Richie Karstien scores four TDs as Exeter overpowers Hempfield
(This story was produced by LNP/Lancasteronline, and published in partnership with MikeDragoSports.com.)
By Jeff Reinhart — LNP/Lancasteronline
LANDISVILLE — Have a night, Richie Karstien.
Exeter’s bruising senior running back followed his blockers to daylight over and over and over again, rumbling for 224 yards on 32 workmanlike carries with four touchdowns in a 44-22 non-league victory over Hempfield Friday night.
Exeter improved to 8-0 and Hempfield dipped to 6-2 in a showdown game featuring a pair of Lancaster-Lebanon League section leaders, and two of the top squads in their respective District 3 classifications.
“You’ve got Anthony Caccese, Kyle Lash, Lucas Palange, Matt McConnell and Justin Hernandez,” said Karstien, ratting off the names of the Eagles’ rugged offensive linemen who continually opened holes. “They were great. The holes were big enough for me to squeeze right through them. The whole line did a great job.”
Exeter’s D-line also came up big, helping to hold Hempfield to minus-15 rushing yards with four sacks. And the Eagles’ O-line busted holes open aplenty for Karstien.
“That’s our heart and soul, no question about it,” Exeter coach Matt Bauer said of his trench players. “We challenged them to step up and rise to the occasion. If we were going down, we were going down on the strength of our O-line. Those kids really answered the call.”
Exeter, which shares the Section 2 lead with unscathed Manheim Central — they’ll play in Week 10 — came in at No. 2 in Class 5A. Hempfield, which has sole possession of first place in Section 1, came in at No. 2 in Class 6A.
Hempfield can clinch its first outright section championship since 1994 with wins over Cedar Crest and Reading High in the next two weeks. Exeter plays Conestoga Valley in Week 9.
Exeter feasted on four first-half turnovers and had the Knights in a 30-7 hole at halftime.
Hempfield lost a pair of fumbles and the Eagles picked off a pair of passes, the latter by Gavin Reiking, who returned his pick 89 yards for a TD on the last play of the first half to put Exeter up by 23 points.
Earlier, Miles Brant picked off a pass for Exeter, setting up Karstien’s 1-yard plunge for a 17-7 lead.
On the first play of Hempfield’s ensuing drive, Caccese forced a fumble, Exeter had it right back, and QB Mason Rotelli raced 4 yards for a score and it was 24-7. Rotelli rushed for 65 yards and passed for 132 yards.
Exeter had an early 10-0 lead on Matthew Skipper’s 26-yard field goal and Karstien’s 9-yard TD bolt. The Knights took advantage of the Eagles’ lone miscue, turning a fumble recovery into Jackson Landis’ 27-yard TD flip to Andy Garcia and the Knights were within 13-7.
But that’s when the turnovers started piling up, and Exeter built on its lead.
Hempfield took to the air in the second half, opening the third quarter with a four-play drive — on four completions — and Landis zipped a 7-yard TD pass to Julian Morales.
Later Landis, who threw for 297 yards, hit Micah Gates for a 30-yard TD pass as the Knights continued to have success up top. But Karstien capped it with a 30-yard TD bolt early in the fourth quarter and the Eagles salted it away.
“We certainly dug ourselves a hole,” Hempfield coach George Eager said. “The four turnovers in the first half were killers. When you’re playing against a good team like that, when you dig yourself a 30-7 hole, that’s a tough hole to dig out of.
“And we didn’t stop their run. They were able to run at will. Their O-line did a fantastic job up front. It’s disappointing we didn’t compete a little better up front.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 10 | 20 | 7 | 7 | 44 |
| Hempfield | 0 | 7 | 15 | 0 | 22 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Skipper, 26 FG |
| 1 | Exeter | Karstien, 9 run (Skipper kick) |
| 2 | Hempfield | Garcia, 27 pass from Landis (Biscoe kick) |
| 2 | Exeter | Karstien, 1 run (Skipper kick) |
| 2 | Exeter | Rotelli, 4 run (Skipper kick) |
| 2 | Exeter | Reiking, 89 interception return (kick failed) |
| 3 | Hempfield | Morales, 7 pass from Landis (Biscoe kick) |
| 3 | Exeter | Karstien, 9 run (Skipper kick) |
| 3 | Hempfield | Gates, 15 pass from Landis (Gates pass from Landis) |
| 4 | Exeter | Karstien, 30 run (Skipper kick) |
Team statistics
| Exeter | Hempfield | |
| First downs | 18 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 50-289 | 9-(-15) |
| Passing yards | 132 | 297 |
| Total yards | 421 | 282 |
| Passes | 10-15 | 22-33 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-2 |
| Punts-average | 2-19.5 | 2-45.0 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-40 | 4-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Karstien 32-212, Rotelli 17-70.
Hempfield: Hoover 3-2, Katch 1-0, Landis 4-(-19).
PASSING
Exeter: Rotelli 10-14-0–130.
Hempfield: Landis 23-34-2–293.
RECEIVING
Exeter: Schlaffer 3-69, Zandier 3-33, Karstien 2-17, Stutzman 2-11.
Hempfield: Garcia 8-120, Morales 5-76, Benjamin 4-53, Gaes 3-39, Hoover 2-7, Shorter 1-(-2).
INTERCEPTIONS
Exeter: Reiking, Brant.
