Two Jaydens too much for South Western in Exeter’s district romp
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Exeter 56, South Western 3
By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor
On a night when Jayden Zandier became Exeter’s all-time rushing leader another Jayden stepped fully into the spotlight.
“He’s the future of this program,” Eagles coach Matt Bauer said of junior Jayden Ware, who had a pair of interceptions, returning one for a touchdown, in a 56-3 rout of South Western Friday night in a District 3 Class 5A opener at Don Thomas Stadium.
“He’s definitely stepping into a huge leadership role for us (next season),” Bauer said of Ware.
The way Zandier dominates the games it’s tough for any of the other Eagles to get much attention, much less get their hands on the ball. The All-State tailback has a habit of ending Exeter possessions in short order.
The senior tailback took the ball 56 yards for a touchdown on his second touch Friday to give the eighth-seeded Eagles (10-1) all the points they really needed. He ran for gains of 20 and 64 yards on Exeter’s next possession, which he finished with a 5-yard run.
He got his third TD of the first half on a 47-yard run when he took a toss around the right corner and outran South Western’s overmatched coverage. That Exeter possession lasted all of one play.
Ware plays wide receiver but on a night when starting quarterback Riley Martinez remained sidelined with a leg injury and the Eagles passed just five times he found the easiest way to get his hands on the ball was on defense. He did it twice in the first half.
On the first he knocked a pass loose from a receiver, then reached up with one hand and snatched the ball out of the air.
“Playing receiver, it’s really just second nature for me,” he said of his impressive one-handed grab.
Bauer was not surprised to see that. He witnesses those kind of athletic plays from Ware on a daily basis at practice, whether its as a receiver, defender, or in the kick return game.
“He has a knack every time he touches the ball to do something special,” Bauer said.
Ware did it again a few plays later when South Western (7-4) quarterback Bryce Graham overthrew a receiver and right into the cornerback’s waiting hands. Ware grabbed the ball at the Mustangs’ 36, then patiently worked his way down the left sideline before diving for the pilon.
The touchdown gave Exeter a 28-3 lead.
“I just followed my blockers to get to the end zone,” Ware said of his first Pick-Six, and third interception of the year. “It was a great feeling.”
Teammate Carter Redding equaled Ware’s feat. A couple minutes after Ware’s second interception the senior safety return a pick 85 yards for a TD – the longest interception return of the year in Berks.
Redding intercepted another pass in the third quarter and nearly took it back for a score, as well; he returned it 49 yards before being knocked out of bounds at the South Western 36.
Exeter had seven interceptions in the regular season, four in its first postseason game.
Graham kept Exeter defensive backs on their toes all night, as he put the ball up 34 times. They were equal to the challenge, as he completed only half of them, and for just 144 yards.
It helped to have a solid pass rush on him, led by Logan Wegman and Joel Ummarino.
“We worked very hard this week on getting hands up in passing lanes,” Bauer said. “We tipped a couple balls, and guys came down with them in key opportunities. We have pretty fast kids in the secondary who can take it the distance on any play.”
They’ve got a pretty fast one in the backfield, too.
After Martinez went down in Week 7 Zandier had spent a lot of time at quarterback, often working out of the Wildcat formation.
Friday he was strictly a tailback, with junior Jake Hafer handling quarterback duties. That seemed to help Zandier, who appears more dangerous taking handoffs than taking snaps and making reads before he takes off.
“Giving him a little bit more room to come down hill helps,” Bauer said.
Zandier had just two carries in the second half after running for 199 yards on six first-half runs. He finished the night with 206 yards, the fourth time this season he’s topped 200 yards.
Zandier broke the program career rushing mark on his second carry and finished the night with 3,037 yards; Jesse Reider set the record with 2,876 yards.
Zandier will have another record in sight when the Eagles play at No. 1 New Oxford (10-0) next Friday in a district quarterfinal.
He needs 136 yards to top Eric Nangle’s single-season program record of 1,814 yards. He’s at 1,679 yards.
He already owns the program records for touchdowns in a season (29) and career (49).
He’s setting the bar high for the guys who try to fill the void he leaves next season.
Ware’s hoping to be one of them. He’s a versatile athlete who caught Bauer’s attention when he led the freshman team to an undefeated record two years ago. Later in his freshman year he made some huge plays for the Eagles’ basketball team during their run to the PIAA championship game.
“I don’t know if they’re gonna put me at running back (next year),” Ware said. “We’ve Leo Brown: He’s like Jayden Zandier 2.0. We call him Saquan; he’s so fast.”
Brown, a junior backup, showed how he earned that nickname when he broke free on an 80-yard TD run in the first minute of the fourth quarter. That impressive burst capped what became the highest scoring output in Exeter postseason history.
“We’re gonna be really exciting to see next year,” Ware promised.
The Eagles are pretty exciting right now. They’re one blown call from being undefeated and two wins away from their third appearance in a district championship game in three seasons.
They lost their district opener last year and were determined not to see that happen again.
“It was heartbreaking to see our seniors leave (on that note),” Ware said. “We just put in so much dedication and hard work this summer, and over the winter. It’s just a great feeling (to win this game).”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| South Western | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Exeter | 14 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Zandier, 56 run (Franek kick) | 8:28 |
| 1 | South Western | Fraim, 28 FG | 3:24 |
| 1 | Exeter | Zandier, 5 run (Franek kick) | 0:31 |
| 2 | Exeter | Zandier, 47 run (Franek kick) | 2:58 |
| 2 | Exeter | Ware, 36 interception return (Franek kick) | 2:40 |
| 2 | Exeter | Redding, 85 interception return (Franek kick) | 0:44 |
| 3 | Exeter | Stutzman, 23 pass from Hafer (Franek kick) | 9:11 |
| 3 | Exeter | Stutzman, 21 run (Franek kick) | 4:54 |
| 4 | Exeter | Brown, 80 run (Franek kick) | 11:39 |
Team statistics
| South Western | Exeter | |
| First downs | 15 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 23-50 | 20-332 |
| Passing yards | 144 | 39 |
| Total yards | 194 | 371 |
| Passes | 17-34-4 | 3-5-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-27.0 | 1-29.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-25 | 5-25 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
South Western: Rollman 16-56, Graham 3-11, Zinn 1-(-4), Klinedinst 2-(-5), Frazier 1-(-8).
Exeter: Zandier 8-206, Brown 2-82, Stutzman 3-24, Alvarez 4-14, Redding 1-8, Prizer 1-(-1), Team 1-(-1).
PASSING
South Western: Graham 17-34-4–144.
Exeter: Hafer 3-5-1–39.
RECEIVING
South Western: D. Smith 7-33, Lacks 3-30, Allen 2-25, C. Smith 2-20, Rollman 1-19, Klinedinst 1-9, Calcutt 1-8.
Exeter: Stutzman 2-35, Redding 1-4.
INTERCEPTIONS
South Western: Newman.
Exeter: Ware 2, Redding 2.
MISSED FIELD GOALS
South Western: Fraim 43.
Exeter: Gaston 47.
