New shoes, big line, help Exeter’s Richie Karstien run all over Boyertown

By Mike Mitchell Jr. — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent

Exeter running back Richie Karstien learned a lot from last week’s season-opening win against Daniel Boone, then put it to use Friday against Boyertown.

“I watched a lot of film this past week and realized that I wasn’t being patient,” he said. “I was hitting the holes too quickly and not letting the blocks develop. This week I was determined to be more patient. I also got these nice new cleats, too. They had to have helped.”

The senior running back scored two touchdowns and gained 90 yards on just 12 carries in the Eagles’ 37-21 non-league victory Friday night at Don Thomas Stadium.

Exeter coach Matt Bauer was pleased with Karstein’s performance.

“He really carried the mail for us tonight,” Bauer said. “He is a blue collar, hard-nosed kid. I love to watch him run the way he did tonight.”

Karstein was quick to credit his offensive line for his running success.

“Our offensive line is amazing,” Karstien said. “We have some real beasts up there. They open huge holes for us. All I have to do is run to daylight.”

Exeter scored the first 37 points in thoroughly dominating Boyertown.

The Eagles got key contributions from virtually all of their offensive and defensive starters, had some key plays on special teams and they dominated the line of scrimmage in the.

Offensively, Exeter (2-0) outgained Boyertown (1-1) 227 to 20 in the first half en route to a 30-0 halftime lead. Exeter quarterback Mason Rotelli continued his hot start completing 7-of-10 first-half passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

Penn State recruit Joey Schlaffer continued to demonstrate his athletic prowess in all aspects of the game. He lined up at quarterback on the first play from scrimmage and ripped off a 6-yard run. He caught three passes for 59 yards (all in the first half), including a 22-yard touchdown pass, where he made two nifty moves after the catch to go into the end zone untouched.

He also blocked Boyertown’s first punt of the game, which resulted in a safety.

Due to last week’s injury to defensive lineman Joey Reedy, Schlaffer played a lot more on defense this week. He continually penetrated Boyertown’s line and was dominant on the defensive side of the ball as well.

Exeter tight end and placekicker Zach Zandier had another strong game catching two passes for 61 yards and connecting on all three of his extra point attempts.

Sophomore Carter Redding continued to contribute by catching a 15-yard touchdown pass and, as the holder on a PAT, recovering a low snap, then throwing back clear across the field to connect on a two-point conversion give the Eagles a 10-0 lead.

Exeter dominated the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. Starting offensive linemen Matthew McConnell, Ryan McConnell, Lucas Palange, Kyle Lash, and Anthony Caccese opened monstrous holes for the Eagles in the first half.

Veteran offensive line coach Kerry Ciatto praised the offensive line.

“It’s true they are big, but they can move really well, too,” Ciatto said.

The Exeter starting defense was equally superior to Boyertown. The starting defense held a Bears team, which gained 523 yards and scored 61 points in its Week 1 opener to just 20 yards and zero points in the first half.

Bauer pulled his starters in the second half with the 37-0 lead. Boyertown then proceeded to move the ball very effectively in their Wing-T, scoring the final 21 points. The Eagles defensive line pressured Bears quarterbacks into two first-half interceptions, by Alex Piniero and Jovan Hollis.

Bauer loves the way his defense is playing. The first team has allowed zero points and only 110 yards in six quarters so far this year.

“We are gap sound up front on defense,” Bauer said. “Lash and Cacchese are veteran lineman who know our system and are difficult to block up front. Then we have Lucas Palange in the middle. He is all over the field and just a force to be reckoned with.

“With the injury to Joey Reedy, we asked Joey Schlaffer to play more snaps on defense. He did that in dominating fashion tonight.”

In addition to Schlaffer’s blocked punt for a safety, junior punt returner Nathan Pahsley had two shifty and speedy returns of 37 and 19 yards, which set up short fields.

Exeter has been extremely impressive in its first two contests. Although he is pleased to be 2-0, Bauer still sees room for improvement.

“We still made too many mistakes,” he said. “We had some penalties in key situations. We will continue to focus on being more disciplined and limiting our penalties. Our substitution patterns were off a little bit tonight so we will continue to work on that as well.”

	1	2	3	4	Final
Boyertown	0	0	7	14	21
Exeter	10	20	7	0	37

Scoring summary

1	Exeter	Safety Blocked Punt Out of Endzone	3:59
1	Exeter	Zandier,30 pass from Rotelli (Karstein Pass from Redding)	2:25
2	Exeter	Karstein, 3 run (Pass Failed)	9:45
2	Exeter	Schlaffer, 46 pass from Rotelli (Zandier Kick)	6:58
2	Exeter	Redding, 15 pass from Rotelli (Zandier Kick)	3:03
3	Exeter	Karstein, 15 run (Zandier Kick)	9:34
3	Boyertown	Yesavage, 29 run (Sennott Kick)	2:51
4	Boyertown	Famularo 31 pass from Gehris (Kick Failed)	6:42
4	Boyertown	Yesavage, 2 run	:37

Team statistics

	Boyertown	Exeter
First downs	9	8
Rushes-yards	32 – 171	28 – 127
Passing yards	65	140
Total yards	236	267
Passes	3-10-2	7-10-0
Fumbles-lost	0 – 0	0 -0
Punts-average	2-28	1-48
Penalties-yards	3-30	5-44

Individual statistics

RUSHING

Boyertown: Yesavage 19-159, Famularo 5-24, Oaks 3-5, Genovese 1-1, Panerello 2-(-4), Gehris2-(-14)

Exeter: Karstein 12-90, Caceres 6-15, Rotelli 6-12, Schlaffer 1-6, Redding 2-2, Skipper 1-2

PASSING

Boyertown: Gehris 2-6-1-51, Panarello 1-4-1-14

Exeter: Rotelli 7-10-0-140

RECEIVING

Boyertown: Famularo 1-31, Yesavage 1-20, Oakes 1-14

Exeter: Schlaffer 3-59, Zandier 2-61, Redding 1-15, Brant 1-5

INTERCEPTIONS

Exeter: Piniero, Hollis