Mifflinburg standouts shift from baseball semifinals to football all-star game
Three Mifflinburg athletes went from a baseball semifinal loss on June 8 to a football all-star spotlight 11 days later, a rare small-town turnaround.
Three Mifflinburg standouts spent less than two weeks moving from one high-pressure stage to another, a quick reset that says plenty about how much small-town sports still revolve around multi-sport athletes. J.P. Marr, Landen Murray and Kaiden Kmett finished their scholastic baseball careers June 8 at Earl Wegner Field in Fredericksburg, where Mifflinburg fell to Bermudian Springs, 3-1, in the PIAA Class 3A semifinals.
By Friday night, the same three were back in the spotlight, this time for football introductions at about 6:40 p.m. before the District IV UPMC North-South All-Star Game at Milton’s Alumni Field. Kickoff was set for 7 p.m., with tickets listed at $10 at the gate, turning an 11-day stretch into a hard pivot from semifinal disappointment to all-star recognition.
For Union County, that kind of turnaround is part of the appeal of Mifflinburg athletics. The Wildcats’ best players still tend to be known across seasons, not confined to one sport, and Marr, Murray and Kmett fit that mold. Their baseball season ended with a loss to Bermudian Springs, which advanced to the state championship game, but the football stage gave them one more chance to represent Mifflinburg in front of a District 4 crowd.
The all-star setting also put Mifflinburg coach Cody Botts in the middle of the night’s action. Botts was selected to coach the South team, while the District IV Football Coaches Association again used the annual showcase to bring together top players from across the region. Hughesville’s Howard Rainey was the other head coach, underscoring how the event continues to pull in familiar names from around District IV.
Murray’s spot added another layer to the story. The Class of 2026 athlete had been profiled as a 6-foot-2, 190-pound receiver and outside linebacker who also ran track and played baseball, and later earned statewide all-star recognition in the PSFCA Titan Threadz East/West Small School game. Paired with Marr and Kmett, his path reflected what Mifflinburg still values: athletes who can compete hard, move from one season to the next, and carry the town’s athletic identity through spring, summer and fall.
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