffert said. "The offensive line has gotten better, that's why Pierce can run the way he does each week. Xander Menapace has done a great job at quarterback. He does a great job of running the field and that's why we run read options — he gets the ball to Pierce and puts him in good situations.

"Obviously Lancaster Catholic is having a great year. We expected them to be where they are right now and we are showing up week in and week out. We are thinking we have to be 1-0 at the end of this week. That's how we take every week. I tell the guys each week, 'We're 0-0 to start and we're going to be 1-0 to end it.' So we just got to keep pushing forward and get better this week."

In other Friday night games across Berks, Exeter will host Warwick in a Section 2 contest. The Eagles (2-0, 5-0) are coming off a 69-22 win over Lebanon (0-2, 0-5).

Solanco will travel to Twin Valley for a Section 3 game. The Raiders (1-1, 3-2) lost by just five points against Elizabethtown last week, despite a three rushing-touchdown performance by quarterback Evan Myers.

Berks Catholic will host Conrad Weiser in a Section 4 game at Forino Sports Complex. The Saints (1-1, 1-4) defeated Donegal 21-9 in Week 5 for their first win of the season, while the Scouts (2-0, 3-2) dominated Octorara 45-7.

Week 6 Schedule

Friday, Sept. 30 at 7 p.m.

Lancaster-Lebanon Section 1

Reading High at Cedar Crest

Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2

Warwick at Exeter

Muhlenberg at Manheim Central

Lancaster-Lebanon Section 3

Daniel Boone at Elizabethtown

Solanco at Twin Valley

Lancaster-Lebanon Section 4

Conrad Weiser at Berks Catholic

Wyomissing at Donegal

Lancaster-Lebanon Section 5

Hamburg at Lancaster Catholic

Annville-Cleona at Kutztown

Schuylkill Valley at Northern Lebanon

Saturday, Oct. 1

PAC Liberty

Boyertown at Norristown, 1 p.m.

Non-league

Wilson at Gov. Mifflin, 1 p.m.

Kennard-Dale at Fleetwood, 7 p.m.