Governor Mifflin Looks The Part, Flashes Brilliance As Explosive Mustangs Come Away With Strong Road Win At Cocalico To Begin New Era
Written by: Andy Herr on December 5, 2024
Truthfully, you can’t really make this claim considering how early in the season it still is –especially being a game played on December 4th much less. But in some ways, Cocalico’s Wednesday night tilt at home this week against Governor Mifflin was a bit of a litmus test as to how the remainder of the Eagles’ season may end up looking like.
And to be candid and right up front, this isn’t some hokey feeling of optimism surrounding the boys’ basketball program residing in Denver this winter either. In fact, there’s a very really and tangible possibility that Cocalico will not just end up making a bid into the District 3-5A tournament field once the dust settles, but they also figure to fight for a spot in the Lancaster-Lebanon League playoffs as well, if not being right there until the bitter end when it comes to deciding the eventual Section Two champion as a matter of fact. For that reason, that’s probably why their game played just 24 hours prior to the one against Mifflin in midweek was so difficult to stomach.
Granted, it’s not like Lampeter-Strasburg is some kind of of pushover of course. In fact, the Pioneers are most certainly on the short list of teams who could easily be cutting down nets at Manheim Township in mid-February following the league championship game (again). But this year, after getting a bit of reprieve of sorts when it came to avoiding one of their foremost headaches the Eagles had run into for years when it came to lining up against L-S in divisional play year after year, Cocalico’s bump up to the Section Two rank and file entering this meant that this season’s edition of the L-S matchup wouldn’t count directly towards the league standings if you will.
Then again, no matter what figure to transpire, the result itself would figure to speak with plenty of volume. For that reason, seeing an eventual final score that showed L-S coming out on the positive side with such a decisive 59-40 decision on Tuesday night could understandably cause a bit of consternation in Eagles’ camp, albeit with the season being just one game in.
Even still, there certainly was no time whatsoever when it came to Cocalico potentially getting all up in their feels considering they would have just as stiff a test waiting for them the very next day against the aforementioned Mustangs of Mifflin, a squad that also was finding itself in a bit of litmus test situation as well considering how Wednesday night marked the start of the Garrett Etzel head coaching era in Governor Mifflin basketball.
And if their game against Cocalico is to serve as any sort of indicator as to what may be in store for the gang hailing from Shillington over the course of this year, let’s just be frank and say that seeing the Mustangs play hoops is well worth the price of admission alone.
On Wednesday, despite starting off in a 5-0 hole through the first few minutes following buckets contributed by way of Timmy Hambright and Camden Ochs respectively when it came to leading the Cocalico effort, Governor Mifflin seemed no worse for the wear in the ensuing few minutes which followed. Case in point, the Mustangs eventually gaining control of the scoreboard at a 9-7 count following a 3-ball sunk by Mifflin’s extremely twitchy 5’7 senior guard, Andrew Galantuomo, with roughly half the first quarter having been expired by that point.
As fate would later have it, Galantuomo’s hoop would prove to the difference when it came to Mifflin ever relinquishing control of the game for the remainder of the night.
And if Galantuomo wasn’t scoring the ball himself –something he ended up doing 11 times over on Wednesday to be one of three Mustangs finishing with double figures — he had no qualms whatsoever in terms of dishing it off to teammates either, such as his nifty shuffle pass amongst the Eagles’ trees inside to a waiting Stephen Mayo underneath, as the Mifflin backcourt’s connection made it a 11-7 lead in favor of the visitors with Cocalico forced to burn a timeout with 3:41 left in the frame to try and stem the tide.
Unfortunately for them, it wouldn’t do all that much in deterring the Mifflin steamroller.
Sure enough, the Mifflin cushion would swell upwards to as many as eight at 15-7 following a point-blank follow bucket contributed by way of Mustangs’ senior center, Matt Koehler, before the Eagles would finally break their impromptu scoring hex behind a pair of Hambright triples in successive fashion which helped cut the gap back down to size, albeit a said difference that would eventually end in seven and a 23-16 Governor Mifflin lead at the end of the first quarter.
Ironically though, especially considering how it felt just so decisive the way in which Mifflin seemed to be dictating the terms on both the offensive and defensive ends up until that point, Cocalico just kept hanging around and hanging around as the first half wore on.
Indeed, the hosts would find themselves back within a pair at 23-21 following another trifecta splashed down, this one by Gavin DeLuca, as the Cocalico senior guard helped to bridge the gap before Galantuomo would promptly counter back with one of his own not long afterwards, building the margin back upwards to five at 28-23.
