Jayden Zandier steps in at QB, helps Eagles remain unbeaten
2024 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Mike Hennelly — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Jayden Zandier did it all in Exeter’s 36-3 non-league dismantling of Hempfield Friday night at Don Thomas Stadium.
Zandier returned the game’s opening kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown to give the Eagles an early 6-0 lead.
“He’s a special young man,” Eagles coach Matt Bauer said about Zandier. “I’m thankful to be his coach, and I’m thankful he’s on our offense. He’s explosive and electric on every play and he can take it the distance. He’s one of the most clutch players I’ve ever coached.”
| Section 2 | ||
| Exeter | 4-0 | 8-0 |
| Conestoga | 4-0 | 8-0 |
| Elizabethtown | 2-2 | 2-6 |
| Gov. Mifflin | 2-2 | 4-4 |
| Ephrata | 2-2 | 4-4 |
| Muhlenberg | 1-4 | 3-5 |
| Lebanon | 0-5 | 0-8 |
Zandier found himself in an unusual role with quarterback Riley Martinez out with an ankle injury suffered in last week’s game. Martinez was on the sidelines with a walking boot on his right foot and crutches.
Whether he’ll be back in time for next week’s Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 showdown against unbeaten Conestoga Valley remains to be seen.
Zandier took over the quarterback duties and threw a 21-yard touchdown to Jayden Ware on the Eagles’ first offensive possession. The Eagles (8-0) were successful on the two-point conversion after a Zandier run for a 14-0 lead.
Zandier continued his all-around game with his first rushing touchdown, a 4-yard run with 1:44 left in the first quarter to give the Eagles a 21-0 lead.
Hempfield (3-5) got a field goal in the final seconds of the first half but the Eagles answered on their first possession of the second half. Zandier found the end zone for the second time on the ground with a 20-yard touchdown run.
“I always like having the ball in my hands,” Zandier said. “I just got the confidence to the point where I think I can score every time I touch the ball. I just give it my all every play.”
Zandier saw time at quarterback, mostly out of the Wildcat set, last week against Muhlenberg after Martinez was injured. He threw a TD on his only pass attempt.
It wasn’t a dominant performance stat-wise by the All-State tailback. Zandier rushed for 58 yards on nine carries but that’s all he needed to do to lead his team to victory.
“I’m just focused on the game plan for the week that we have coming up,” Zandier said. “I’m not thinking about the future. I’m not thinking about the past.”
Zandier wasn’t the only one on the Eagles’ offense to get in on the action. Pharrell Caceres rushed for a 34-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter to give the Eagles their final points.
As for Martinez’s return to the field, that’s still unknown.
“He’s week-to-week,” Bauer said about Martinez’s status. “We’re going to see what we have. We’re definitely going to try to get him back sooner rather than later because he’s definitely our quarterback, and he’s worked very hard to get to this point.”
Zandier lined up at quarterback most of the game and said he’s comfortable at any position. Jake Hafer also received some snaps in the second half; Bauer praised him for managing the game and making good decisions in his limited opportunities, especially since he’s new to the quarterback position.
Bauer didn’t want to get into further details about the quarterback situation saying: “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Hempfield | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Exeter | 21 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 36 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Zandier, 95 kickoff return (kick failed) | 11:45 |
| 1 | Exeter | Ware, 21 pass from Zandier (Zandier run) | 7:24 |
| 1 | Exeter | Zandier, 4 run (Franek kick) | 1:44 |
| 2 | Hempfield | Biscoe, 26 FG | 0:20.8 |
| 3 | Exeter | Zandier, 20 run (Redding run) | 6:19 |
| 3 | Exeter | Caceres, 34 run (Franek kick) | 2:07 |
Team statistics
| Hempfield | Exeter | |
| First downs | 13 | 10 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-90 | 31-182 |
| Passing yards | 143 | 57 |
| Total yards | 233 | 239 |
| Passes | 15-30-0 | 4-7-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 2-0 |
| Punts-average | 3-33.3 | 3-47.3 |
| Penalties-yards | 4-50 | 12-90 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Hempfield: Caldwell 11-46, Krauser 6-22, Katch 7-13, Day 3-9.
Exeter: Zandier 9-58, Brown 6-52, Caceres 7-46, Redding 1-20, Alvarez 6-6, Stutzman 2-0.
PASSING
Hempfield: Katch 14-29-0–115, Margeson 1-1-0–28.
Exeter: Zandier 2-4-0–29, Hafer 2-3-0–28.
RECEIVING
Hempfield: Charles 5-44, Caban 3-35, Abrams 2-29, Poole 2-23, Krauser 2-5, Margeson 1-7.
Exeter: Ware 2-29, Dauble 1-20, Redding 1-0, Zandier 0-8.
