Unbeaten Conestoga Valley stuns Exeter with late rally
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
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(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jeff Reinhart — LNP/Lancasteronline
WITMER — On a night when Exeter’s defense registered six sacks, held Conestoga Valley to negative rushing yards, and had a running back tie the program record for most rushing yards in a single game, the Buckskins got the last laugh.
| Final | |
| Conestoga | 21 |
| Exeter | 17 |
Jayden Conaway caught two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including the go-ahead score with 51 seconds to play, and he recovered a must-have onside kick to set up the winning TD as Conestoga Valley rallied past Exeter for an electrifying 21-17 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 win Friday night.
“Amazing,” Conaway said. “Absolutely amazing. I’m just so proud. I’m kind of speechless right now.”
Conestoga Valley (5-0, 9-0) won its 21st regular season game in a row, and the Buckskins clinched no worse than a tie for the section title. Conestoga Valley can clinch its second straight outright crown with a win next Friday at Muhlenberg.
It was an incredibly tough break for Exeter, which was seemingly in control midway through the fourth quarter. Joel Ummarino lowered the boom with four of the Eagles’ six sacks, Exeter held the Bucks to minus-1 rushing yards, and Leo Brown tied the school record with an epic 332-yard rushing night.
Exeter (4-1, 7-2) dropped its second game in a row after falling to Hempfield in a non-league clash last week. Muhlenberg (4-1, 8-1) can create a three-way tie for the section title with a win over Conestoga Valley.
The Bucks are on the doorstep of back-to-back outright championships after a crazy fourth-quarter comeback. Brown’s 38-yard TD burst gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead with 2:37 to go in the third quarter, but the Bucks never buckled.
Conestoga Valley, which had 27 total yards and one first down in the first half, finally punched it into gear in the fourth quarter. The Bucks were within 17-14 when Esbenshade fired a 4-yard TD dart to Conaway with 2:49 to go.
That set up Conestoga Valley’s onside kick. Colson Erb booted a chopper that got through Exeter’s “hands” team across the front, Conaway scooped it up, and the Bucks were in business at the Eagles 45.
“The onside kick was definitely the bigger play for me,” Conaway said. “We wouldn’t even have the ball back or scored the touchdown without that. It all started with that play.”
“We practice it every week, because you never know when you’re going to use it,” Conestoga Valley coach Jon Scepanski said. “I counted everybody four times to make sure they were in there. Colson kicked a great ball. We got a good bounce. And Jayden made a great play.”
Esbenshade hit Konnor Fisher for 26 yards and Teagan Ruble for another 15 yards to get the drive started. Esbenshade threaded the needle on the go-ahead score, heaving a laser through a pair of converging defenders and into Conaway’s waiting hands. Conaway had to go up in traffic to cradle the pass in the back of the end zone.
| SECTION 2 | League | Overall |
| Con. Valley | 5-0 | 9-0 |
| Exeter | 4-1 | 7-2 |
| Muhlenberg | 4-1 | 8-1 |
| Ephrata | 2-3 | 5-4 |
| E-town | 2-3 | 5-4 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 1-4 | 3-6 |
| Lebanon | 0-6 | 0-9 |
“When I was rolling out I saw Jayden, with a guy on his right and a guy on his left,” Esbenshade said. “If we were going to score, I had to throw it right there. He found some space and he caught the ball. Felt great. There’s probably not a better feeling than that.”
“He’s a great player, and he wants the ball,” Scepanski said of Conaway. “Tonight, he made plays.”
Three gigantic plays — two TD catches and the onside kick recovery — in 2:49 of clock time.
Exeter had one last-gasp drive, needing to go 65 yards in 41 seconds. The Eagles got a 44-yard pass to Conestoga Valley’s 40 but misfired on four straight passes to end it.
“The team battled so hard together through a lot of ups and downs,” Esbenshade said. “And I know they have my back. If we played together as a team, we knew we were going to score those (fourth-quarter) touchdowns.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 3 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
| Conestoga Valley | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 21 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Franek, 26 FG | |
| 2 | Exeter | Brown, 35 run (Franek kick) | |
| 3 | Conestoga Valley | Bair, 25 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | |
| 3 | Exeter | Brown, 38 run (Franek kick) | |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Conaway, 4 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | |
| 4 | Conestoga Valley | Conaway, 16 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) |
Team statistics
| EXETER | CONESTOGA | |
| First downs | 15 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 34-325 | 17-(-1) |
| Passing yards | 86 | 219 |
| Total yards | 411 | 218 |
| Passes | 5-15-1 | 21-24-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 2-35.5 | 5-36.4 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-90 | 7-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Brown 33-332, Hafer 3-(-7).
Conestoga Valley: Ruble 7-18, Garcia 2-5, Esbenshade 8-(-24).
PASSING
Exeter: Hafer 5-15-1—86.
Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 21-24-0–219.
RECEIVING
Exeter: Reinert 2-10, Franek 1-44, Ware 1-13, Dauble 1-9.
Conestoga Valley: Conaway 6-34, Ruble 6-64, Bair 5-57, Fisher 3-46, Garcia 2-18.
INTERCEPTIONS
Conestoga Valley: Rodriguez.
