Resiliency, consistency again keys in milestone win for Exeter, Matt Bauer
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Exeter coach Matt Bauer picked up his 100th career win as the Eagles ran happy in Reiffton Friday night and rolled to a 42-8 victory over Muhlenberg in a Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 matchup at Don Thomas Stadium.
The win makes Bauer the 12th coach in Berks football history and fifth active to reach the century mark along with Wyomissing’s Bob Wolfrum (343), Berks Catholic’s Rick Keeley (272), Wilson’s Doug Dahms (175) and Conrad Weiser’s Alan Moyer (136).
“Persistence, resiliency, and trying to be as consistent as possible,” Bauer said on how he got here. “It’s not about me. I have had tremendous assistant coaches along the way. I mean, it’s such a thrill to have three guys that coached me in high school on my staff.
“First and foremost, I’ve been so blessed with so many tremendous kids. I’m just so happy to have an opportunity to work with so many tremendous young men and that’s what it’s all about. That’s why I got into this business. And that’s why I love it so much.”
There’s a lot to love about these Eagles (4-0, 7-0), who are now averaging 43 points per game; they have allowed only 64 points all season. This is Exeter’s best start since beginning 11-0 in 2015.
“It’s crazy how he really flipped around the program,” senior running back Richie Karstien said. “I’m pretty sure Exeter was 0-10 a few years in a row. Then he came and they were 1-9. Then the next year 4-6 and then never had a losing season ever again. That’s just crazy he did that in like three years.”
When Bauer took over the Exeter program in 2009, the team was coming off two winless seasons. Now, winning records are a fixture and he may have his best team yet.
“It definitely starts up front,” Bauer said. “They’re the foundation on both sides of the ball. They do so much to control the line of scrimmage and that’s why we have a chance to be successful.”
The line, which features Delaware commit Anthony Caccese, Lucas Palange, Kyle Lash, Matthew McConnell and Ryan McConnell, paved the way for Karstien to run for three touchdowns and 141 yards as Exeter totaled 289 rushing yards.
“It’s definitely great having that amazing front,” Karstien said. “It makes my job a lot easier. When the big holes are opened up all I gotta do is run to daylight.”
That is all without mentioning flex Joey Schlaffer, Exeter’s Penn State recruit, and dynamic senior quarterback Mason Rotelli, who connected on a 14-yard jump-ball TD for the first score of the game.
“They’ve just come on so much this year and I couldn’t be prouder,” Bauer said on this year’s team. “They all work so hard and they’re a very unselfish group. We challenge them every week to put the team’s needs first and they answer the call.”
Schlaffer then shuffled a 13-yarder to Isaiah Choy on a jet sweep with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
Karstien scored his first TD 2:23 later to make it 21-0.
Karstien scored his second from the 3 just 1:46 into the second and Zaymar Paschall tacked on another from the 13 with 4:31 left before the half.
Karstien completed the trifecta with a 6-yarder in the third.
Gio Cavanna, who finished with 80 yards rushing, scored on a 29-yard run with 2:32 left in the game for the Muhls (0-3, 2-5).
The schedule begins to heat up for the Eagles with Section 1 leader Hempfield next week and Manheim Central looming as they gear up for a playoff run.
“One week at a time,” Bauer said. “I’ve always been that way and that’s the only way I’m looking at it. We’re going to come right back to where we want to get better week to week. That’s the mark of a good team, if we can continue to improve, maybe we can play for a while.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Muhlenberg | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
| Exeter | 21 | 14 | 7 | 0 | 42 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Schlaffer, 14 pass from Rotelli (Skipper kick) | 10:53 |
| 1 | Exeter | Choy, 13 pass from Schlaffer (Skipper kick) | 7:49 |
| 1 | Exeter | Karstien, 13 run (Skipper kick) | 5:26 |
| 2 | Exeter | Karstien, 3 run (Skipper kick) | 10:14 |
| 2 | Exeter | Paschall, 13 run (Skipper kick) | 4:31 |
| 3 | Exeter | Karstien, 6 run (Skipper kick) | 2:39 |
| 4 | Muhlenberg | Cavanna, 29 run (Cavanna run) | 2:32 |
Team statistics
| Muhlenberg | Exeter | |
| First downs | 6 | 16 |
| Rushes-yards | 28-81 | 31-289 |
| Passing yards | 4 | 55 |
| Total yards | 85 | 344 |
| Passes | 1-4-0 | 5-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 4-2 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 5-33.4 | 1-37 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-73 | 5-65 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Muhlenberg: Cavanna 18-80, Ramirez 5-24, Rosario 2-12, Lopez 1-(-13), Fiddler 2-(-22).
Exeter: Karstien 10-141, Caceres 5-57, Paschall 5-51, Rotelli 5-29, Redding 1-(-3).
PASSING
Muhlenberg: Fidler 1-4-0–4.
Exeter: Rotelli 4-5-0–42, Schlaffer 1-2-0–13.
RECEIVING
Muhlenberg: Rosario 1-4.
Exeter: Schlaffer 2-20, Zandier 1-16, Choy 1-13, Redding 1-6.
