A CAREER NIGHT
Nick Singleton runs for 330 yards and ties a county record with seven touchdowns in a 63-35 victory over Warwick in the District 3 Class 5A quarterfinals
Gov. Mifflin running back Nick Singleton picked an opportune time to have the best game of his career.
The Penn State commit ran for a career-high 330 yards and a Berks record-tying seven touchdowns to lead the top-seeded Mustangs to a 63-35 victory over eighth-seeded Warwick in a District 3 Class 5A quarterfinal game Friday night in Shillington.
“He did a heck of a job tonight,” Gov. Mifflin coach Jeff Lang said about Singleton. “(I’m) very happy for him.”
Singleton scored on runs of 13, 56, 26, 2, 18, 60 and 65 yards to tie the county record set by Reading High’s John “Horse” Charlton in 1912 and matched by West Reading’s Dan Capozello in 1954.
Fellow running back Aiden Gallen also had a strong performance, accumulating 81 rushing yards and two touchdowns against the Warriors (7-5). The Mustangs recorded 430 yards on the ground.
“(We) had some big games from everybody,” Lang said. “Gallen ran pretty hard.”
Both teams scored touchdowns on their first two possessions. Singleton scored Gov. Mifflin’s opening touchdown, followed by a Gallen touchdown on the next drive.
The Warwick offense was sharp early, relying on the passing game and aggressive playcalling. The Warriors converted on fourth down on each of their first two drives.
Trailing 7-0 early in the first quarter, quarterback Jack Reed connected with wide receiver Ryan Fink for a 14-yard touchdown to tie it. After another Mustangs’ touchdown, Warwick drove down the field before running back Christian Royer scored to make it 14-14.
Singleton scored on Gov. Mifflin’s following drive and the Mustangs never looked back,
outscoring the Warriors 49-21 in the final 37 minutes.
Reed completed 15-of-27 passes for 165 yards and three touchdowns. He was not sacked.
“I don’t think we got on them too much tonight,” Lang said about his defensive line’s performance. “That was one of our game plans to put some pressure on them, and we didn’t.”
The Mustangs (9-0) will host No. 4 seed Spring Grove in the semifinals next Friday at 7 p.m. The Rockets defeated Waynesboro 21-6 in the quarterfinals.
“We’re going to enjoy it,” Lang said about his team’s win. “Evaluate some of the things that we did well and some of the things that we need to fix and just keep moving forward.”