From there, following a personal 5-0 rally authored by Cocalico 6’0 junior guard, Ty Wealand, the Eagles once again found themselves well back within the fight at 34-31 with 2:12 remaining in the second quarter, this time prompting Governor Mifflin to be the ones to call time and try to regroup.
And while Wealand would continue to give Mifflin problems throughout the waning stages of the first half as evidenced by a take to the cup that kept Cocalico within shouting distance, an explosive first half from both sides would see things culminate with Mifflin owning the 37-34 lead after the first 16 minutes of play.
Yet for as well as Cocalico may have been able to steady the waters throughout the first two frames, Governor Mifflin simply wasn’t having any of it by the time the second half got underway.
True to form, Mifflin found the services of Jahmair Johnson to be nothing if not supremely effective as the Mustangs’ towering senior big man helped raise the curtain on the third quarter of play with a pair of easy bunnies at the tin that most certainly helped to get the maroon-clad bunch off on the right foot. From there, Mifflin’s pension for returning to the paint remained on display as Matt Koehler, the eventual game-high scorer in posting a 21-point night at the office, finished off a traditional three-point play which put the Mustangs up by ten, 46-36, with momentum undoubtedly teetering in Mifflin’s direction.
But “teetering” may not have exactly been the most apropos of words used to describe Mifflin’s 49th and 50th points of the evening.
In fact, maybe the only thing teetering taking place would’ve been the rim hanging on Cocalico’s glass backboard as a runout in transition saw Stephen Mayo well ahead of the pack –with everyone on Mifflin’s side of the gym knowing what was coming– before Mayo took off and threw down a two-handed dunk as the bouncy yet equally-adept calm and steady table-setter for the Governor Mifflin offense put the guests up a dozen at 50-38 with 3:30 left to play in the third.
From there, with the football team’s wide receiver already having gotten in on the act, it seemed only natural that the quarterback follow suit. In that regard, Javien Pletz came up large for Governor Mifflin by calling his own number and knocking down a triple in the final few moments of the third quarter, helping to vault the Mustangs into the final round of eight minutes while playing with the spoils of a 55-45 lead.
Suffice to say, if Cocalico had any hopes of getting things back within a manageable reach with time now quickly running dry on them, the time was now for the Eagles to try and pounce. Well timed, but Camden Ochs would respond in kind by sinking a 3-ball from the top of the key, good for three more en route to his team-high 19-point effort on Wednesday, as the Eagles’ 6’5 senior stretch forward cut the difference back to nine at 57-48 with inside of six minutes now left to go.
However, that would prove to be all the closer Cocalico would get for the duration of the night.
Here, while looking like they had already spent countless hours of running the delay game in practice while wisely protecting their lead in running things offensively in the halfcourt, Governor Mifflin began to sit on their existing cushion. Yet when they did take the opportunity to strike, Javien Pletz was more than up for that too as the senior guard’s bucket inside saw the Mustangs’ increase the margin back to 11 at 59-48. And speaking of inside play, there is arguably nothing more deflating to a defense when you are able to score in such a manner, particularly with the game winding down and you needing stops. For this, what would effectively serve as the Governor Mifflin dagger into Cocalico’s final dreams of a frantic charge down the stretch, a Stephen Mayo to Jahmair Johnson dish inside gave not only the Mustangs their largest lead of the evening at the time, 63-48, but it also helped pave the way for what would end up being a rather decisive 68-50 final verdict in favor of Governor Mifflin, effectively helping to serve notice to the rest of the Berks Section One assembled characters that they may have a Mustang problem on their hands this season.
As for Cocalico, yes, while they currently sit with a 0-2 overall mark, all is certainly not lost here. Then again, while you obviously would want to find yourself with the direct opposite record heading into the first full and “true” weekend of the season, the Eagles’ first two defeats are quite possibly against a pair of league champions in their own right when harkening back to Lampeter-Strasburg as well. Now sure, while you obviously don’t get the opportunity of simply allowing yourself to show up at the gym and expect a good outcome without having to work for it, especially now owning 0-2 as your mark, Cocalico does find itself with a couple of more opportunities upcoming in the short term when it comes to meeting up with a very dangerous Penn Manor crew at home on Saturday fresh off a thrilling victory over Conestoga Valley before then beginning league play next week with games against Solanco and a must-see tilt with Garden Spot to follow on Thursday evening.
For the Cocalico, a team brimming with plenty of good vibes and juju entering this season, this first week can do wonders for fulfilling such anticipated promise as the season takes shape. Now, the challenge is totally in their hands to see if they can indeed use their first two outings against a pair of worthy stalwarts to help it fuel them for what still remains a year of positive things quite possibly yet to come.
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