Twin Valley Uses Recipe Of Big Plays, Mental Fortitude, And Old-Fashioned Guts To Cook Up Improbable Come-From-Behind Victory Against Solanco As Raiders Remain Unbeaten, Hungry To Continuing Fight Towards Section Crown

Written by: Andy Herr on Saturday, September 30th, 2023. Follow Andy Herr on Twitter.

We all know this is a game that by its nature is woven in a very fine cyclical fabric. I dunno about you all, but maybe that’s why we all love it so much. It certainly is for me at least. And how could you not? What’s not to enjoy about the constant ebb and flow that comes part in parcel with every high school football season that routinely bears witness to different programs at different times rising to vistas perhaps up so high that their program has experienced before? That said, the cruelty of this Ferris wheel kind sport is that while you may be riding high enjoying the cotton candy this time around, your ticket may someday put you at the very bottom of the ride while waiting on what feels like a stubborn carnie refusing to pull the lever. And sometimes, it can be remarkable just how fast the narrative really can shift. In fact, just look at one potential matchup inside Lancaster-Lebanon Section Three play this week for proof of that.

Now, full disclaimer here, but absent of the whimsical preamble offered up above, it’s not as if either Twin Valley nor Solanco was (or is) going to go through any sort of a direct penthouse to outhouse situation from 2022 to 2023, or vice versa. Rest assured, these are a pair of programs that have long-term staying power naturally baked into their respective equations when it comes to the divisional landscape in any given year given previous history. Even still, it is nonetheless remarkable given how the narratives between both the Raiders and Golden Mules have shifted in a matter of just 364 days.

At this time a year ago heading into their Week 6 tilt against one another, it would be Solanco found riding high into Elverson as owners of a perfect 5-0 record. On the other hand, Twin Valley conversely came into the week scuffling a bit by comparison given how their resume stood just a game above .500 at 3-2. Regardless, records coming into the evening be damned it would have appeared given how the Raiders made the Mules sweat out every detail of a 32-25 final decision that night in late September over on the eastern edge of Berks County.

That said, from the month of October onward, both Twin Valley and Solanco experienced tremendous finishes in their own right.

From the Raiders’ side of things, Twin Valley was able to finish with a 4-1 record the rest of the way home following their loss against Solanco before succumbing to an eventual state champion, Bishop McDevitt, in the District 3-4A playoffs. Certainly no shame to be found there.

For Solanco, the Golden Mules were able to stay exactly that, golden, as Solanco proceeded to enjoy their best regular season since 2015 when they too ironically fell at the hands of you guessed it, Bishop McDevitt, that season. As far as the particulars of it all, Solanco would finish the 2022 campaign at a sultry 10-0 overall mark, scooping up the high-coveted #1-seed line in the 5A bracket of the District 3 field. However, much like that aforementioned memorable 2015 campaign, 2022 also end shorter than desired as Solanco fell victim to what became arguably Pennsylvania’s feel-good story across all classification levels last autumn during the postseason journey as #12-seed Cocalico rolled into Quarryville and left the place in ruins following their emphatic 32-8 victory that was never really in any sort of danger or doubt.

At the same time, it could largely be argued that neither season from either Twin Valley or Solanco was all that unexpected. In TV’s case, the Raiders were a young bunch who took their turn under the Friday night lights and came up with a pretty remarkable debut season in announcing themselves to the larger Lancaster-Lebanon League audience following the 37-team merger for all intents and purposes. In Solanco’s world, especially with the benefit of hindsight, you’d have to figure that 2022 was a year where the Mules put everything together. Why? Well, certainly having what could have been darn near an entire starting defense and offense unit purely in the form of numbers from the 2023 graduating class alone didn’t hurt matters.

But here again, with that original prevailing thought of names changing and faces leaving, the cyclical beast can make things look remarkably different in two sets of camps in a relatively short span of time.

Sure enough, coming into their Week 6 affair this time around, it would be Twin Valley who had the shoe on the other foot in the form of an unbeaten 5-0 record at the regular season’s halfway point in 2023. While we’re at it, you could reasonably make an argument that pound-for-pound, this may have been the L-L’s best outfit throughout the first half of the season. That’s a notion that certainly lends credence by virtue of the 49-point outings the Raiders had put on the scoreboard in each of their three successive outings ironically enough. And while you can’t truly do it, if you were to somehow remove a three-point 24-21 win at Hersheypark Stadium against Lower Dauphin back in Week 2 this season, Twin Valley had prevailed in each of their other contests by an average of nearly 38 points-per-game. Suffice it to say, while there have been impressive things put on tape in different factions from around the conference thus far in the season, the Raiders’ performance should rightly take a back seat to no one.

