DENVER – For years, Cocalico has been known for a brand of football that is tough on defense and most importantly features a well-oiled machine running game. Muhlenberg got a giant dose of that Eagles rushing attack in the 2026 opener.
Cocalico earned a convincing 40-21 win over the Muhls on Friday night to open the 2026 season in an inter-divisional Lancaster-Lebanon League contest and it was powered by a rushing attack that amassed 377 yards as a team on 60 carries.
“We pride ourselves on running the ball well and take the advantage of the pass when we need to,” Cocalico Head Coach Bryan Strohl said. “It starts up front and we can be so successful when they are driving people back like tonight.”
The Eagles had a 2025 season they wanted to forget as they finished just 4-6 and missed the District III playoffs in a full normal season since 2015. It was apparent that the much more experienced group was ready to prove last season was a fluke.
“We had some close losses last year and it ended up snowballing from there,” Strohl said. “We were young at different positions, but now I think this group has a lot more confidence with that experience they gained last season with a lot less nerves as well.”
Cocalico did not even need to do much on offense for their opening touchdown as they were set up right at the Muhls 10-yard line following a high snap on a punt attempt. Rocco Colatta-Rigney, one of the many backs that found success, scored on his first attempt to give Cocalico an early 6-0 lead. The Eagles once again took advantage of Muhlenberg miscues as they recovered a fumble on a backwards pass in their own territory on the ensuing drive. Colatta-Rigney added his second 10-yard touchdown a few plays later to put Cocalico up 13-0 at the 6:33-mark of the first quarter.
“We have to keep our brains engaged in what we are doing,” Muhlenberg Head Coach Rob Flowers said. “Our kids aren’t quitters, and they fight and do everything they can. We have to fight with our brains next time.”
The resiliency of the Muhls that was on full display last season in a breakout campaign that saw them return to the District III playoffs for the first time since 2013 with an 8-3 record showed up on their next drive when quarterback Adriel Baez found a wide open Noel Irizarry for a 52-yard touchdown pass on 3rd-and-12 that cut the Eagles lead to 13-7. Cocalico fumbled on the first play of its next possession and one play later Baez put Muhlenberg in front 14-13 with a 23-yard passing touchdown to Kalib Perez.
When all seemed lost early, the Muhls were suddenly in front.
However, the Eagles punched back with by powering their way down the field to take the lead back at 19-14 at the start of the second quarter. They primarily went at the Muhls interior with success and needed a 1-yard plunge on 4th-and-Goal from Logan Horning to finish off the drive.
The game completely swung in favor of the Eagles one offensive drive later as they used a 17-play 80-yard drive that took 7:28 off the clock and ended with an 11-yard touchdown run by James Anderson with 57 seconds left in the first half that made it 26-14.
It was the way Cocalico managed that drive seemingly delivered a decisive blow that the Muhls could not recover from. The Eagles were already inside the Muhls territory before back-to-back holding calls pushed Cocalico into a 1st-and-28 spot. Cocalico worked its way down to a manageable 4th-and-4 situation before a false start made it tougher at 4th-and-9. Quarterback Connor Horning scrambled around the left side and broke two tackles for an 11-yard gain to fully dig the Eagles out of the hole.
“I actually wanted Connor to throw it at first when he initially took off,” Strohl laughed. “I saw four guys converging on him, but he found a way to get that first down because that’s just who Connor is. He is a competitor and he is a lot more confident.”
Connor Horning fooled the Muhls defense again to start the second half as they bit on a fake handoff which allowed him to scamper 42 yards untouched to make it a 33-14 Eagles lead. Connor Horning then found himself at the right place at the right time as he recovered a fumble from an option pitch in the end zone to cap the Cocalico scoring.
“You can’t have an option-based football team let them get a first down after facing a deficit of 28 yards,” Flowers said. “That was very deflating.”
Connor Horning finished with 71 yards on nine carries with two touchdowns while his twin brother, Logan, led the Eagles rushing attack with 108 yards on 16 carries with one score. Colatta-Rigney fell just short of the century mark with 90 yards off 17 carries along with his two touchdowns.
Cocalico and Muhlenberg both move on to rivalry games for Week Two with Cocalico making the short trip down Route 272 to face Ephrata and Muhlenberg faces Reading in their City Game.
“I know they (Ephrata) will be ready for us, but we will be fired up and ready to face them too,” Strohl said. “It is always fun for the communities when this matchup happens and it should be a great game.”
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Muhlenberg | 14 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Cocalico | 13 | 13 | 7 | 7 | 40 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Cocalico | Colatta-Rigney, 10 run (Kick Failed) | 10:25 |
| 1 | Cocalico | Colatta-Rigney, 10 run (Popolis Kick) | 6:33 |
| 1 | Muhl | Irizarry, 52 pass from Baez (Ciervo Kick) | 5:15 |
| 1 | Muhl | Perez, 23 pass from Baez (Ciervo Kick) | 5:03 |
| 2 | Cocalico | L. Horning, 1 run (Run Failed) | 9:57 |
| 2 | Cocalico | Anderson, 11 run (Popolis Kick) | 0:57 |
| 3 | Cocalico | C. Horning, 42 run (Popolis Kick) | 10:34 |
| 4 | Cocalico | C. Horning, 0 run (Popolis Kick) | 10:22 |
| 4 | Muhl | Rodriguez, 16 pass from Baez (Ciervo Kick) | 7:35 |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | Cocalico | |
| First downs | 10 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 21-27 | 60-377 |
| Passing yards | 237 | 4 |
| Total yards | 264 | 381 |
| Passes COMP-ATT-INT | 13-26-0 | 1-2-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 4-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-35.0 | 2-24.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-47 | 4-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Baez 10-37, Boston 3-7, M. Oforgaram Edochie 1-2, Rodriguez 6-1, TEAM 1-(-20)
Cocalico: L. Horning 16-108, Colatta-Rigney 17-90, C. Horning 9-71, Breneman 5-39, Rios 4-36, Anderson 7-37, Shaak 1-0, TEAM 1-(-4)
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Baez 13-26-0–237
Cocalico: C. Horning 1-2-0–4
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Rodriguez 3-51, Faulkner 3-38, Perez 2-67, Irizarry 2-55, Talley 1-14, Stadalman 1-13, Boston 1(-1)
Cocalico: Anderson 1-4