Exeter, Jayden Zandier again dominate competition at Berks Football Combine

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2024 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

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When Jayden Zandier arrived at the Chris Nunn Memorial Football Combine a year ago he was known more for being the little brother of Exeter tight end Zack Zandier than for anything he had done on the football field his sophomore season.

He changed all of that in an hour or so, dominating the competition.

The skills he showed off that afternoon were put on display a few months later when he rushed for over 1,300 yards, scored a team-high 19 touchdowns, and earned All-State honors as a junior.

No one was surprised last week when Zandier again lapped the field at the Combine, winning three events, or when Exeter repeated as team champion.

Zandier won the 40-yard dash (4.57), Vertical Leap and 3-Hop Drill; he was second in the L-Cone Drill.

Teammate Carter Redding, a rising senior running back/defensive back, was close on his heels with second-place showings in the 40 (4.7), Vertical Leap and 3-Hop Drill. Other than Zandier, Redding was the only competitor with more than one top-three finish.

Exeter swept two of the events, with Pharrell Caceres, a rising senior running back/defensive back, finishing third in the Vertical Leap and Caleb Young, a rising senior running back/defensive back, finishing third in the 3-Hop Drill.

“They take (this competition) very seriously,” said Exeter coach Matt Bauer said. “It gives them an opportunity to see what’s out there, and who they’re going against. It also gives them a little bit of a measuring stick.

“These events do not equate to wins on Friday night but it’s nice to see the success we’ve had in our offseason program.”

The combine-style events may not count on the scoreboard but players who perform well in them often stand out on the football field come kickoff.

Exeter’s success at the combine shows that. The Eagles, always one of the top finishers here, have won 30 games over the past three seasons and have recorded 13 straight winning seasons. They figure to continue that this season; they’re the early favorite to win Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League.

The Eagles won three of the six scored events at the combine and finished second in the other three. Conrad Weiser, which finished second in the team scoring, had a top-three finish in five of the six events.

“We say this is the culmination of our offseason program, to see how many gains we’ve had,” Bauer said. “We prepared for it. Our strength and conditioning coach, Nick Beisker, does a tremendous job getting these kids ready. It’s definitely important to us.”

Running back Bryce Gumby of Berks Catholic won the L-Cone Drill. Conrad Weiser quarterback Donovan Gingrich won the Pro-Agility Shuttle. Twin Valley lineman Carter Faubel, a transfer from Delaware Valley, won the Bench Press.

Berks Catholic won the Quarterback Challenge, an unscored event. Zach Suski was the passer; Scott Duffy and Gumby were the receivers.

Wyomissing’s Keegan Maher, who had the longest field goal, was the top specialist; he also won the kickoff competition. Gingrich won the punting competition, averaging 51 yards on five kicks.

40-yard dash
1	Jayden Zandier	Exeter	4.57
2	Carter Redding	Exeter	4.67
3	Scott Duffy	Berks Catholic	4.73
L-Cone drill
1	Bryce Gumby	Berks Catholic	6.79
2	Jayden Zandier	Exeter	6.87
3	Devyn Sutton	Berks Catholic	7.00
	Jackson Kozik	Berks Catholic	7.00
Pro-Agility Shuttle
1	Donovan Gingrich	Conrad Weiser	4.28
2	Genuine Stutzman	Exeter	4.31
3	Nate Rose	Berks Catholic	4.32
	Ryan Rementer	Twin Valley	4.32
Vertical Leap
1	Jayden Zandier	Exeter	37
2	Carter Redding	Exeter	37
3	Pharrell Caceres	Exeter	36.5
3-Hop Drill
1	Jayden Zandier	Exeter	30.3
2	Carter Redding	Exeter	30.3
3	Kaleb Young	Exeter	30.2
Bench press
1	Carter Faubel	Twin Valley	34
2	Aston Kiebach	Conrad Weiser	28
3	Kaleb Holl	Conrad Weiser	23
Kicking specialists
1	Keegan Maher	Wyomissing
2	Alex Malone	Conrad Weiser
3	Tyler Osorio	Berks Catholic