Now, on the other side of the coin, this fall has understandably been a bit different for the Solanco Golden Mules at this point. Not all that hard to figure perhaps when you realize and appreciate how so many senior leaders traded in helmets and shoulder pads for caps and gowns back in the early summer. Even still, this group of Mules have had their moments, something undoubtedly hallmarked by their dominating 33-0 triumph against Section One’s Penn Manor Comets. And granted, while Solanco’s 1-4 record coming into this week may be fairly unassuming to the masses, go ahead and ask around those who are in fluent in L-L football circles if they ever dare to underestimate a Solanco squad and their patented option-based attack. Run into anyone worth any sort of salt whatsoever and asks that question, you had better get nothing but a quick and resounding, “No.”

So, the task at hand for Twin Valley really was quite simple. Keep this high-powered train moving down the tracks while not falling prey to the Solanco trap in hopes of keeping pace with their fellow Section Three frontrunners in Ephrata and Garden Spot respectively as those two teams were found playing against each other on this very same night in the league’s lone matchup of the weekend pitting unbeaten teams against one another. And with the Raiders lining up against both of those two clubs over the course of the next two consecutive weeks, taking care of business in Quarryville on Friday night was nothing if not paramount.

But truth be told, Twin Valley quickly found themselves embattled in a dogfight all night long. And in keeping with the narrative of a train barreling down the tracks, had it not been for someone in the railyard flipping the tracks at the literal 47^th minute of the contest on Friday, the Raiders’ freight would’ve been derailed by the end of the night.

In the early going of this one, it was evident that Solanco wasn’t the least bit interested in serving as the next speedbump on what had been Twin Valley’s stellar journey up until this point. No, especially not when the Mules took the utmost joy and satisfaction in ushering the Raiders’ high-powered offense off the field in just three plays as the quick three-and-out gave way to the punishing Solanco ground and pound-methodology once on offense.

In fact, had it not been for a pair of back-breaking penalties whistled against the black-clad home team that negated some early momentum, it felt as if Solanco had just started to get lathered up and into a rhythm by going right at the heart of the Twin Valley defensive unit. Instead, after being forced to punt thanks in large part to said critical penalties, Twin Valley took over with excellent field position at the Solanco 35 following the short punt.

Suffice to say, the visitor’s second offensive series of the night would fare far better. Easy to recognize perhaps when a 32-yard seam route from junior quarterback Evan Myers to sophomore Drew Engle helped to get the party started on the initial play of the drive as the ball now rested just three yards outside the chalk line following the nice pitch and catch. From there, nary two plays later, Engle helped put the finishing touches on the damage he had helped inflict moments prior as his 1-yard touchdown plunge in addition to Sam Frey’s successful PAT made it a 7-0 Raiders’ lead with 5:51 left to play in the opening stanza.

Much like their counterparts, Solanco’s second offensive drive would be far more effective than its most recent predecessor as well.

On this series, much to the surprise of almost no one in attendance, the Mules leaned almost exclusively on their rushing attack. Okay, maybe not much in the way of dramatics there, but this particular drive helped demonstrate why it appears that Solanco is grooming the next great fullback in their vaunted option attack.

His name is Johnny Garcia, and he stands all 5’9 195lbs as a 10^th grader. But based upon the way this Solanco sophomore toted the rock on Friday time after time against unbeaten Twin Valley, this certainly looks and feels as if this will be the latest and greatest in the lineage of Golden Mules who have called that spot home in the Solanco backfield. Case in point, after a 19-yard pickup right up the gut, Garcia helped breathe some life into the Mules’ offensive attack with the ball now sitting nearly the midfield stripe for the first time in the ballgame. From there, Solanco gave the ball to their underclassman yet again as Garcia was able to barrel his way to a first down later on in the drive on a 3^rd & 3 play which saw Solanco move themselves down to the Twin Valley 37-yard line. And if it wasn’t Garcia the one carrying the mail, quarterback Austin Jarabak had no qualms either when it came to steering the controls of the Solanco offense as the junior signal caller was able to call his own number for a 14-yard gainer which propelled the Mules’ advance all the way down to the Raiders’ 6-yard line before the first quarter siren would later ring out with the visitors maintaining the 7-0 advantage, albeit while staring down the barrel of a physically-imposing Solanco march.

