Exeter smashes second-seeded Manheim Central, heads back to D3 semis
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
MANHEIM — The Exeter Eagles are headed back to the District 3 Class 5A semifinals for the second time in program history.
Eric Nangle rushed for 233 yards and three touchdowns and the Eagles held Manheim Central to negative rushing yards in a 43-26 victory Friday night at Elden Rettew Stadium.
“We wanted to prove everyone wrong,” Nangle said about the seventh-seeded Eagles (8-3) going up against the No. 2 Barons (9-2), who have won more district titles and more playoff games than any program in District 3. “We felt like we could’ve been ranked a lot higher. The regular season didn’t go exactly as planned. We just wanted to come in here and make plays.”
Nangle scored on a 22-yard run on the first drive. The Barons tried a fake punt on fourth down on their next drive but it was broken up by J.R. Strauss’ diving deflection. Colin Payne hit Carson Schmidt for a 57-yard pass and the Eagles were back inside the 5.
Ty Yocum fumbled at the goal line and Manheim Central took over at its own 1; Yocum stopped Justin Heffernan on the next play for a safety to make it 9-0. A bit of foreshadowing for how the day would go for the Eagles.
Nangle scored twice more in the first quarter on runs of 22 and 43 yards. Payne got the passing game going in the second quarter with touchdown strikes to Joey Schlaffer for 31 yards and Strauss for 14 yards.
Just like that it was 36-0 at halftime, a hole too deep for the Barons — ranked No. 5 in the state — to escape.
Judd Novak threw for 237 passing yards and three touchdowns, but 188 of it came in the second half, with the mercy rule in effect.
For Exeter it was nice to know their opponent and have a week to prepare, in comparison to having an unexpected bye week as they did in Week 10, before the district bracket was finalized.
“It helped a lot,” Nangle said. “Last week was rough. We just felt really prepared this week. We knew (Manheim Central) blitzed a lot so it was going to be hard for us to pass time-wise. We decided to hit the open holes.”
Exeter piled up 453 total yards, gashing a defense that had pitched four shutouts this season. On paper it seemed likely to be a close game after looking at common opponents between the teams during the regular season. Exeter beat Wilson 42-14; Manheim Central beat the Bulldogs 24-21. Exeter lost 17-14 to Hempfield; Manheim Central beat Hempfield 14-0. The Eagles proved otherwise.
Now the Eagles move on to face No. 6 Cedar Cliff, a 10-7 winner over undefeated No. 3 Shippensburg, in the semifinals Friday at Cedar Cliff. It’s their second trip to the semifinals; they got there in 2019, losing at Cedar Cliff 24-0.
“When I was a sophomore, we watched them win two games in districts and it was huge,” Nangle said. “With us having the chance to win three (times in districts), that’s amazing. That’s something we’ve always wanted growing up. This team’s been playing together for a long time. We have a bond and it’s unbreakable.”
Nangle doesn’t care that the Eagles will be facing the same school that knocked them out two years ago.
“It didn’t matter,” Nangle said. “We didn’t care. We know what we’re capable of. We think we can beat anyone.”
A familiar opponent could be looming if Nangle and the Eagles win their third district game next week; Gov. Mifflin won 63-35 over Warwick and will host Spring Grove in the other semifinal.
“Oh yeah,” Nangle said about the opportunity to take another crack at the undefeated and top-seeded Mustangs. “We hope so.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Exeter | 22 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 43 |
| Manheim Central | 0 | 0 | 8 | 18 | 26 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Nangle, 22 run (Moser kick) | 7:34 |
| 1 | Exeter | Safety | 4:01 |
| 1 | Exeter | Nangle, 22 run (pass failed) | 1:29 |
| 1 | Exeter | Nangle, 43 run (Moser kick) | :03 |
| 2 | Exeter | Schlaffer, 31 pass from Payne (Moser kick) | 7:33 |
| 2 | Exeter | Strauss, 14 pass from Payne (Moser kick) | :15 |
| 3 | Manheim Central | Sensenig, 39 pass from Novak (Enterline, pass from Novak) | 7:59 |
| 4 | Exeter | Yocum, 3 run (Moser kick) | 9:46 |
| 4 | Manheim Central | Enterline, 40 pass from Novak (pass failed) | 6:07 |
| 4 | Manheim Central | Harbach, 21 pass from Novak (pass failed) | 3:40 |
| 4 | Manheim Central | Enterline, 25 pass from Hahn (no attempt) | :00 |
Team statistics
| Exeter | Manheim Central | |
| First downs | 13 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 37-289 | 10-(-1) |
| Passing yards | 164 | 269 |
| Total yards | 453 | 268 |
| Passes | 6-11-0 | 19-35-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 1-0 |
| Punts-average | 1-7 | 4-38.8 |
| Penalties-yards | 9-65 | 4-30 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Nangle 27-233, Yocum 5-42, Payne 1-10, Woody 4-4.
Manheim Central: Heffernan 5-3, Novak 5-(-4).
PASSING
Exeter: Payne 6-11-0–164.
Manheim Central: Novak 17-31-0–237, Hahn 2-4-0–32.
RECEIVING
Exeter: Schmidt 2-69, Nangle 2-50, Schlaffer 1-31, Strauss 1-14.
Manheim Central: Sensenig 6-97, Weaver 6-49, Enterline 3-73, Harbach 2-38, Lastinger 2-12.