Eagles sharpen their skills in 49-6 win over Red Knights
By Pete Beck — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
The hunter’s moon hanging over Exeter’s Don Thomas Stadium Friday night would have once warned the residents of the city and county to begin to gather stores for the approaching winter.
Friday night’s moon may have served to warn the Reading High Red Knights that the Exeter Eagles were ready to use their Berks League Section 1 game to begin sharpening their skills for a postseason run.
Exeter linebackers Ty Yocum, Lucas Palange and J.R. Strauss tracked the Red Knights’ offense throughout the first half, limiting them to minus-17 yards of total offense.
Precision, speed and power, the keys to many a successful pursuit, were also the keys to Exeter’s defensive success in its 49-6 victory.
Palange, a junior, had the Red Knights (0-3, 1-6) in his sights from the opening kickoff.
He blocked Reading’s first punt attempt, gathered the ball at the 2 and scored to extend Exeter’s lead to 14-0 only three minutes into the game.
“It just went so fast,” said Palange. “I came off edge, put my arms out to block the punt and the ball was in my hands.”
Palange also played coverage extremely well, breaking up three pass attempts. He was in the right place at the right time throughout the night.
The speedy Strauss picked off a Daryonel Fontanez pass for a Pick-Six that made it 35-0 with more than four minutes left in the opening period.
“I sat in the middle and read the quarterback’s eyes,” said Strauss, a Villanova recruit. “The ball came my way and I made the play.”
Yocum, who scored a first-quarter touchdown on what can only be called a bludgeoning 2-yard run, stalked the Exeter sideline late in the second quarter yelling, “Dive, Dive,” imploring his younger defensive teammates to key on Reading’s offense, even though the game was firmly in the Eagles’ control.
“It’s good to coach these guys up,” Yocum said after the game. “It’s good to see them getting in to make some plays. You’ve got to get them hyped up.”
Yocum knows he and his teammates will need to pay attention to those little details in order to be competitive in a deep District 3 Class 5A playoff field.
He, and his coach, have no intention of letting those opportunities slip away.
“The kids played very hard tonight,” head coach Matt Bauer said. “We were sound in our game plan and the kids were disciplined. It’s Senior Night and the wanted to play hard.”
The Eagles (3-1, 6-2) may be searching for a Week 10 opponent due to Daniel Boone’s COVID situation; it’s not known yet whether the long-time rivals will be able to play. The Blazers can’t get back on the field until Friday, and can’t play a contest until Sunday at the earliest.
Next week’s opponent isn’t as important as another opportunity for the Eagles’ to sharpen their skills.
“We just need to keep doing our thing,” said Yocum, “keep doing our assignments, keep doing our jobs and we’ll be fine no matter who we play.”
Happy hunting, Eagles.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Reading | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Exeter | 35 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 49 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Nangle 65 yard run (Moser kick) | 11:03 |
| 1 | Exeter | Palange 12 yard blocked punt return (Moser kick) | 8:57 |
| 1 | Exeter | Nangle 15 yard run (Moser kick) | 6:11 |
| 1 | Exeter | Yocum 2 yard run (Moser kick) | 4:53 |
| 1 | Exeter | Strauss 11 yard interception return (Moser kick) | 4:25 |
| 2 | Exeter | Woody 2 yard run (Moder kick) | 11:54 |
| 2 | Exeter | Garretson 1 yard run (Moser kick) | 7:18 |
| 3 | Reading | Philistin 24 yard pass from Fontanez (kick failed) | 6:28 |
Team statistics
| Exeter | Reading | |
| First downs | 13 | 4 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-191 | 24 -( -2) |
| Passing yards | 38 | 48 |
| Total yards | 229 | 46 |
| Passes | 3-5-0 | 3-12-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-0 | 2 – 1 |
| Punts-average | 1 – 27 | 4 – 30.25 |
| Penalties-yards | 8 – 90 | 4 – 50 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Reading: Nu. Morla 9-24, Fontinez 8 -(-1), Wilson 7 – (-25).
Exeter: Nangle 3-78, Robinson 7-43, Woody 8-32, Choy 4-17, Strauss 1-7, Garretson 2-6, Rotelli 1-6, Yocum 1-2
PASSING
Reading: Fontinez 3-12-1– 48.
Exeter: Payne 3-5-0– 38.
RECEIVING
Reading: Philistin 1-24, Williams 1-13, Wilson 1-11.
Exeter: Strauss 2-15, Schlaffer 1-23.
INTERCEPTIONS
Exeter: Strauss.
