Week 11 Glance: Exeter fueled and ready to dive into ‘second season’
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Most teams will put the regular season behind them now that the “second season” has arrived with the start Friday of the District 3 Tournament.
Not the Exeter Eagles.
They’re not about to forget how things went awry at the end in a controversial 28-27 home loss to Conestoga Valley that cost them the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title.
“I don’t ever want them to forget,” said Eagles coach Matt Bauer, still stinging from the final minute of his team’s only loss, when Jayden Zandier’s bid for a winning two-point conversion was ruled short.
Bauer and his players firmly believe that Zandier crossed the goal line and that they should have had a perfect regular season and a second Section 2 championship in three years to go with it.
Photo evidence of Zandier’s plunge into the middle of the line backs up that sentiment.
“No, we’re not past it, for sure,” Bauer said of the feeling of being robbed. “I don’t want them to be past it. I don’t want them to (have) any type of doubt (that we should have won).”
The Eagles (9-1) took out their frustration last week on Elizabethtown, rolling up a 71-0 score, and Bauer wants them to continue to vent Friday when they take on ninth-seeded South Western (7-3) in a District 3 Class 5A opener at Don Thomas Stadium.
“We’re gonna use this as fuel and show everybody who we really are,” senior captain Genuine Stutzman said after the Conestoga Valley game.
Exeter might’ve earned a first-round bye and quarterfinal home game had it won in Week 9; instead it’s the Buckskins who drew the more favorable draw.
If the eighth-seeded Eagles win Friday they’ll play the top seed in Class 5A, unbeaten New Oxford, on its home field.
If that scenario unfolds Bauer will be sure to remind his guys about it.
“It’s breathed new life into this group,” the Eagles coach said of the snub, “and we’re excited for our new season to start.”
In other playoff games Friday:
- Gov. Mifflin (6-4) makes its first appearance in Class 6A in its first year at that level and with a first-year head coach, Nick Morrissey. The No. 9 Mustangs head to No. 8 Cumberland Valley (5-5) to take on a team with a modest record and not much offense to speak of but with a resume like few others in the district. The Eagles have played a much more rugged schedule than Mifflin. However, if they’re not prepared to stop the Mustangs’ high-powered Mid-Line offense, which averages nearly 275 rushing yards per game, they could be in for a long night.
- Schuylkill Valley (8-2) looks to extend its winning streak to eight games and match a program record for wins as it hosts Littlestown (6-4) for the second straight season in a District 3 Class 3A quarterfinal. The third-seeded Panthers haven’t lost to a team in their classification this season.
- Berks Catholic (6-4) needed to win its final four games to squeeze into the six-team Class 3A field and it did, finishing as the fifth seed. The Saints have an efficient offense, led by quarterback Zach Suski, who’s completing 70 percent of his passes, and a stable of solid backs, led by breakaway threat Bryce Gumby. Fourth-seeded Biglerville (7-3) hasn’t beaten a team with a winning record this season.
- Muhlenberg (3-7) found its way to the postseason through the Eastern Conference and will play at William Allen (3-7) in the Class 5A/6A championship game. The Muhls last played in the EC in 2017, when they beat Conrad Weiser in overtime to win a championship. A win Friday would be a huge chip for a young team to take into the offseason.
- Hamburg (6-4) again took the Eastern Conference route to the playoffs and will play at North Pocono for the Class 4A championship. The Hawks played in the 3A championship last year, losing to Berks Catholic 40-21. They have never brought home an EC trophy.
Wilson, Conrad Weiser, Wyomissing, and Twin Valley also qualified for districts but earned first-round byes. They will each play next week.
The big question for Exeter in Friday’s playoff opener, and going forward, will be the availability of quarterback Riley Martinez, who broke a bone in his lower leg in a Week 7 win against Muhlenberg and hasn’t played since.
Early in the week Martinez was throwing but had not returned to full practice. Bauer was optimistic that he soon can suit up for a game.
“It could be (this) Friday,” he said, “it could be next Friday.”
Martinez was leading the league in passing efficiency when he went out. All-State running back Jayden Zandier has taken over most of the quarterback duties in his absence, often out of the Wildcat formation.
It hasn’t slowed his production. He ran for four touchdowns and passed for a fifth last week and ended the regular season with 1,473 rushing yards, fourth-most in the league, and a program-record 26 TDs.
He needs 342 yards to top Eric Nangle’s single-season program record of 1,814 yards and 46 yards to break Jesse Reider’s career record of 2,876 rushing yards.
(Purdon Photography/Brad Drey)
The Eagles won’t be lacking for motivation, that’s for sure. After reaching the district championship in back-to-back years – and claiming their first championship, in 2021 – the Eagles went out in the first round last year.
They lost at Hershey 28-27 – a score combination that seems to be hanging over them at this point.
“There’s a sense of urgency with this group,” he said of a senior-laden team led by Logan Wegman, Genuine Stutzman, Carter Redding, Pharrell Caceres, and Tyler Flanders, many of whom were on the field the last time Exeter played for a championship.
“We felt we that we underachieved last year,” Bauer said. “We felt we should’ve been able to do a little bit more.”
