Up next for Exeter: Mechanicsburg
Exeter (24-6) vs. Mechanicsburg (18-9)
What: PIAA Class 5A Tournament, second round
When: Tuesday, 7:30
Where: Manheim Township High School
About the Wildcats
Have made a huge turnaround under first-year head coach Mike Gaffey, going from 10-14 to their first winning record and first state tournament berth in six years.
Finished in third place in the Mid-Penn Keystone Division, behind Milton Hershey and Hershey. Two of their losses came to Hershey, one to Milton Hershey; they also beat each team once. Exeter beat both Milton Hershey and Hershey on the way to the District 3 championship.
Mechanicsburg earned its first state tournament win since 2017 by winning at North Hills 56-52 on Saturday. Sophomore guards Chance Yanoski and Josh Smith combined for 30 points.
Mechanicsburg was faced with a big defensive challenge in North Hills’ 6-8 junior Royce Parham, a four-star recruit who has 13 Division I offers, including from Penn State and Maryland. He scored 22 points, nearly half of them on putbacks.
It’ll face a similar challenge against Exeter’s 6-6 Anthony Caccese, a University of Delaware football recruit who has consistently put up double-doubles in the postseason. He had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the state-opening 62-47 win over Fox Chapel.
Smith, who averages 14.7 points, and Yanoski, who averages 14.2, lead a balanced scoring attack. They’re among three sophomores in the starting lineup.
Entered the District 3 Tournament as the No. 4 seed and advanced with wins over No. 13 Greencastle-Antrim and No. 5 Warwick, winning the latter 42-39 on a Justin Bardo 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Lost to top-seeded Manheim Central 70-52 in the semifinals; Exeter beat Manheim 67-53 in the championship game. Lost to Hershey 51-46 in the third-place game; Exeter beat Hershey 59-46 in the district semis.
Gaffey previously coached at Bishop McDevitt, Annville-Cleona, Steel-High, Palmyra, Susquenita and Penn-State Harrisburg. He led McDevitt to a pair of District 3 Class 4A titles and five trips to the state playoffs.
The winner could see another District 3 team in the state quarterfinals, Lampeter-Strasburg, which plays District 7 runner-up Peters Township. The Pioneers finished seventh in the District 3 Tournament. They are among five District 3 teams that advanced in Class 5A, along with Exeter, Mechanicsburg, No. 3 Hershey and No. 5 Muhlenberg. No. 2 Manheim Central, No. 6 Milton Hershey and No. 8 Warwick were beaten in the opening round.
