GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week: Exeter vs. Hempfield
GoBigRecruiting.com Game of the Week
Exeter (2-1) vs. Hempfield (1-2)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Landisville.
Series: Exeter leads 3-0, with wins in 2016, 2017 and 2020.
Last meeting: Exeter won 41-34 in OT last year when QB Gavin McCusker ran for a 2-yard TD on fourth down. The Black Knights trailed by 10 with six minutes left before coming back to tie it in regulation, the tying point coming on a 40-yard PAT by Spencer Biscoe (an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty pushed them back 15 yards).
Exeter QB Gavin McCusker lit up the Hempfield defense, throwing for 224 yards, with a pair of TD passes to Joey Schlaffer. The other Exeter TDs were scored by J.R. Strauss, Eric Nangle and Ty Yocum, each of whom are back this season. Nangle rushed for 119 yards; Schlaffer caught six passes for 101 yards. Carson Schmidt, who’s also back this season, had six catches for 98 yards.
About the Eagles: Coming off one of the biggest regular season wins in program history, 42-14 over Wilson. Scored the final 42 points after falling behind in the first quarter. Eric Nangle rushed for 209 yards and scored three TDs; has rushed for 303 yards in two games; he did not play Week 2 vs. Boyertown.
QB Colin Payne threw a pair of TD passes against Wilson and leads Berks passers with seven TDs; he’s second with 651 passing yards. TE J.R. Strauss, a Villanova recruit, leads Berks with four TD receptions, and is third overall with 13 receptions.
Junior TE Joey Schlaffer picked up an offer from Penn State the day after he had a pair of TD catches against Wilson. He has several other Division I offers, from Tennessee, Maryland, West Virginia, Temple, and others.
Have won two straight since dropping 35-28 season-opener to state-ranked Central York.
About the Black Knights: Feature one of the most experienced QBs in the Lancaster-Lebanon League in senior Cameron Harbaugh, who threw for over 1,100 yards and eight TDs in eight games last season. He has thrown for 494 yards and three TDs this season. He also leads the team in rushing, with 191 yards and two TDs. No running back has topped 100 total yards yet. He’s protected by an offensive line that returns two key pieces from last year’s 4-4 team in Kaleb Elslager and Lucas Miller.
Kept Central York’s Beau Pribula in check in last week’s 35-21 loss, allowing him to throw for just 52 yards (and a pair of TDs). Were hurt in that game by special teams, with a blocked punt setting up a TD and a fumbled snap leading to another Central York score.
Defense has played well despite returning just one starter. In Week 2 it limited Manheim Central to one offensive touchdown in a 14-0 loss; the Barons got one TD on a Pick Six.
Harbaugh completed 17-of-25 pases for 154 yards in last year’s season-opener, a 41-34 overtime loss at Don Thomas Stadium.
Head coach George Eager, a long-time assistant, is in his second season.
Did you know? Exeter and Hempfield each debuted in the same year, 1958. The Eagles went 2-7; the Black Knights went 4-3-1.
Fast fact: Matt Bauer is Exeter’s eighth head coach and has the highest winning percentage (.641 ) in program history. He has 86 wins in 13 seasons. Don Thomas is the winningest coach in program history; he won 123 times in 24 seasons.
For the record: Exeter’s single-game scoring record dates back to 1967, when it beat Columbia 61-12.
GoBigRecruiting.com key to the game: Hempfield’s defense rose to the challenge last week against Beau Pribula. It will be challenged again this week by Exeter’s potent passing game and must find a match-up for 6-7 target Joey Schlaffer.