District 3 Class 5A preview: Exeter vs. Hershey
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
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District 3 Class 5A first round
No. 9 Exeter (8-2) vs. No. 8 Hershey (7-3)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Hersheypark Stadium.
Series: First meeting.
Common opponents: None.
Home field advantage? The Trojans are 2-3 at home, with all games being played at Hersheypark Stadium. . . the Eagles are 4-1 on the road.
Fast fact: The Eagles saw their six-game district playoff winning streak snapped in last year’s Class 5A championship game against Cocalico. They have reached the title game in consecutive seasons, with a win over top-seeded Gov. Mifflin in 2021.
Eagles update: Coming off back-to-back losses, to Conestoga Valley and Manheim Central, after a second straight 8-0 start. . . Loss to CV snapped a 20-game regular season winning streak, longest in program history. . . Junior Jayden Zandier has enjoyed a breakout season with 1,136 yards and 18 touchdowns after move from WR to TB in Week 4. . . He’s averaging 11.1 yards per carry, second-best in the Lancaster-Lebanon League. . . Zandier has 3 TDs as a receiver and 1 on a kickoff return. . . Senior T Ryan McConnell, junior T Logan Wegman and TE Zack Zandier lead offensive line that has paved the way for 227 rushing yards per game, seventh-best in the league. . . Offense is averaging 354 total yards, No. 9 in the league. . . Scoring 36.9 points per game, No. 6 in the league. . . Zack Zandier, a Coastal Carolina recruit and a first-team all-league pick as a junior, leads team with 21 receptions; also has a pair of two-point conversion catches. . . Versatile senior Nathan Pashley has 4 TD receptions and a team-leading 3 INTs; he also punts and plays some QB. . . Soph Aidan Dauble leads team with 55 tackles and has 10 TFL. . . Junior LB Tyler Flanders has team-leading 13 TFL and team-best 5 sacks. . . McConnell has team-high 10 QB hurries. . . Were No. 1 seed in tournament last season after recording perfect regular season. . . Were ranked in Top 10 in state for most of the season before loss to Conestoga Valley.
Did you know? Hershey head coach Mark Painter is the father of Dylan Painter, a 6-10 All-State center who played at Hershey and went on to play at Villanova and Delaware; he now plays professionally in Europe.
Trojans update: Enjoying just the second winning season in the last 10 years. . . Seven wins are the most for the program since 2011. . . Finished tied for third in Keystone Division of Mid-Penn Conference, behind Bishop McDevitt and Cedar Cliff and tied with Lower Dauphin. . . Key to offense is 230-pound RB Angel Cabrera, who has 20 TDs and has rushed for 1,408 yards. . . He ran for 258 yards and 3 TDs in win over Milton Hershey. . . Soph QB Cameron Sweeney has thrown for 704 yards and 8 TDs, all of them to WR Derek Guzman. . . Guzman, second on the team in rushing, averages 11.3 yards per carry. . . Averaging 26.6 points per game. . . Allowing 22.1. . . Rugged schedule included a 42-7 Week 7 loss to Bishop McDevitt, the top-ranked Class 4A team in the state, and a 41-21 Week 4 loss to Cedar Cliff, which is ranked No. 8 in the state in Class 5A. . . Five of their 10 opponents have qualified for the district playoffs. . . Mark Painter returned to lead the program in 2019 after a six-year absence. He coached the team from 2009-13, reaching the district playoffs ever season. . . This is the first district playoff appearance for Hershey since 2013; it hasn’t won a district game since 2010. . . It is 6-11 overall with a Class AA championship in 1984.
Fast fact: Exeter has not lost 3 straight games since 2017, when it fell to Spring-Ford, Gov. Mifflin and Berks Catholic in Weeks 3, 4 and 5.
Up next: Winners plays quarterfinal at No. 1 New Oxford (9-1) Nov. 10.
