Matt Bauer-Exeter

Exeter and Manheim Central were even for 24 minutes at Don Thomas Stadium. The second half, however, belonged to the Barons. Manheim Central won its 28th Section 2 championship by beating the Eagles 42-14. “I can’t say enough about the effort I got from my kids…That score is not indicative of the effort we got tonight,” said head coach Matt Bauer. Senior defensive end Owen Eichelberger put the (9-1, 6-0) Barons on top 21-14 with a 14-yard pick-six four minutes into the third quarter. Linebacker Bode Sipel came untouched up the middle on a blitz and put pressure on sophomore quarterback Riley Martinez. “We shot ourselves in the foot. We made penalties and turnovers in crucial situations. It flipped the momentum completely,” emphasized Bauer. On Manheim Central’s next possession, Zac Hahn avoided a sack and lofted a 43-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Enterline who was open over the middle. Exeter standout safety Nate Pashley was out for that series while dealing with a cramp. The Barons went up 35-14 on a 12-yard TD pass to tight end Xander Kolk with 4:47 remaining. Sonny Callahan punched in another score from three yards out with just 16 seconds left. Manheim Central was without All-State running back Brycen Armold for the second straight game. His backup, Michael Torres, ran for 123 yards on 20 carries. The 5’8, 146-pound senior had 257 yards and 4 TD in his first start last week against Gov. Mifflin. Hahn went 22-of-29 for 296 yards and 4 TD versus the (8-2, 4-2) Eagles. The Barons struck first on his 29-yard pass down the left sideline to Aaron Enterline. The 6’3, 180-pound wide receiver finished with six receptions for 102 yards. Enterline set a single-season school record with 22 TD catches. Jayden Zandier tied it with a 57-yard burst up the middle with 1:19 to go in the opening quarter. The speedy junior had 178 yards on 18 carries. “It’s such a nice treat to have someone that can take it the distance on any given play. He gave us everything he had,” noted Bauer. Exeter grabbed a 14-7 advantage on Martinez’s perfect 93-yard touchdown pass to Pashley with 2:10 to play before halftime. The 6’3 sophomore quarterback ended up 8-of-21 for 138 yards and a pair of interceptions. “He made some errors, but he also threw some great balls…We want him to manage the game for us, not have to decide it,” said Bauer. Manheim Central drove 75 yards in one minute and eight seconds. Hahn found Sipel for a 16-yard score with 55 seconds remaining in the half. Sipel came up with eight grabs for 85 yards. He also had an interception midway through the first quarter. Hahn is up to 33 touchdown passes this year with only two picks. The Barons outgained the Eagles 432-316. There were 22 combined penalties for more than 200 yards. Twelve of the flags went against Manheim Central which got its 603rd all-time victory. The Barons are ranked in the top ten in the state in Class 4A. Exeter suffered its second loss in a row. “Who would’ve thought (8-2) would feel this bad,” said Bauer with a smile.