Mifflin County’s Stifling Defense upends Waynesboro on Homecoming.
Tagged under: District 3, District 6, Gameday Hub, News
Quincy Piper | October 5, 2024
The stands were jam-packed for a crazy homecoming game in Lewistown, and I’m here to talk about it. Coach Breon on the win: “Well, I’m glad we came away with a win. It was a dogfight; I knew it would be. It was a tough win. We did a good job on third down, we were able to keep drives going and get the ball downfield.”
On new QB Chase Hartung: “He doesn’t get shaken in big situations. We had some protections kind of slip away, and we had guys open downfield that we weren’t able to get to, but all things considered, he had a good game.”
Mifflin County senior OL/DL Peyton Kearns on the game and his high energy: “I’ve been playing both sides of the ball since I was a freshman, so I’m used to it. I just gotta get the motor running; when it starts, it doesn’t stop.” Kearns on some key blocks he made: “I had it in my head that I was gonna show out tonight. From the beginning, I was locked in. I was going to come in here and make a big impact. My blocking comes kind of easy; I have the mindset that I’m going to win and be the best.”
Waynesboro and Mifflin County exchanged three-and-outs on the game’s first two drives before the scoring commenced. Waynesboro drove down the field, taking advantage of the short field, and capped the drive off with a Tank Benedict one-yard score (PAT good, 7-0, 6:32 1st). Mifflin County got the ball back quickly on a three-and-out, only to be intercepted by Dupree Reed at the 1:32 mark. “Yeah, we were studying film all week, so as soon as I saw the motion, the only thing on my mind was to get up there and make a play on the football, and luckily I did,” said Reed on the interception.
Mifflin County, much like Waynesboro a few possessions ago, was able to take advantage of a short punt and score on a one-yard plunge from Josh Maldonado (PAT good, 6:32 2nd). That took us to halftime, with neither defense willing to give another inch.
Waynesboro, not able to get much going on the ground, opened up the third quarter with a bang. Nate Nolan tallied 79 of his 94 yards on the evening with a single sprint, taking a handoff down the left sideline and breaking the tie yet again, putting his team up seven following the PAT (8:52 3rd). Mifflin County responded right away, driving down the field with a mix of running and timely passes on third down, before Josh Maldonado hit paydirt for the second time of the evening, tying up the game at 14-14 (PAT good, 6:13 3rd).
Disaster struck for the Indians late in the quarter. Waynesboro QB Frazier Hewett was flushed out of the pocket and forced to fumble by Husky linebacker Adan Daubert, allowing Mifflin County senior Harrison Bulick to etch his name in the story of the soon-defunct Mitchell Field, barreling into the end zone from nine yards out (PAT blocked, 2:00 3rd). This put the Huskies ahead, and their defense stifled a late Waynesboro drive with a Reese Christine interception late in the fourth quarter.
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