Season preview: Exeter Eagles
2024 Berks football coverage
presented by UECU
Classification: Class 5A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 4-2 league, 8-3 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2023.
Head coach: Matt Bauer, 16th season, 113-56.
Key losses: All-League TE Zach Zandier, all-league C Matt McConnell, all-league DT Ryan McConnell, all-league DB and P Nate Pashley, all-league second-team DB Gavin Reiking.
Top offensive players: QB Riley Martinez, all-league RB Jayden Zandier (1,358 yards, 15 TDs) RB Pharrell Caceres, second-team all-league WR Carter Redding, WR Jayden Ware, TE Genuine Stutzman, TE Aidan Dauble, C Joel Ummarino, G Aven Acuna, G Cameron Aiken, all-league T Logan Wegman, T Kevin Oswalt, all-league second-team PK Robbie Gaston.
Top defensive players: E Cameron Aiken, E Joel Ummarino, all-league T Logan Wegman, T Kevin Oswalt, all-league LB Aidan Dauble, LB Tyler Flanders, LB Genuine Stutzman, LB Casey Gerhart, S Carter Redding, CB Jayden Zandier, CB Pharrell Caceres.
Did you know? The Eagles saw their program-record 20-game regular season winning streak snapped last season in Week 9 vs. Conestoga Valley.
For the record: Taylor Bertolet kicked the longest field goal in program history (48 yards) in 2010. That topped the record of 46, set five years earlier by his brother Matt.
On schedule: When the Eagles face Muhlenberg in Week 7 it will mark the 44th straight season the former I-C rivals will meet. Exeter has won the last nine meetings and 12 of the last 13.
Quotable: “We have a lot of (good people at) skill positions, a lot of talent, a lot of speed. Our lines definitely have to answer the call, and I’m confident they will. We have two to three new positions to fill.
For me, it always starts up front.” – Eagles coach Matt Bauer.
Outlook: Even with a lot of new pieces and moving parts the Eagles managed to open with eight straight wins last season. Things came apart at the end, against better competition; they finished with three straight losses, including a first-round exit in districts.
Figure on seeing the Eagles take it back up a notch this time around. They’ve got a returning quarterback in Riley Martinez, a proven play-maker in All-State pick Jayden Zandier and a bunch of skills people who are ready to bust out.
Martinez started every game as a sophomore last year and enjoyed success, throwing for 1,397 yards and 17 TDs with just nine picks. Eagles coach Matt Bauer has been impressed with his progression through the offseason and is expecting a big step forward and the ability to unleash a full playbook.
Zandier opened last season as a wideout but ended up as one of the league’s most productive ballcarriers. He didn’t become the full-time tailback until Week 4 but still put up monster numbers. He’s 20 pounds stronger now, and faster. He’ll get plenty of attention from defenses around Section 2.
“We’re excited to see what he’s gonna do,” Bauer said.
While opposing defenses are figuring ways to corral Zandier, breakout play-makers such as Genuine Stutzman, Aidan Dauble, Carter Redding, Jayden Ware and Pharrell Caceres could have a field day. They’re each fast and dangerous and provide Martinez and the Eagles with all kinds of possibilities.
Two things concerned Bauer heading into camp: The offensive line and the second and third lines on the depth chart.
The Eagles graduated three all-league linemen, including TE Zach Zandier. All-State candidate Logan Wegman, a Navy recruit and two-way all-league lineman, will help fill a lot of that void; he figures to be a handful. Joel Ummarino and Kevin Oswalt are fully capable of stepping up on the front lines, but each is as yet unproven there.
It’s hard to remember a Bauer-coached team didn’t have plenty of big bodies up front to set the tone.
The defense took some graduation hits, especially in the backfield, but again the Eagles have enough talent to plug those holes. Jayden Zandier, Redding and Ware will play bigger roles in the secondary, giving the Eagles plenty of speed and a strong chance for a 14th straight winning season.
At the wire: In position to win second Section 2 title in three seasons and return to districts.