Strong defense carries Eagles to 6th straight win
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Clay Oberholtzer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Carter Redding and Jayden Zandier rose to the occasion, combining for four touchdowns, as Exeter remained unbeaten with a 43-6 thumping of Ephrata in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2 game Friday night at Don Thomas Stadium in Reiffton.
Exeter (3-0, 6-0) busted the game wide open in the second half with a stingy defense and quick-striking plays. Ephrata was out-executed.
“They gave us everything they had,” said Exeter coach Matt Bauer said of Ephrata. “They had a great game plan. Once we made some adjustments with the defensive linemen submarining our (offensive) linemen’s legs, Jayden really answered the call.”
Exeter struck first with a Genuine Stutzman touchdown and Ephrata (1-2, 3-3) responded with a 95-yard kickoff return. One of 12 flags thrown on the night brought the return all the way back to the Mounts’ 35-yard line.
Ephrata got its reversed touchdown back with a 15-play touchdown drive. The drive was aided by a couple penalties on Exeter. Braydon Brown finished it with an 18-yard touchdown run.
Zandier was bottled up in the first half, aside from a 35-yard run. The Eagles needed to look to another weapon to produce on offense.
They turned to Redding.
The second-team all-league wide receiver scored twice in the first half on the ground and through the air. His 39-yard touchdown catch was a game-changer. It looked like Ephrata was poised for a crucial third-and-19 stop, but Riley Martinez found a streaking Redding down the seam, blowing by the safety.
From there on, it was all Exeter after the Eagles made some halftime adjustments.
“We had to tell each other to anchor down, finish the game,” said Redding. “We were in situations (in past seasons) where we were up (at half), and lost the game.
“Our group of guys are so determined and used to being in situations like that, and we know we have experience to go out and finish a game.”
In the second half, Zandier used his speed to get to the edge more often, avoiding the plugged up gaps between the tackles. Ephrata could not keep up with him as both of his touchdowns went for at least 20 yards.
“I’m very blessed to have some explosive kids and they made plays when they needed to,” said Bauer.
The poor weather did not affect Martinez. The junior quarterback completed 5-of-9 passes, three for touchdowns, often executing when it mattered most.
“I thought Riley made very good decisions,” said Bauer. “Throwing the ball away when he needed to and delivered the ball when he needed to.”
On the defensive side the Eagles made life hard for the Mounts. There was little running room, nor were there many opportunities to get the ball down the field. As the Mounts found themselves playing catchup, they were aggressive on a few fourth-down attempts. They went for it twice inside their territory and the Eagles stepped up to make the stops, giving them short fields.
“Third quarter, probably a little aggressive going for it on fourth down to start it,” said Ephrata’s eight-year head coach Kris Miller. “I thought, 21-6, trying to get some momentum. I’ve been aggressive my whole career coaching. I believe in our kids and we’re going to try and make plays, and (Exeter) made a play there.”
Ephrata just could not execute the big plays to the extent that Exeter could.
Mounts quarterback Caleb Grant often was found scrambling or throwing with rushers in his face. The Eagles secondary blanketed the Mounts receivers for the vast majority of the game, allowing just 42 passing yards.
Exeter has allowed just 26 points on the season. Though it looks pretty good on paper, Bauer still wants better from his defense.
“The team that makes the least amount of mistakes is going to win the football game, usually,” he said. “They had some calls and so did we. That’s still an area we need to improve upon drastically.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Ephrata | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| Exeter | 7 | 14 | 22 | 0 | 43 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Stutzman, 17 pass from Martinez (Gaston kick) | 7:07 |
| 1 | Ephrata | B. Brown, 18 run (run failed) | 0:22 |
| 2 | Exeter | Redding, 6 run (Gaston kick) | 8:53 |
| 2 | Exeter | Redding, 39 pass from Martinez (Gaston kick) | 6:13 |
| 3 | Exeter | Zandier, 34 run (Redding pass to Stutzman) | 10:13 |
| 3 | Exeter | Zandier, 20 run (Gaston kick) | 7:58 |
| 3 | Exeter | Flanders, 13 pass from Martinez (Gaston kick) | 2:38 |
Team statistics
| Ephrata | Exeter | |
| First downs | 10 | 15 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-136 | 29-237 |
| Passing yards | 42 | 93 |
| Total yards | 178 | 330 |
| Passes | 6-23-1 | 5-9-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Punts-average | 4-24.75 | 2-31.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-55 | 7-80 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Ephrata: B. Brown 16-69, Grant 17-41, Artis 4-26.
Exeter: J. Zandier 13-149, Redding 5-74, Alvarez 3-21, L. Brown 3-8, Stutzman 2-1, Team 1-(-2), Martinez 2-(-14).
PASSING
Ephrata: Grant 6-21-0–42, Martin 0-2-1–0.
Exeter: Martinez 5-9-0–93.
RECEIVING
Ephrata: Conover 3-15, Frain 1-14, Pugh 1-7, Keller 1-6.
Exeter: Redding 2-44, J. Zandier 1-19, Stutzman 1-17, Flanders 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
Exeter: Franek