Yet here again, though, beset by untimely and costly penalties, the flirtatious Solanco drive would later be extinguished as a 4^th & Goal attempt at the Twin Valley 15-yard line would come up well short of reaching the endzone as the Mules turned it back over to the opposition.

However, fortunately for the hometown patrons who come out on this raw evening in late September, their Mules would make good on their next opportunity while in possession of the football.

Sure enough, after successfully staving off a missed 46-yard Twin Valley field goal attempt at the conclusion of the Raiders’ ensuing offensive drive following the turnover on downs, Solanco went right back to work 80 yards away from paydirt with 7:11 left to go before the halftime recess.

You know, it’s funny in some ways. While some programs like to guard their offensive scheme like that of nuclear secrets, there is literally zero mystery as to what Solanco wants to do every single Friday evening in the fall. Yet even when you know what’s coming down your proverbial throat, you still find yourself with a choking hazard. Case in point, this next Solanco march.

Despite starting off at their own 20-yard line, the Mules continued to pound that rock in the way they know best. Little surgical incisions came first. For example, a quaint second effort was run up the gut by the aforementioned Garcia on a third and short play which gave the hosts a fresh set of downs. Not long afterward, what you may consider a “bomb” in the Solanco rushing attack as a toss play to Kris Burgos was good for a 26-yard gainer while proceeding to take the ball back across the midfield stripe and down to the Twin Valley 47-yard line in one fell swoop. Then, never one to pass up the opportunity for some unsolicited graciousness such as the case when Twin Valley was whistled for a rougher the passer penalty just a few plays later, another pair of Garcia and Jarabak rushes put Solanco well inside the Raiders’ red zone. However, if there was an element of surprise and a perfect cherry on top to this textbook series, it was surely when the Mules went to the air and found their first points of the evening. Fortunately for them, the rarity of the forward pass worked wonders as a 9-yard dart across the middle in traffic from Jarabak to Bradley Weder was good for the Solanco touchdown which knotted things up at 7-apiece following Anthony Keys’ PAT with just 29 seconds left to play in the opening half.

Needless to say, the deadlocked halftime score that remained in place once those final few seconds evaporated off the second quarter clock surely raised some collective eyebrows both near and far purely based on the way it felt both teams came into the evening playing as of late.

But with the game still well within anyone’s reach, the first few minutes of the second half figured to prove pivotal for the eventual outcome of the game which would come just 24 minutes of game time later. In that regard, Twin Valley couldn’t have cared any less if it were an overused cliché or not. They were determined to make a quick third-quarter splash.

Regardless, the flash and sizzle of their offensive weaponry wouldn’t have been able to trudge onto the field had it not been for the work of their defensive mates to get things started coming out of the locker room. And while it may have seemed innocuous and unassuming at the time, Twin Valley’s Drew Engle was able to come up with a sensational open field tackle for loss to stymie any early down success on Solanco’s opening series. So, with Engle’s key tackle helping set the stage for a 3^rd & 18 attempts, the Solanco run attempt on the said play would end well shy of the line to gain, giving the Raiders the ball back at their own 38-yard line with not even three minutes having gone by in the third frame thus far.

Remember that flash and sizzle? Here it came. Perhaps in the most apropos way too.

For specifics, Twin Valley’s second scoring drive of the night would last all of one play over the course of 11 seconds as a 62-yard touchdown jaunt to the house courtesy of sophomore running back turned Mr. Everything on this night, Drew Engle, put the white and green back in front by a 14-7 count with 9:03 still to go before the third quarter wrapped itself up.

The fun however was only just beginning as it turned out.

Undeterred by the early second-half volley lobbed against them from their guests, Solanco kept their nose right to the proverbial grindstone.

Ironically, this time ignited by way of the pass, a 35-yard toss from Austin Jarabak to Kris Burgos propelled the Mules down to the Twin Valley 35-yard line courtesy of the junior finding the sophomore on the play to help get things rolling and in gear. Later, using his wheels instead of his trusty right arm, Jarabak proceeded to call his own number on a 3^rd& 1 play at the Raiders’ 25-yard line and pick up a baker’s dozen in terms of yardage in the process. However, besmirched by yellow flags yet again in the series, the ball was pushed further back despite Solanco almost being able to smell the fresh-cut grass of the endzone directly in front of them. Regardless, their scent remained strong like a bloodhound not long afterward seeing as how Jarabak was able to hook up with Austin Wenger down the Mules’ sideline as the senior wideout was able to trade in his perimeter blocking duties for a sweet one-handed grab while embattled in a fierce battle against his defender as the 26-yard touchdown strike between the two saw the score knotted up once more at 14-14 as Anthony Keys’ partially blocked PAT somehow found just enough forward momentum to lazily crawl over the crossbar with 4:59 left in the third by that point.

