Exeter comes up just short against Central York, Beau Pribula
By Sam Cavalieri – Correspondent for MikeDragoSports.com.
The pain was visible in the eyes of many of the Exeter Eagles.
They had an opportunity to send shockwaves throughout the state.
The Eagles came up just short against last year’s 6A finalist Central York, falling 35-28 at Don Thomas Stadium Saturday afternoon.
Exeter coach Matt Bauer will lament about the five red zone possessions that they came away with zero points.
The final possession saw Exeter set up at the Central York 8; on third down Colin Payne and Ty Yocum didn’t mesh on a handoff which resulted in a fumble recovered by Exeter wide receiver Carson Schmidt. The fourth-down attempt was a Payne rollout to his left; he couldn’t make the completion to Schmidt in the end zone.
“(The play) was for me to get out of the pocket and see if I can run, or pass if I have somebody,” Payne said. “I think I had Schmidt, but it was just too short. I have to bring that up a little bit.”
A pair of missed field goals, a crucial holding penalty, multiple sacks and an interception all were involved in the first four empty red zone trips.
“We have to make fewer mistakes in big games and execute,” Bauer said. “That’s what it came down to. Our kids played their guts out, no question about it, but the team that makes the fewer mistakes is going to win the football game, usually.”
Bauer’s assessment was fair as Exeter exchanged haymakers all game with the Panthers and their star quarterback Beau Pribula, a Penn State commit.
The Eagles scored on the game’s opening drive with Payne, who finished with 290 yards passing on 16-of-24 attempts, finding J.R. Strauss for a 14-yard touchdown. This was the first of three Payne-to-Strauss touchdown connections; Strauss led all receivers with eight receptions and 156 yards.
“We really focused on keeping the same energy that we had the night before,” Payne said about the 11:00 a.m. kickoff.
The first-half clock was controlled by the Exeter offense. Its offensive line was strong, and Eric Nangle was a workhorse, churning out 89 yards and a touchdown on a massive 20 carries.
Nangle only had two carries in the second half as he missed most of the half on the sideline trying to stretch out his leg. Bauer confirmed after the game that Nangle would be “okay” moving forward.
While Nangle was a stud toting the ball, he also made one of the biggest defensive plays of the game for Exeter. Late in the first half he chiseled the ball loose from Imeire Manigault to set up a short field. He cashed in the touchdown himself only three plays later and it appeared Exeter might get to the half tied at 14.
Pribula, who threw for 337 yards with four passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown, had other ideas. With just 29 seconds on the clock he led the Pantherst 55 yards in four plays for a 21-14 lead at half.
“We can drive 100 yards in under a minute and we were confident and knew we had to score before halftime,” Pribula said.
The Eagles never flinched.
The defense got an immediate three-and-out to start the second half and Jacob Wolfe’s outstanding 37-yard punt return gave the offense great field position. Payne again found Strauss and this time it was a deep ball for a 29-yard touchdown to tie the game at 21.
The defense forced a Pribula punt on the next series and took over at midfield after another strong Wolfe punt return. The drive stalled after a holding penalty before Mike Moser missed a field goal into a strong wind.
“Mental mistakes and discipline were the issue, too many mental mistakes down in the red zone,” Payne said.
Late in the third quarter Pribula hit Manigault on a deep ball for an 82-yard touchdown to put the Panthers back on top 28-21. Schmidt, the Exeter corner, had position but got turned around with the ball in the air.
As they did the entire game the Eagles came right back and scored two plays later on a 49-yard reception by Strauss. Strauss flashed the skills that have him gathering offers from Division 1 schools when he hurdled a defender to get free on his way to the end zone.
“I saw a lot of open holes and our coaches saw them, too, on tape and we targeted that,” Strauss said. “A lot of open holes in the middle and we made the plays; Colin saw the looks and it just went well for us.”
Pribula threw the final haymaker just 34 seconds later at the start of the fourth quarter. His final touchdown was a 17-yard pass to Hines Parker.
“This was a playoff game,” Pribula said. “This is one we circled in January. We knew it was going to be a four-quarter war. We knew they were a really good team, and they have some studs and it’s a huge win for us.”
The pain in the immediate aftermath of the defeat was clear, but Bauer knew exactly what he could take from this opening game.
“If we get that kind of effort, we are going to be a hard team to beat for sure,” Bauer said. “I want these kids to feel this and let this burn in real deep because we don’t ever want to feel like this again.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Central York | 7 | 14 | 7 | 7 | 35 |
| Exeter | 7 | 7 | 14 | 0 | 28 |
Scoring summary
| Team | Player | Play | From | PAT Player | Extra Point |
| Exeter | Strauss | 14 pass | Payne | Moser | Kick |
| Central York | Dunnick | 18 pass | Pribula | Parker | Kick |
| Central York | Pribula | 5 run | Parker | Kick | |
| Exeter | Nangle | 11 run | Moser | Kick | |
| Central York | Hines | 29 pass | Pribula | Parker | Kick |
| Exeter | Strauss | 29 pass | Payne | Moser | Kick |
| Central York | Manigault | 82 pass | Pribula | Parker | Kick |
| Exeter | Strauss | 49 pass | Payne | Moser | Kick |
| Central York | Hines | 17 pass | Pribula | Parker | Kick |
Team statistics
| Central York | Exeter | |
| First downs | 15 | 22 |
| Rushes-yards | 22-63 | 44-158 |
| Passing yards | 337 | 290 |
| Total yards | 400 | 448 |
| Passes | 17-24-0 | 16-24-1 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-38.67 | 1-34 |
| Penalties-yards | 11-125 | 6-60 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Central York: Pribula 11-32, Walker 8-22, Goff 2-5, DeWitt 1-4.
Exeter: Nangle 22-94, Yocum 11-77, Robinson 4-15, Strauss 1-4, Woody 1-(-1), Payne 5-(-31).
PASSING
Central York: Pribula 17-24-0–337.
Exeter: Payne 16-24-1–290.
RECEIVING
Central York: Manigault 4-144, Smith 6-93, Hines 4-68, Dunnick 3-32.
Exeter: Strauss 8-156, Schlaffer 5-96, Robinson 1-16, Nangle 1-6, Schmidt 1-16.
Interceptions
Central York: Watson 1.
