In one of Berks County’s most notable football rivalries, Exeter claimed its fifth straight victory over Gov. Mifflin.
The Eagles delivered a commanding 43-15 win over the Mustangs on Friday night at Reiffton in a Lancaster-Lebanon Section 2 showdown.
It was a lopsided game from the opening drive to the final whistle, as Exeter (4-0), ranked No. 5 in the state in Class 5A, according to Eric Epler of PennLive.com, dominated from start to finish.
“Feels good to beat our across-town rivals,” senior Aiden Dauble said. “Coach (Bauer) was preaching all week that it was the most physical game we’ll have all year, and it definitely was. We just put our foot on the gas early, stopped them, and we were just rolling from there. Now we just gotta keep stacking them (wins).”
The Eagles wasted no time getting on the board. After forcing a quick three-and-out, Jayden Ware scooped up a rolling punt and returned it 62 yards for the game’s opening touchdown.
However, a blindside block erased six points, forcing the Eagles’ offense to take the field. But Ware would get his redemption in the second half with another electrifying special teams play, this time finding the end zone for good.
Still, senior Leo Brown got the offense rolling with back-to-back runs of seven and five yards.
Facing a third down, Dauble, a tight end, engaged with the edge defender off the line and drove him over 20 yards into the Mifflin sideline, pancaking him right in front of their bench. It cleared room for Brown to pick up a first down on an 11-yard run.
“It felt great,” Dauble said of his pancake block. “Physicality, Coach (Bauer) was preaching it all week. We had to be physical. I felt like I was very physical on that play.”
That play set the tone in the trenches, showing exactly how the rest of the game would unfold up front.
Earlier in the week, both Bauer and Mustangs coach Nick Morrissey stressed how crucial winning the battle up front would be to taking a win, and on Friday, it was all Eagles in that battle.
Just two plays later, Brown burst through the middle, hitting the hole at full speed and racing 24 yards to the end zone.
“Very important,” Brown said of scoring first. “We were able to get the momentum, and once we got that, we just kept rolling the snowballs.”
On the next possession, Mifflin (2-2) went for it on fourth-and-one in their own territory but was stuffed in the backfield by Andre Osborne.
On Exeter’s next series, Bauer decided to move the ball through the air. Jake Hafer connected with Dauble on a left rollout for a 17-yard gain, but the play was called back due to a penalty.
Just two snaps later, Hafer made sure his tight end got on the stat sheet. He connected with Dauble up the seam for a 36-yard gain, bringing the offense down to the two-yard line.
Hafer finished the drive himself on his feet with a quarterback sweep to the left, extending the lead.
Mifflin’s offensive struggles continued with another three-and-out. While their defense focused on stopping Leo Brown’s runs, they left Braylon Reinert wide open behind the secondary.
Reinert, a junior, caught the ball and raced down to the four-yard line before being hawked down by a couple of Mustangs.
Brown finished the drive with an untouched sweep to the right, scoring a touchdown to put Exeter up 21-0.
At the 8:45 mark of the second quarter, the Mustangs finally sparked their offense. LeBron Leaf threw a shuffle pass to Patrick Steuer for a 13-yard gain.
A few plays later, Leaf did it himself, faking a toss on the speed option before bursting through the hole and outrunning the Eagles’ defensive backs for a 19-yard touchdown.
Brown answered back. The senior rumbled through four consecutive runs of 9, 25, 21, and 19 yards, capping it off with a first-half hat trick in the end zone.
“He’s very shifty,” Dauble said of Brown. “Once he sees a little hole, he’s gone. He’s hard to bring down in the open field, and he showed that tonight and why he’s one of the best backs in the county.”
The Eagles took a 29-7 lead into halftime.
The Mustangs managed just 101 yards of total offense, while Brown racked up an impressive 162 yards on his own.
“Our defensive coaches do a great job scouting,” Dauble said of their defensive performance. “They put us in the right positions. The scheme makes the offense be in shambles when we’re blitzing out of different formations. So our defensive coaches do a great job, credit to them.”
To kick off the second half, Ware made sure to get his ‘get back.’
The senior scooped up a bouncing football at the five-yard line and returned it 95 yards for a touchdown, putting the perfect exclamation point on the rivalry win.
With five minutes left in the third quarter, the Eagles added another touchdown by Josh Jackson on a 21-yard run, triggering the running clock for the second half, which starts once a team leads by 35 points.
Brown finished the game with 206 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries, bringing his total to 651 yards through four weeks.
“I couldn’t ask for a better line, Brown said. “I love that on my line, all the receivers stalk blocking, they make it happen. I’m just the one who puts the ball in the end zone. They’re the ones that clear the way, and I’m able to follow the path.”
Hafer completed 3 of 5 passes for 96 yards but threw an interception to LeBron Leaf late in the first half.
The Eagles finished with 382 yards of total offense.
Source: Berkshire mont
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