It’s deja vu all over again as Exeter eliminates Conestoga Valley
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
(This story will be updated later tonight with additional details and postgame reaction.)
By Logan Moyer — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
WITMER — Exeter gets revenge once again.
After falling to Conestoga Valley three weeks ago as the Buckskins won the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title, the Eagles raced to a 41-34 win in a District 3 Class 5A quarterfinal rematch Friday.
| Final | |
| Exeter | 41 |
| Conestoga | 34 |
It’s the second straight season that the Eagles (10-2) have beaten the Buckskins (10-1) in the District 3 playoffs after losing to them in the regular season.
Exeter fell 21-17 to Conestoga Valley three weeks ago after two touchdowns and an onside kick recovery in the final 2:49 of the contest.
The Buckskins once again mounted a comeback attempt in the fourth quarter, but an onside kick recovery by Donovyn Alvarez and subsequent 5-yard first down run by Leo Brown warded off another devasting loss for the Eagles.
Seventh-seeded Exeter will play at No. 3 Bishop McDevitt next Friday in the District 3 Class 5A semifinals. The Crusaders defeated Mechanicsburg 47-7 Friday.
Leo Brown ran for 220 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half. Riley Martinez, in only his second game back from a shoulder injury, tossed two touchdown passes and finished with 130 passing yards.
Both touchdown grabs went to Jayden Ware and were from 41-yards and 77-yards out, respectively. Both came in the first half.
The Eagles did most of their damage in the first half, building as large as a 27-point lead as their defense produced a pair of turnovers that the offense turned into scores. One play after an Aidan Dauble interception early in the second quarter, Brown ran for a 30-yard score. Joel Ummarino also recovered a strip-sack fumble.
Conestoga Valley quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade finished with 315 passing yards, completing 25-of-36 passes. Two of those touchdown passes went to Konner Fisher; the other to Cordell Bair.
Josh Jackson also ran for a 4-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Eagles seal the deal.
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
Exeter | 13 | 21 | 0 | 7 | 41 |
Conestoga Valley | 7 | 7 | 0 | 20 | 34 |
Scoring summary
1 | Exeter | Ware, 41 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 9:39 |
1 | Conestoga Valley | Bair, 23 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 4:52 |
1 | Exeter | Brown, 20 run (kick failed) | 0:34 |
2 | Exeter | Brown, 30 run (Franek kick) | 10:51 |
2 | Exeter | Ware, 77 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 6:20 |
2 | Exeter | Brown, 4 run (Franek kick) | 2:08 |
2 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 99 kickoff return (Erb kick) | 1:54 |
4 | Conestoga Valley | Garcia, 4 run (kick failed) | 11:51 |
4 | Exeter | Jackson, 4 run (Franek kick) | 7:44 |
4 | Conestoga Valley | Fisher, 20 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 6:45 |
4 | Conestoga Valley | Fisher, 9 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 1:14 |
Team statistics
EXETER | CONESTOGA VALLEY | |
First downs | 17 | 21 |
Rushes-yards | 34-232 | 32-73 |
Passing yards | 130 | 315 |
Total yards | 362 | 388 |
Passes | 3-10-2 | 25-36-1 |
Fumbles-lost | 1-1 | 2-1 |
Punts-average | 1-36 | 1-20 |
Penalties-yards | 7-60 | 8-55 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Brown 28-220, Alvarez 3-8, Jackson 2-5, Team 1-(-1).
Conestoga Valley: Ruble 13-59, Justiniano 3-21, Garcia 5-15, Conaway 1-(-1), Esbenshade 10-(-21).
PASSING
Exeter: Martinez 3-10-2—130.
Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 25-36-1—315.
RECEIVING
Exeter: Ware 2-118, Dauble 1-12.
Conestoga Valley: Conaway 6-76, Fisher 6-53, Co. Bair 5-55, Ruble 4-79, Ca. Bair 3-39, Justiniano 1-13.
INTERCEPTIONS
Exeter: Dauble.
Conestoga Valley: Garcia, Alvarez.