Do you like complimentary football by chance? Let’s have Solanco introduce it to you then.

Yes, not even 30 seconds after having worked themselves back onto level footing following the touchdown scored just moments earlier, Solanco was on the verge of enjoying their first lead of the evening.

No, no long time-consuming series would be required this time around. Hard to do that of course when Solanco’s Bradley Weder was able to sit on the Twin Valley pass route and jump it for the interception to set the Mules’ offense up with prime real estate which is precisely what the Solanco senior was able to do following his subsequent return down to the Raiders’ 22-yard line following the theft.

And using that same blend of pass and run which very likely kept Twin Valley off-balance defensively throughout much of the evening, an initial dose of Johnny Garcia plowing his way through the heart of the Raiders’ defensive unit on a 3^rd & 3 play at the 15-yard line to move the sticks ended up paving the way for Solanco’s third (yes, you read that correctly) touchdown throw of the night as Jarabak was able to find Wenger once more for the score, this time from 6 yards out, on a crucial 4^th & Goal attempt that was not only good for half a dozen yards, but half a dozen points, as well as the Mules, went in front, 20-14, following the blocked PAT with all of 57 seconds left in the penultimate period.

That was, um, plenty of time as Twin Valley’s offense was able to demonstrate not only throughout much of the evening but here too specifically.

Here again, behind the aid of yet another one-play series, the Raiders found themselves trailing for all of 19 seconds as it turned out once Twin Valley junior running back Evan Johnson was able to find a hole and promptly race off 63 yards into the distance all while leaving Solanco defenders behind in his wake as the ultra-quick jab not only quelled the momentum found hobnobbing over on the Mules’ sideline at the time, but it also saw the guests retake the lead, albeit by the slimmest of margins, 21-20, once the final quarter got underway in earnest.

For a while, it almost felt as if the team with the ball last was going to emerge as the eventual victor once the dust had finally settled. It surely felt that way to those who had assembled in Quarryville here too as the home-standing Mules began taking noticeable chunk plays out of the Raiders’ defense on their ensuing series offensively. Yet here again, just when it may have felt as if Solanco was making some significant hay, the yellow laundry that had fallen out of the referees’ pockets was nothing if not frustrating. Hard to argue when you consider that two penalties whistled against Solanco not only moved the ball back from their once dangerously threatening position but also simultaneously wiped out a pair of successful first-down conversion plays that came on back-to-back key third downs. So, with the Mules failing to pick up the six yards asked of them on a 4^th & 6 play following the cruel penalties having gone against them, it felt for all the world that Twin Valley was about to insert the dagger here before finally heading home unscathed.

Or so they hoped as it turned out.

Granted, while the Raiders would find more big gainers behind the labor exerted from their offensive line, most notably in the form of a sizable chunk play rattled off by Evan Johnson that traversed all the way down to the Solanco 39-yard line, trouble was afoot. Much to their chagrin, this would entirely be of the self-inflicted variety on the Twin Valley side as a fumbled snap out of the shotgun on a 3^rd & 6 play sent out the punting unit with the Golden Mules likely salivating at the opportunity of having a walk-off type win to cement some good vibes into the framework of this season.

As far as the record books will have it detailed it would be a drive that would begin back at their own 13-yard line with 5:40 remaining to be played. And after a quick 20-yard strike from Jarabak to Burgos on the first play to get Solanco in gear, an ardent Twin Valley defense would rise up and turn their hosts away following an incomplete pass on a 3^rd & 8 play on Solanco’s side of the field.

At least that’s what they thought was going to take place.

Instead, throwing caution to the wind, Solanco decided to go with the fake punt which could not have turned out any better in their regard seeing as how upback Cody Nolan was able to receive the direct snap and trek all the way down to the Twin Valley 35-yard line behind his wall of blockers following the trickeration as the Mules’ senior running back was able to make the most of his opportunity to shine bright with the game teetering on the razor’s edge by giving his fellow troops a fresh set of downs.

From there, following the handiwork of their battering ram fullback who bullied the Raiders’ defense all night long, Johnny Garcia, Solanco was able to methodically work their way down the field with no further gimmicks with a series of plays that could’ve broken even the toughest of spirits. In fact, Garcia was able to help engineer the Mules right to the precipice of the endzone with Twin Valley being forced to burn timeouts in an effort to help save the clock provided they be able to work with something on the subsequent offensive side.

