Eagles’ Leo Brown delivers on promise with record-breaking performance

By Mike Drago Last updated Nov 9, 2025

Exeter's Leo Brown runs for a touchdown Friday against Lower Dauphin. (Tim Macrina photo)

2025 Berks football coverage presented by

Utilities Employees Credit Union

By Mike Drago — MikeDragoSports.com Managing Editor

When Jayden Zandier left Exeter with the program rushing record in hand, teammate Leo Brown reminded him to enjoy it while it lasted.

Final
Exeter	35
L. Dauphin	0

“I told him: I’m gonna break that record,’ ” said Brown, who played the part of understudy to the All-State back. “I’m gonna go for it.”

Brown was true to his word. He sprinted past Zandier’s record Friday, his monster rushing night helping carry the Eagles to a 35-0 victory over No. 10 Lower Dauphin in a District 3 Class 5A opener at Don Thomas Stadium.

Brown ran for 269 yards and a pair of long touchdowns to push his season total to 2,175 yards, second-most in Berks history. He sailed past Zandier’s mark of 2,093 yards, set during a 14-game season, in just his 11^th game.

The only player to rush for more yards in a season is Central Catholic’s David Gilmore, who ran for 2,403 yards in a 13-game 1983 season the culminated with a District 3 Class A championship.

“I was super-confident,” Brown said of running down Zandier’s mark. “I knew that the five guys in front of me (on the offensive line) would get it done tonight and they would make a way for me to be able to break that record.”

Brown, a combination of speed, power, and determination, got it done quickly. His 44-yard touchdown run in the first quarter made him only the sixth player in Berks history to top 2,000 yards in a season. Late in a first half that saw him rush for 189 yards he passed Zandier’s still-fresh record.

He ended his night with a 52-yard TD run, his 26^th score of the season. That’s eight short of Zandier’s program record.

He’ll get an opportunity to chase that mark, as well as Gilmore’s, next week in the district quarterfinals when the seventh-seeded Eagles (9-2) get a rematch they desperately wanted against No. 2 Conestoga Valley (10-0).

Eagles’ Braylon Reinert heads to end zone after recovering fumble. (Tim Macrina photo)

The Buckskins scored a couple of late touchdowns in Week 9 to beat the Eagles 21-17 and went on to claim the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title. They’ll play next week at Witmer. Last year the Eagles won a lopsided district semifinal on the Bucks’ home field.

Brown’s record-breaking night was so big it overshadowed one of the biggest stories of the season: The unexpected return of Exeter quarterback Riley Martinez.

Martinez went out early in Week 2 with a shoulder injury and many, including his coach Matt Bauer, thought he wouldn’t play again this season. Martinez thought if things went well with his rehab following surgery that he’d have a chance to return by Week 13 or 14 – if Exeter’s season lasted that long. Nobody thought they’d see him behind center for the start of the playoffs.

“It’s truly a miraculous story,” Bauer said.

Martinez, a senior and three-year starter, showed some signs of missing eight weeks but also showed his experience, too. He calmy picked up a blitz, looked to the vacated area, and found Jayden Ware for a 19-yard touchdown that made it 21-0 1:44 before halftime.

Overall, Martinez completed 8-of-13 passes for 73 yards, with an interception. He attempted just one pass in the second half before giving way to Jake Hafer, who started the last eight games in his place.

“It was good to have him back,” Bauer said. “He had a little rust here and there but overall he stood in thee and delivered the ball when we needed him to. Made good decisions, especially for being out for (so long).”

Brown’s big night also overshadowed his defense, which was dominant in posting its third shutout of the season. The Eagles recorded six sacks, nine tackles for loss, intercepted three passes, and got a pair of defensive scores from junior linebacker Braylon Reinert.

Senior linebacker Jackson Kozik had four tackles for loss, including a pair of sacks; senior linebacker Aidan Dauble had a sack and several hurries, one leading to an interception by junior linebacker Donovyn Alvarez.

Reinert had a defensive player’s dream-come-true night: He scooped up a fumbled kickoff and took it back 26 yards for a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and closed the scoring with a Pick-6 that covered 37 yards in the fourth quarter.

“It’s amazing,” Reinert said. “I could imagine a fumble recovery, or an interception for a touchdown, but not in the same game. I was very surprised.”

He was surprised to find the ball in hands on the interception. The Eagles’ front line collapsed the pocket; converted quarterback Tyler Newman tried to get rid of the ball as Kozik descended on him but the ball went only a few feet before in stuck in Reinert’s outstretched arms.

“Jackson hit the dude, so I knew it wouldn’t be a perfect pass,” Reinert said. “I was standing still for a second (before I realized I had the ball), then I just ran.”

Exeter’s seventh defensive score of the season made it 35-0 with 6:35 left and started the running clock.

“Overall, I couldn’t be happier with the way we played,” Bauer said, “the way we stayed together and the way we responded to adversity and did what we need to do.”

Riley Martinez enjoyed a successful return to quarterback Friday. (Tim Macrina photo)

	1	2	3	4	Final
Lower Dauphin	0	0	0	0	0
Exeter	14	7	0	14	35

Scoring summary

1	Exeter	Brown, 44 run (Franek kick)	5:33
1	Exeter	Reinert, 26 fumble return (Franek kick)	5:23
2	Exeter	Ware, 19 pass from Martinez (Franek kick)	1:44
4	Exeter	Brown, 52 run (Franek kick)	8:57
4	Exeter	Reinert, 37 interception return (Franek kick)	6:35

Team statistics

	LOWER DAUPHIN	EXETER
First downs	11	15
Rushes-yards	38-123	28-271
Passing yards	32	73
Total yards	155	344
Passes	5-12-3	8-14-1
Fumbles-lost	2-1	2-2
Punts-average	5-40.8	1-27.0
Penalties-yards	6-35	8-60