Week 9 Spotlight Game: Exeter at Conestoga Valley
2025 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
Exeter (7-1) vs. Conestoga Valley (8-0)
Kick: Friday, 7, at Witmer.
Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 records:. Eagles 4-0, Buckskins 4-0.
What’s at stake? The Section 2 lead with one week remaining.
Series: Buckskins lead 2-1.
Last season: The teams split two meetings. Conestoga Valley won in Week 9 28-27 at Don Thomas Stadium when Jayden Zandier’s bid for a two-point conversion in the final minute was denied (despite photographic evidence showing he crossed the goal line). Four weeks later, in a District 3 Class 4A semifinal at Witmer, the eighth-seeded Eagles dominated the fourth-seeded Bucks, winning 48-14 as Zandier ran for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
Did you know? Conestoga Valley has won 20 straight regular season games; its last loss came in 2023 to Manheim Central, 47-14 in a Week 9 Section 2 game.
Eagles update: Saw perfect start snapped with a 30-28 loss last week in a non-league game at Hempfield when Leo Brown was stopped on a late two-point conversion run that would have tied the game. . . Brown finished with 251 rushing yards and a pair of TDs. . . He leads the league in rushing with 1,415 yards, is averaging 9.4 yards per carry and has scored 20 TDs. . . Jake Hafer is ranked No. 3 in the league in passing efficiency; he has thrown for 733 yards and nine TDs. . . Top target Jayden Ware is averaging 26 yards on his 19 receptions. . . Averaging 41.8 points, sixth-most among District 3 teams. . . Ranked No. 3 in the league in total defense. . . LB Aidan Dauble leads team with 53 tackles. . . DT Joel Ummarino leads team with 8 tackles for loss. . . Ware has 3 interceptions. . . No. 6 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings. . . No. 10 in state in Class 5A.
Fast fact: Conestoga Valley coach Jon Scepanski is 28-4 in his three seasons as head coach. The Bucks last year became the third team in program history begin a season with 11 straight wins. Their 11 wins rank second in program history, behind the 13 under Jim Cantafio in 1991.
Buckskins update: Improved to 8-0 for second straight season with a 42-7 win over Elizabethtown. . . Have won every game this season by 24 or more points. . . Have allowed more than one touchdown just twice in eight games. . . Own shutouts over Penn Manor and Dover. . . Allowing 7.8 points per game, lowest among all District 3 teams. . . Ranked No. 2 in the league in total defense, allowing 167 yards per game. . . Ranked No. 2 against the pass, No. 5 against the rush. . . . Have intercepted 14 passes. . . Feature the league’s top passing attack. . . . QB Sawyer Esbenshade, an all-league pick as a junior, needs 278 yards to reach 2,000 for the second straight year. . . He is completing 71.1 percent of his passes with a league-leading 24 TDs and just three INTs. . . Josiah Garcia, an all-league pick at WR last year, has 22 receptions and 4 TD catches. . . Cordell Bair, a second-team all-league pick last year, has 22 catches and 6 TD receptions. . . Esbenshade has thrown TDs to seven different receivers. . . Ranked No. 2 in District 3 Class 5A power ratings. . . Listed as a Team To Watch in PennLive.com Class 5A state rankings.
Fast fact: Conestoga Valley has allowed only two ballcarriers to top 100 rushing yards this season: Ephrata’s Bentley Rearich and Elizabethtown’s Prince Wratto. Exeter’s Leo Brown has reached 100 yards in seven straight games and three times has topped 200.