Sneakily, while all Solanco’s touchdowns up until that point came via the air, there was more sneakiness afoot here in crunch time. Granted, this one may have been a tad more traditional for what the local football audience is accustomed to seeing from them by comparison sake as the Mules went away from the current formula of up-the-gut dives by teeing up the right side of the line as a sensational option pitch from Austin Jarabak to Kris Burgos was good for the 4-yard touchdown run on third and goal to put the hosts back in front as Burgos was able to stroll in completely unabated. Not only that, but their lead would balloon up to a clean seven following a successful 2-point conversion run courtesy of senior running back Michael Bangura, making it a 28-21 contest with all of 1:08 left to play.

Candidly, while the relatively short history of the Twin Valley football program may not be one for many historical moments that come with easily recognizable catchphrases, let us try one for size right here and now. Let’s go with, “The Drive.”

Suffice it to say, while time still remained on the scoreboard clock standing all the way down at the endzone of which Twin Valley had to navigate towards, it surely felt as if the Golden Mules were not only playing with the allowable allotment of 11 players defensively but more than a few extra given the way in which they had stolen momentum with their late-game scoring just moments earlier. So, after returning the ensuing kickoff back to their own 30-yard line, exactly one minute was emblazoned on the scoreboard’s neon lights. And after a pair of unsuccessful initial plays, not the least of which included what nearly was the game-clinching interception, Twin Valley had to dial something up on a 3^rd & 10 play at their own 30-yard and their unbeaten record, much less their aspirations of controlling their own destiny towards a possible section title, quickly slipping through their fingertips.

So, with everything on the line, the Raiders relied on the chemistry found between two of their foremost studs. Turns out the Raiders’ brain trust knows full well what they are working with in the laboratory in mixing and matching potent potions after all as a wheel route lofted high up in the night sky from Evan Myers to a streaking Evan Johnson down below who came screaming out of the backfield and past the defender assigned to him up in coverage while in full gallop without having to break stride was good for the 70-yard bolt of lightning touchdown play with the game-tying PAT upcoming with 25 ticks left in regulation by that point.

Well, until Solanco called timeout prior to make sure they had all their ducks in a row just to be safe that is.

Instead, after having time to mull it over on their own sideline during the brief respite, Twin Valley decided to keep with the mad scientist theme and go for broke, Yep, go for two and a chance to win or go down swinging. And while it may not have been as glamorous as a homerun hit over the fence in the final inning, it packed the same amount of punch as a ball hit off the sweet spot of a bat nonetheless as a powerful 2-point conversion run by way of 6’2 260lb senior fullback, Ean Winchester, his first and only tote of the rock the entire night, made it a jaw-dropping 29-28 reseizure of the scoreboard by Twin Valley with less than 30 seconds to play.

Unfortunately, as far as those who had more than done their part to try and will their home team to victory on this night against a tough unblemished foe hailing from afar were most concerned, there was no more magic left to be had from there on out as Twin Valley was able to dig deep and somehow pull off a miraculous 29-28 victory from the absolute depths of the fire to remain in full gallop with the lead pack in the division just when it surely felt as if they were about to stub their toe massively thanks to Solanco stepping directly on their foot.

“Give Solanco a lot of credit,” Twin Valley head coach Brett Myers was quick to mention following his team’s frantic victory against a fearless foe. “Solanco is the type of program that everyone wants to be like,” he acknowledged. “You come to Solanco, and you know what you’re getting. It’s going to be really, really hard-nosed football and nothing’s going to be easy. That’s what they did tonight, right? They deserve all the credit.”

“It’s funny because we compared (Solanco) to Lower Dauphin,” said Myers in regard to what was prior to this night his club’s stiffest head-to-head competition found thus far on the 2023 slate. “It’s an offensive, physical football team that has an identity. This team has an identity. We’re still trying to find ours as the season goes on,” the Raiders’ head man admitted of his own squad by comparison. “But from the first day of the season until the last day, (Solanco) has an identity.”

“What a great game though,” Myers would say as perhaps reality had finally settled in and the adrenaline from a wild victory that came complete with all the trimmings had perhaps subsided, even for just a tiny bit. “This is what it’s supposed to be all about. We’re out here in the middle of nowhere, it’s dark and hey, we’re still playing on grass here. This is what it’s supposed to be like in Pennsylvania high school football.”

