Jayden Ware makes all the plays as Exeter opens with rout of rival Boone
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Sean McBryan — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
| Final | |
| Exeter | 64 |
| Boone | 7 |
Exeter’s all-time winningest head coach Matt Bauer had this to say about senior wide receiver and defensive back Jayden Ware following the Eagles’ 64-7 non-league, season-opening victory over Daniel Boone Friday night at Don Thomas Stadium in Reiffton.
“He’s our playmaker for sure,” Bauer said. “He’s dynamic with the ball in his hand, and he always seems to have a knack for coming up with big plays when we need them.”
On the first play of the game, Ware reeled in a 53-yard touchdown pass from Riley Martinez and last season’s District 3 Class 5A runner-up Eagles never looked back.
“It was the season-opener,” Ware said. “I wanted to score the first touchdown. It was a really good moment. It was electric. Everyone was hype. There’s no other play I would have wanted.”
Exeter had a half day at school Friday and Ware said he’d usually head home to take a nap before turning his attention to the gridiron. Not Friday.
“I couldn’t stop moving the entire day,” Ware said. “I was here at 2:00 just moving around constantly. I just couldn’t sit still. I was so excited.”
Coming off a season where Exeter went all the way to the District 3 Class 5A championship, and set program records with 12 wins, a 42.7 scoring average, and 30.5-point win differential, the Eagles were ready to show they could pick up right where they left off last season.
“We built this team on one game at a time, and that’s the way we’re going to approach it,” Bauer said. “You can’t get caught looking down the road, especially because everyone’s coming for us. We know that we got a huge target on our back.
“The mark of a good team is that you make your best improvement from week one to week two.”
Berks Catholic transfer Jackson Kozik ran 50 yards in two plays on the next drive, capping it off with a 5-yard TD score to make it 14-0.
Ware returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown on the Blazers’ first offensive play of the next drive to give Exeter a 21-0 lead with 9:39 left in the first quarter.
After Exeter’s defense forced a Daniel Boone punt, Ware returned it 55 yards for a touchdown only for it to be called back on a holding penalty at the 25-yard line.
Leo Brown scored on a 16-yard run and Jake Hafer on a 26-yard pass from Martinez to give the Eagles (1-0) a 35-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Brown ran for a 62-yard touchdown, Josh Jackson ran for a 61-yarder, Aiden Dauble scored on a 14-yard pass from Martinez, and Jakob Franek scored on a 45-yard interception return.
Following Franek’s pick-six, a botched snap left Ware — yes, he’s the placeholder — scrambling around to save face. The playmaker squared his shoulders while rolling out to the left with a defender in his face and hit Braylon Reinert for a successful two-point conversion.
“Last year, I started making plays toward the end of the season, and I knew I was capable of making big plays,” Ware said. “But I can’t really do anything without the line, the D-line, my safeties, all my teammates, all my coaches. They help make sure I’m in place.”
The main question facing these Eagles coming into the new season was how they’d replace All-State running back Jayden Zandier, Section 2 co-Receiver of the Year and defensive back Carter Redding, and all-league tight end Genuine Stutzman.
So far, so good. The defense forced five turnovers and the offense averaged 16 yards per rush.
“We definitely all grouped up together, put our minds together, and we have the determination to get right back to where we were last year,” Ware said.
Mason Ruffner scored on a 4-yard TD run in the fourth quarter for the Blazers.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Daniel Boone | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 |
| Exeter | 35 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 64 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Exeter | Ware, 53 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 11:47 |
| 1 | Exeter | Kozik, 5 run (Franek kick) | 9:47 |
| 1 | Exeter | Ware, 23 interception return (Franek kick) | 9:39 |
| 1 | Exeter | Brown, 16 run (Franek kick) | 5:47 |
| 1 | Exeter | Hafer, 26 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 5:28 |
| 2 | Exeter | Brown, 62 run (Franek kick) | 10:07 |
| 2 | Exeter | Jackson, 61 run (Franek kick) | 7:04 |
| 2 | Exeter | Dauble, 14 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 4:12 |
| 2 | Exeter | Franek, 45 interception return (Ware pass to Reinert) | 2:01 |
| 4 | Daniel Boone | Ruffner, 4 run (Barney kick) | 10:47 |
Team statistics
| DANIEL BOONE | EXETER | |
| First downs | 13 | 9 |
| Rushes-yards | 27-81 | 13-208 |
| Passing yards | 80 | 99 |
| Total yards | 161 | 307 |
| Passes | 11-22-3 | 4-5-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 2-2 | 1-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-17.5 | 1-66 |
| Penalties-yards | 3-20 | 13-110 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Daniel Boone: McKenzie 10-61, Stoudt 14-15, Ruffner 3-5.
Exeter: Brown 4-91, Jackson 2-63, J. Kozik 2-50, Hafer 1-8, N. Kozik 3-(-1), Graham 1-(-3).
PASSING
Daniel Boone: Stoudt 11-22-3—80.
Exeter: Martinez 4-4-0—99, Gerhart 0-1-0—0.
RECEIVING
Daniel Boone: Rowe 6-34, McIntyre 3-23, Rickard 1-20, Ruffner 1-3.
Exeter: Dauble 2-20, Ware 1-53, Hafer 1-26.
INTERCEPTIONS
Exeter: Ware, Franek, Waltman.
