Week 11 glance: Exeter opens district play after unexpected ‘bye’ week
A successful season can often lead to a first-round bye in the opening round of the district playoffs. It’s considered a reward, and can give a team a chance to let nagging bumps and bruises heal.
Exeter had a bye of sorts last week but Matt Bauer isn’t sure if he likes it or not.
“I don’t know,” said the Eagles coach. “I’ll let you know.”
If seventh-seeded Exeter beats 10th-seeded South Western in a District 3 Class 5A opener Friday at Don Thomas Stadium the Eagles’ coach probably won’t mind the turmoil of last week so much.
Exeter was supposed to play in the season-ending Pig Iron Bowl but the game was canceled by a coronavirus outbreak at Daniel Boone. It made for an uncomfortable week on both sides. Exeter tried until midway to line up a replacement game but couldn’t find anything of its liking. So the Eagles just stayed home and practiced — not knowing who they were practicing for since the district brackets hadn’t yet been released.
“Usually when you have a bye, you know who your opponent is in two weeks,” said Bauer. “Not really having an opponent was definitely challenging. We still had a pretty decent week of practice, the kids were into it, I was proud of ’em for that. But it is a lot nicer when you know what you’re facing in the following weeks.”
Gov. Mifflin and Berks Catholic are in a similar situation this week after earning opening-round byes. The Mustangs are the No. 1 seed in Class 5A; the Saints are No. 4 in 4A. They’ll each open at home Nov. 12; they have an idea of who they might play since their eventual opponent must win Friday.
Seven Berks teams open district playoff bids this weekend and three others play in Eastern Conference championship games.
Fifth-seeded Wilson (7-3) has one of the toughest assignments with a Class 6A quarterfinal at fourth-seeded York High (7-2); it’s the first road opener for the Bulldogs in 14 years.
No. 13 Twin Valley (6-4) makes its district playoff debut at No. 4 Spring Grove (8-1) in Class 5A; No. 12 Daniel Boone (5-3), which hasn’t played in three weeks, is at No. 5 Waynesboro (8-2).
In Class 4A No. 7 Conrad Weiser (7-3) hosts No. 10 Big Spring (7-3) in what figures to be an offensive shootout. The Scouts are ranked No. 2 in Berks in total offense and averaging 39.6 points; they’re also allowing 29.9 points. The Bulldogs have scored 60 or more points three times and are averaging 37 points, though they are coming off a 7-0 loss to Middletown.
Wyomissing begins pursuit of its third straight district championship, which would be a first for the program. The Spartans (10-0) are the No. 1 seed in Class 3A and host No. 8 Northern Lebanon. The Spartans could play four more home games if they continue to win (they played just four games at the A-Field during the regular season). If they win the district title they’ll host a PIAA quarterfinal.
Also in 3A, third-seeded Hamburg (6-3) will host its first district playoff game when it meets No. 6 Bermudian Springs (5-5).
In Eastern Conference play, top-seeded Fleetwood (6-4) hosts Boyertown (4-6) in the Class 5A/6A championship game and second-seeded Schuylkill-Valley (2-8) plays at Nanticoke (4-6) in the Class 3A championship.
Exeter didn’t make the truncated district playoff field a year ago but the Eagles have plenty of players with playoff experience. Senior linebackers Ty Yocum and J.R. Strauss and junior receiver Joey Schlaffer are among six players who saw significant time when the Eagles won a pair of games and reached the district semifinals in 2019.
That was the first time Exeter won more than once in the postseason.
“This group was talking about two years ago, and how much fun they had,” Bauer said, “and they want to establish their own legacy. They don’t want to live in the past. This is their chance.”