As far as his own squad was concerned, the second-year head coach overseeing the Raiders’ rise knew what this type of courageous victory demonstrated both in the micro, but also in the macro.

“It shows that we have a little bit of fortitude, right? It shows that we can keep going,” said Myers. “When things weren’t going well, we showed a little bit of grit and we continued. That’s our goal every week. We’ve been asking our guys to finish now for weeks and today they finished. They could’ve quit. They could’ve said, ‘We lost. We have one series and its 3^rd & 10 and only 40 seconds left.’ But they continued to play and believed in each other and got it done.”

And continuing on that theme of fortitude, while there were plenty of examples to be had at various points throughout the contest, there was arguably no instance better evidenced than when Twin Valley opted to go for two inside of the final minute.

“We were kicking it,” Myers admitted of the original thought process prior to Solanco calling timeout following the 70-yard touchdown bomb that had put Twin Valley within a point. “I wanted to talk to the kids, and they wanted to run it,” he added of what was discussed on the Raiders’ sideline during the break in the action. “(His players) called the play. I didn’t call the play. They called the formation, they knew everything. All I asked them to do was to take a second and let me decide if we were going to call timeout and change it. It looked just like the way it did in practice, so we ran it.”

Yet while it may have been a very ordinary three-yard dive play with Ean Winchester having the honors under most circumstances, you can best believe that the ramifications of this particular moment along with the simple yet powerful message of letting the players have direct ownership of the decision-making process with the game on the line will be a snapshot in time remembered around Elverson for quite a while, especially when it kept the Raiders at a perfect 6-0 following a frantic 29-28 final triumph against a very game Solanco squad.

NEXT UP:  Now that they can finally wipe the sweat beads off their foreheads after surviving their trip to Lancaster County’s southern end, Twin Valley can look up and see themselves sitting right there on the top line of the L-L Section Three standings heading down the final quarter pole of the season. Speaking of that top line, it’ll be a first-place matchup in store next as the Raiders allow next-door neighbor Garden Spot to come eastward down PA Route 23 for a matchup between a pair of 6-0 squads following the Spartans’ earlier first-place affair against Ephrata on Friday night which saw Garden Spot prevail in a fairly convincing 42-22 final decision over in New Holland. While this all may be fairly new to the Twin Valley program in general, especially considering that the Raiders have never enjoyed more than seven victories in any of our seasons over the course of their relatively brief history, this is not new to their head coach.

If you recall, the Middletown Blue Raiders were a program that did one of the more improbable things in the last decade here—making three consecutive state championship game appearances from 2016 through 2018. The surveyor of those runs to Hershey to compete for gold. None other than multiple-time Pennsylvania Coach of the Year award winner turned current Twin Valley boss, Brett Myers. And while both Middletown and Twin Valley hail from the ranks of District 3, you could make an argument that it is a stark night and day difference between the two locales. Fortunately, though, the elements of football are tried and true no matter where you employ them as it turns out.

“Effort,” Myers said without any hesitation in his voice as to what has been a driving characteristic and a non-negotiable item in leading both programs. “Tomorrow morning when we start grading the film, there’s an execution piece and then there’s effort. If you don’t grade out on effort, you don’t play. The coach’s job is the execution. The players’ job is the effort. If you don’t do it, you aren’t playing,” he described bluntly. “To me, that’s the biggest thing. In the end, there’s the other stuff like running the ball and playing defense, but in the end, if you don’t play hard, you don’t win. If you watch tonight, although we might not have played all that well, we played hard.”

Okay, this one will understandably be a bitter pill to swallow if you fancy yourself as someone with a rooting interest on the Solanco side. Had they been able to hang on over the final 68 seconds and keep Twin Valley from authoring that final drive, you could have made an argument that a Solanco win over Twin Valley would have shared top honors for the biggest upset of the 2023 season thus far alongside Warwick’s Week 1 win over Cocalico. Unfortunately, it turned out to be a narrow one-point loss that now knocks the Mules down to a 1-5 overall mark. Even still, the best advice to give to Golden Mules’ opponents on the upcoming horizon is to try and get your shots in as best you know. Based upon what was put on display by the talented young players themselves who figure to reenter the fold for years to come along with the unmistakable identity that is the Solanco brand, the time for the Mules looking upward in the Section Three standings figures to be extremely short-lived. And in terms of their immediate outing coming up, the Mules find themselves with what looks to be an excellent opportunity to taste a victory against an Elizabethtown crew that enjoyed the sweet nectar of victory for the very first time on Friday night following their own 22-16 overtime victory over Daniel Boone.

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