Grady Garner-Gov. Mifflin

Grady Garner knows all about Gov. Mifflin’s physical brand of football. The 190-pound junior fullback grew up watching his brothers, Lucas and Tucker, play for the Mustangs. “I’ve always looked up to them my whole life. I wear #40 because of my brother Lucas,” replied Grady. Lucas rumbled for 1,200 yards and scored 15 TD in 2015. It was Grady’s time to shine on Friday night in Shillington. He ran for three touchdowns as Gov. Mifflin raced out to a 35-0 halftime advantage over Boyertown. The game was postponed to Saturday morning due to lightning. The (2-1) Mustangs knocked off the Bears 35-16. Gov. Mifflin’s option attack resulted in 49 runs and just three pass attempts. That ratio is just fine with Garner. “I love it. I love it. It’s what I play for. I just play to hit people…I love the Mifflin offense, ground and pound,” he emphasized. Garner piled up 185 yards on 25 touches. The Mustangs marched 67 yards on the opening drive which was capped by a 6-yard run by junior quarterback Javien Pletz. After a fumble by Cole Yesavage, Garner went 41 yards to the house on the next play. The avalanche continued as Brandon Jones blocked a Boyertown punt and Stewart Janowski recovered it in the end zone. It was 21-0 with 5:18 left in the first quarter. Garner wasn’t finished. He ran through three tackles for a 25-yard score with 31 seconds remaining in the opening period. Garner’s 18-yard burst up the middle made it 35-0 with one minute left before halftime. The powerful fullback, who’s also a sprinter on the track team, had already gone over 100 rushing yards. The (1-2) Bears played inspired football on Saturday morning in front of a sparse crowd, while the Mustangs mixed in several of their backups. Cade Sennott took the second half kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. After forcing a Gov. Mifflin punt, Yesavage broke free for a 59-yard run to the Mustangs’ 15-yard line. A 4-yard TD run by senior quarterback Ryder Gehris and a two-point conversion from Yesavage got Boyertown within 35-16 with two minutes left in the third quarter. With the clock running due to the mercy rule, the Mustangs put together a drive that lasted twelve minutes. They eventually turned it over on downs at the 12-yard line with 1:53 to go. Janowski, a 225-pound RT/DE, got a sack on fourth down to end the Bears’ final possession. Boyertown was limited to four first downs and 95 total yards. Yesavage had 77 yards on 13 carries. The 6’2, 210-pound senior ran for 1,276 yards and 17 TD a season ago. Gov. Mifflin amassed 293 yards on the ground. Garner praised his offensive line. “I owe them everything. They played amazing. I wouldn’t be able to score without them,” he said.