Mason Rotelli shines in first start at QB as Exeter dominates Daniel Boone
By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
The 64th battle for the Iron Pig Trophy went to the Exeter Eagles in convincing fashion Friday night as the Eagles dominated in all phases and coasted to a 35-0 victory over Daniel Boone at Brazinsky Stadium.
Quarterback Mason Rotelli, making his first start for Exeter, accounted for four touchdowns. He threw touchdown passes of 9, 47, and 34 yards and ran for another touchdown.
Rotelli completed 12-of-16 passes for 153 yards. He also rushed for 23 yards.
Eagles coach Matt Bauer praised the debut effort.
“I couldn’t be happier with Mason’s play tonight,” Bauer said. “We tried to keep things small for him tonight in his first game. He delivered the ball in tight spots all night long. I couldn’t be happier for him tonight.”
Penn State recruit Joey Schlaffer did not disappoint in his 2022 debut for Exeter. Schlaffer caught four passes for 52 yards and two touchdowns. He looked almost unstoppable taking shotgun snaps at quarterback and rushing straight ahead for 37 yards on three carries.
The 6-7 Schlaffer lined up in multiple positions in his new “flex” offensive position. If not for two outstanding defensive plays by Daniel Boone defensive back Max Heffner and double coverage on most plays Schlaffer could’ve had even a bigger night. He most certainly will be a nightmare for opposing defenses as he was all of last year.
The Exeter defense stifled the Blazers. They held Boone to 90 total yards of offense and only six first downs. They also forced a fumble and continually pressured quarterbacks Dean Rotter and Chase Domenech.
Carter Redding got Exeter on the board late in the first quarter with a 1-yard touchdown run. He also had a key 34-yard run on a five-play, 47-yard scoring drive. Another key play on the drive was a Rotelli-to-Schlaffer 9-yard pass on a third down and a 7-yard pass from the 10.
Exeter threatened to score on their next possession. Richie Karstien had a nice 9 yard run while following some excellent blocks from the Eagles line. Unfortunately for Exeter, Karstien was hit hard right before he crossed the goal line, fumbled the ball, and the Blazers recovered, keeping the score at 7 – 0.
The Eagles then stopped Boone on the next possession. They got the ball back and drove 42 yards on four plays. Schlaffer took a short pass from Rotelli and turned it into a 9-yard touchdown reception for a 14-0 lead.
After a Daniel Boone fumble was recovered by Kyle Lash at the Boone 7, Rotelli went to work. He ran for 6 yards, then finished the short drive with a 1-yard run to make it 21-0.
After Exeter stopped Boone on the next possession, the Eagles got the ball back at the 47 with 9.5 seconds left in the first half. After breaking the huddle Bauer called a timeout, realizing the Blazers had moved the free satey over to double Schlaffer.
Rotelli proceeded to deliver a 47-yard touchdown strike to Zach Zandier, who was single-covered down the middle.
“We saw that they were doubling Joey and we knew we would have one on one coverage on Zach down the middle,” Bauer said. “So we took a shot and Mason delivered a strike and Zach made a nice catch.”
The only scoring in the second half came on a four-play drive by the Eagles. Rotelli hit Schlaffer with a 34-yard touchdown pass to make it 35-0.
“It is such a blessing to have such versatile athletic receivers like Joey, Zach, all of our guys,” Rotelli said. “We look for mismatches and the coaches do a great job of finding those mismatches and calling the right plays.
The humble quarterback also praised his offensive line.
“We have great, great lineman,” he said. “It makes it so much easier to throw passes and run the ball when those guys give us so much time and so many nice holes to run through.”
Bauer also had high praise for his lines.
“For us it all starts up front on both sides of the ball,” he said. “We have some good people up there. Anybody who watches knows we will go as far as our offensive and defensive lines take us.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 7 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 35 |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Redding 1 run (Zandier Kick) | :58 |
| 2 | Exeter | Schlaffer 9 pass from Rotelli (Zandier Kick) | 5:50 |
| 2 | Exeter | Rotelli 1 run (Zandier Kick) | 1:11 |
| 2 | Exeter | Zandier 47 pass from Rotelli (Zandier Kick) | :00 |
| 3 | Exeter | Schlaffer 34 pass from Rotelli (Zandier Kick) | :42 |
Team statistics
| Exeter | Daniel Boone | |
| First downs | 11 | 6 |
| Rushes-yards | 39 – 177 | 26 – 49 |
| Passing yards | 157 | 41 |
| Total yards | 334 | 90 |
| Passes | 12-16-0 | 7-15-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-1 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 1 -56 | 7 – 23 |
| Penalties-yards | 10 – 63 | 9 – 58 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Caceres 9 – 66, Karstein 7 – 42, Schlaffer 3 – 37, Redding 6 – 32, Rotelli 8 – 23, Skipper 1- 5, Reiking 2 – 4, Martinez 1 – (-2), TEAM 2 – (-30)
Daniel Boone: Tolosky 10 – 50, Lacey 3 – 10, Moyer 2 – 8, Souder 2- 3 , Krymon 3 – 1, Rotter 4 – (-4), Domenech 1 – (-4), TEAM 1 – (-15)
PASSING
Exeter: Rotelli 12-16-0-157
Daniel Boone: Rotter 6 – 14 – 0 – 34; Domenech 1 – 1 – 0 – 7
RECEIVING
Exeter: Zandier 2 – 59, Schlaffer 4- 52, Choy 2 – 25, Hollis 3 – 24, Karstein 1 – (-3)
Daniel Boone: Heffner 3 – 20, High 2 – 14, Krymon 1- 4, Klick 1 – 3
MISSED FIELD GOALS
Exeter: Zandier 37
