Upstate Football Weekly - New York State Sportswriters Association

CoverStoryBy Mark AdairMighty MouseWNY’s smallest player leads Ellicottville to DD ChampionshipEllicottville roared outto a 34-0 lead at the halfand won the Class DDtitle with a 34-16 win overClymer at Ralph WilsonStadium last week.Sophomore RB PhallaMusall led the offense ashe ran for 149 yards and2 TDs on 25 carries.With Ellicottville leading14-0, Musall scoredthe biggest TD of thegame when he brokethrough the line and ranuntouched for a 42-yardscore.“We ran a ‘26G Lead’,”Ellicottville coach TimBergan said. “We pull ourleft guard, the fullbackled through the hole andPhalla was untouched.Once he was out in front,it was a footrace and itwas no footrace. He wasgone. The only thing theywere looking at was hisheels.”And while Musall hada great performance duringthe game, he saysthat his favorite part ofthe day came as hewalked with his teammatesthrough the tunneland onto the field before the game.“It was amazing,” he said. “To walk through the tunnelthat all those great football players have walked down...wow. I can’t even explain how it feels. It’s just amazing.”The day was the perfect end to a fantastic season forMusall, who rushed for 1,333 yards and 14 TDs.Musall is also a odd case. He is hardly a ‘physicalspecimen’ as one might expect from a punishing runner.In fact, Musall is the smallest player in WNY as hestands just 5-foot-3 and weighs 130 pounds.“People can’t believe he’s even on the team,” Bergansaid. “But when you see him knock people down that are6-1 and 200 pounds, you get your eyes opened. Whenyou see the results of what he does, it’s really incredible.”Photo by Mark AdairEllicottville Phalla Musall is the smallest player in WNY. Herushed for 149 yards and 2 TDs to lead the Eagles to a win in theClass DD championship game last week.20Throughout the game,Musall launched himselfinto far bigger playersand flattened them.Several times he corralledClymer’s star RBDan Wiggers andbrought him down.“Phalla has no fear,”Bergan said. “He had anumber of solo tackleson one of the better runningbacks around.Phalla could have beenthe Offense and theDefensive player of thegame.”Musall, who hasseven brothers and sisters,also has an unusualstory.Kathleen and GerryMusall had two childrenthe old-fashioned way.And then they adoptedsix more children fromvarious parts of Asia.Phalla came fromCambodia when theMusall’s adopted the boyand his twin sisterDaneth (who plays onthe Ellicottville girls soccerteam.)“We got Phalla in2000, when he and hissister were 3 years old,” Gerry Musall said. “My wife and Ifound that, the younger the kids were when we adoptedthem, the easier the transition was.”Raising children is always difficult... but dealing withadopted children from other countries brings special hurdlesto overcome.“Asian children are smaller than most kids,” GerryMusall said. “When we adopted two of our children, theagency we were working with told us they were threeyears old. It turned out, they were really six years old.”The transition to becoming an American child wasmuch more difficult on the older children.“Phalla and his sister had a much easier time makingSee “Cover Story” on page 23