WITMER – Nearly a month ago, Exeter players were on their own home field in disbelief. They had believed they had punched in a go-ahead two-point conversion in the final 10 seconds that would have given them the Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 2 title. Eagles running back Jayden Zandier was ruled short by the officials and Conestoga Valley won the game to spur them to the section title.
There were social media video replays, debates, and other things that would not change the outcome of that 28-27 Buckskins win. Eagles players, coaches, and fans felt that the game was stolen from them.
Exeter got its chance to exact revenge on Conestoga Valley in the District 3 5A Semifinals and this time they left no doubt of the outcome.
Behind a fast start and heroic ground performance, the Eagles rolled past the Buckskins 48-14 at the Conestoga Valley High School Stadium on Friday night.
“Redemption and setting the record straight is the way to describe this one,” Exeter head coach Matt Bauer said. “That is what these kids deserve. The way they did it tonight and the way they came together had so many kids step up tonight.”
The Eagles (12-1) came ready to roll from the start as a strong opening kick return had them set up just shy of midfield. Two Zandier runs later, and just like that Exeter was on top 7-0 only 57 seconds into the game.
“We had the confidence going into tonight knowing that we felt deep down we down that first game,” Zandier said. “We knew the task at hand, and I am proud of my teammates for the energy they had tonight.”
The focus and urgency were evident in the play of the Eagles as they made it 2-for-2 on touchdown drives following a Buckskins punt when Zanider notched his second touchdown with 4:12 left in the first quarter to make it 14-0.
Needing a big play, Conestoga Valley (12-1) got one on its ensuing drive when quarterback Sawyer Esbenshade found running back Teagan Ruble for a 44 catch-and-run touchdown to cut the deficit down to 14-7 with just over 33 seconds left in the first quarter. The Buckskins turned away the Eagles on a 4th-and-Goal situation from its own 3-yard line but struggled to get its offense going to sustain momentum. Between multiple drops and overthrows, Conestoga Valley could not reclaim the success they had on the Exeter secondary that they touched up for 277 yards in October.
“We did not execute at the level that we needed to,” Conestoga Valley head coach Joe Scepanski said. “They were able to make some plays on us and we struggled to make plays here and there. There was certainly a difference in things tonight compared to the last meeting.”
Lost in the hype of the rematch was the status of Exeter starting quarterback Riley Martinez. Martinez, who broke his leg in the Eagles Week 7 contest against Muhlenberg, was cleared to play this week. However, Martinez seemed to be a decoy at first as Jake Hafer guided the Exeter offense on the Eagles’ four drives. Bauer finally unlocked Martinez in the final two minutes of the first half after a shanked Buckskins punt had Exeter start at the Conestoga Valley 35-yard line. The move paid off when Martinez found Carter Redding over the middle for a 31-yard passing touchdown with 30 seconds left in the first half to give Exeter a 21-7 lead.
“We were looking for the right moment to get him going and we knew with the amount of time left that it was a passing drop-back situation,” Bauer said. “If we were going to use him at all that was the time to do it and he made a great throw.”
Conestoga Valley took advantage of a short field situation of their own in the third quarter and made it a one-score game again at 21-14 following a 1-yard touchdown plunge from Esbenshade.
With momentum changing, Exeter once again turned to its All-State running back and he delivered. Zandier raced 79 yards down the right sideline on the Eagles first play of their ensuing drive and set themselves up at the Buckskins 1-yard line. Genuine Stutzman finished the job one play later to give Exeter a 28-14 lead with 6:03 left in the third quarter.
Zandier powered an Eagles rushing attack with 268 yards on 27 carries and scored four touchdowns while crossing the 2,000-yard mark for the season. He now has 2,094 yards and 34 touchdowns in 2024 that has already topped Exeter single-season records.
“He is electric,” Bauer said. “He (Jayden) is a clutch player and in these types of games you have to give him the ball. Even on plays when he does not get much he makes up for it by adding six more runs of 20+ yards.”
Exeter’s defense put the game away by generating consistent pressure on Esbenshade in the second half and it came to crescendo when Cameron Aiken forced a sack fumble late in the third quarter. Zandier added his third touchdown one play later to extend Exeter’s lead to 34-14.
Conestoga Valley was forced into a desperation spot on their ensuing drive and went for it on 4th-and-11 from its own 34-yard line, resulting in a long incompletion. Zandier wrapped up his night with his fourth touchdown of the game in the final minute of the third to ultimately put the game away at 41-14.
“We knew there was going to be a tremendous amount of emotion and I knew we were in good shape if we could harness that,” Bauer said. “I knew I was getting a good effort tonight, but I told them it needed to be a clean effort.”
Exeter, the eighth seed out of District 3, has now taken out previously unbeaten teams in back-to-back weeks after knocking off the top seed New Oxford last week on a game-winning field goal as time expired. They have made their third District final in the past four seasons and shift focus to sixth-seeded Bishop McDevitt, who also took down an unbeaten team on Friday in Mechanicsburg by a score of 26-14.
“I absolutely believe this team is playing its best football right now,” Bauer said. “They are clicking on both sides of the ball, and they are playing with a lot of emotion and a lot of unselfishness. More importantly, they are playing with a lot of discipline.”
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final |
| Exeter | 14 | 7 | 20 | 7 | 48 |
| Conestoga Valley | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 14 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | EXE | Zandier, 48 run (Franek kick) | 11:03 |
| 1 | EXE | Zandier, 7 run (Franek kick) | 4:12 |
| 1 | CV | Ruble, 44 pass from Esbenshade (Erb kick) | 0:33 |
| 2 | EXE | Redding, 31 pass from Martinez (Franek kick) | 0:30 |
| 3 | CV | Esbenshade, 1 run (Erb kick) | 6:19 |
| 3 | EXE | Stutzman, 1 run (Franek kick) | 6:03 |
| 3 | EXE | Zandier, 13 run (Kick missed) | 5:14 |
| 3 | EXE | Zandier, 10 run (Franek kick) | 0:34 |
| 4 | EXE | Flanders, 1 run (Franek kick) | 2:59 |
Team statistics
| Exeter | Conestoga Valley | |
| First downs | 16 | 13 |
| Rushes-yards | 38-326 | 33-149 |
| Passing yards | 127 | 140 |
| Total yards | 453 | 289 |
| Passes COMP-ATT-INT | 5-8-0 | 8-20-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 1-0 | 2-1 |
| Punts-average | 2-33.0 | 4-29.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 6-60 | 5-35 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Exeter: Zandier 27-268, Brown 7-50, Stutzman 2-6, Prizer 1-1, Flanders 1-1
Conestoga Valley: Johnson 6-60, Ruble 8-54, Garcia 5-46, Esbenshade 14-(-11)
PASSING
Exeter: Hafer 4-7-0—96, Martinez 1-1-0–31
Conestoga Valley: Esbenshade 8-20-0—140
RECEIVING
Exeter: Redding 4-81, Ware 1-46
Conestoga Valley: Ruble 3-63, Johnson 3-23, Byers 1-45, Fisher 1-9
INTERCEPTIONS
None
