Season preview: Exeter Eagles
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Top Players To Watch in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
What to expect in Section 2 of the Lancaster-Lebanon League
Classification: Class 5A.
League: Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2.
Schedule: Click here.
Last season: 5-1 league, 12-2 overall.
Last District 3 playoff appearance: 2024.
Head coach: Matt Bauer, 17th season, 125-58.
Key losses: All-State RB Jayden Zandier, Section 2 co-Receiver of the Year and all-league DB Carter Redding, all-league TE Genuine Stutzman, Section 2 Outstanding Lineman Logan Wegman, all-league second-team LB Casey Gerhart, LB Tyler Flanders, all-league second-team DB Pharrell Caceres.
Top offensive players: QB Riley Martinez, RB/KR Leo Brown, RB Josh Jackson, FB Jackson Kozik, second-team all-league WR Jayden Ware, WR Jake Hafer, TE Aidan Dauble, TE Braylon Reinert, second-team all-league C Joel Ummarino, G Andre Osborne, G Troy Good, second-team all-league T Kevin Oswalt, PK Jake Franek.
Top defensive players: All-League E Joel Ummarino, E Andre Osborne, second-team all-league T Kevin Oswalt, T Josh Lis, all-league ILB Aidan Dauble, ILB Jackson Kozik, ILB Braylon Reinert, OLB Josh Jackson, OLB Stephon Fuller, S Nick Pashley, CB Jayden Ware, CB Dylan Donate, all-league P Jake Franek.
Did you know? Matt Bauer last season became the winningest coach in program history, topping Don Thomas’ mark of 123 victories. Bauer has won 125 games in 16 seasons and ranks No. 10 all-time among Berks coaches.
Fast fact: The Eagles set program records last season by averaging 42.7 points and with an average winning margin of 30.5 points.
For the record: Riley Martinez needs 1,364 yards to top the program career passing record of 3,775, set by Brandon Unterkoefler from 2014-17. Martinez threw for 1,396 as a sophomore and 1,016 last season in roughly seven games.
On schedule: When the Eagles face Muhlenberg in Week 7 it will mark the 45th straight season the former I-C rivals will meet. Exeter has won the last 11 meetings and 14 of the last 15. Eagles coach Matt Bauer is 14-2 vs. his alma mater.
Quotable: “It’s a tremendous comfort to have Riley coming back. He has worked so hard on and off the field to get ready. He has the highest football IQ of any quarterback I’ve ever had. His film study is second to none. He’s doing everything he can to give himself the best opportunity to lead this team and be successful.” – Eagles coach Matt Bauer on the return of quarterback Riley Martinez.
Outlook: The cupboard shelves never seems to be close to empty at Exeter. Matt Bauer and his staff have consistently been able to develop players who can step into front-line positions as underclassmen, and the Eagles always seem to return enough experienced players to make a playoff run.
Even after graduating a two-time All-State running back, Section 2’s Outstanding Lineman and its co-Receiver of the Year from a team that matched a program record for wins the Eagles are still soaring, positioned to remain at the top.
They return eight all-league players and 11 starters and were strengthened further in the offseason by the addition of Jackson Kozik, who was a two-way all-league pick for Berks Catholic last season.
They even return their specialist, all-league punter Jake Franek, who hit the game-winning field goal in the final seconds of a district opener at unbeaten New Oxford.
The Eagles went into the postseason as a No. 8 seed, but that was a misnomer. They were much better than that. They should’ve had a perfect regular season and a Section 2 title but a blown call by officials in a Week 9 showdown against Conestoga Valley cost them a late touchdown that led to a 28-27 loss.
The depth of the program was revealed when starting quarterback Riley Martinez went down in Week 7 with a leg injury; he missed the next five games and wasn’t quite 100 by season’s end, when he saw limited time in a pair of postseason games.
Even without Martinez the Eagles preserved because of their strong line play, depth, and backfield speed; that and Martinez’s passing skills are what will carry them this year.
Despite missing nearly half a season Martinez threw for over 1,000 yards and 16 touchdowns, with only three interceptions. His passing efficiency rating was the highest recorded in program history. After a busy and productive offseason the third-year starter should be even better.
He’s tacked on 10 pounds and is expected to be more of a running threat, as well. That task will be made easier running behind a pair of all-league linemen, center Joel Ummarino and tackle Kevin Oswalt, and return starting guard Andre Osborn.
They’ll clear the way for Leo Brown, who showed his breakaway potential late in games last season when he averaged better than 8 yards per carry – often vs. the opponent’s No. 1 defense. It’s never easy to replace an All-State running back but the Eagles don’t figure to lose much in that department.
“He’s one of the most explosive, fastest, hard-working kids we have,” Bauer said of Brown. “You can’t replace a Jayden Zandier because he was so special but Leo has worked tirelessly. I can’t wait to see him have his opportunity and see what he can do.”
The Eagles are absolutely loaded at tight end with Aidan Dauble and Braylon Reinert and if needed Kozik. Each is expected to play at an all-league level.
The key, Bauer said, will be seeing one of them block at a level close to what they got last season from all-league pick Genuine Stutzman.
“A lot of things we do (in the running game) run through our tight ends,” he said. “Genuine was our best blocker at the point of attack. We don’t know who that (guy) is (going to be) this year.”
Five starters return from a defense that was ranked No. 2 (of 37 teams) in the league in scoring defense and No. 7 in total defense. Chief among them are a pair of all-league picks, Ummarino at end and Dauble at linebacker. Bauer calls the defensive line, with Ummarino, Osborn, Oswalt, and Josh Lis, the strongest unit on the team.
Exeter spent 10 weeks ranked in the Top 10 in the state last season and played for a district championship for the third time in four years. There’s no reason it can’t extend that latter streak.
At the wire: Favorite to win Section 2 title and make deep playoff run.
