Exeter defense dominates Lower Dauphin, 48-6
Alex Javier’s third-quarter Pick-6 was the lead item in the highlight reel the Exeter Eagles’ defense put together Friday night, but the senior defensive back knows where most of the credit for this defensive shutout belongs.
“Up front,” he said, pointing to his linemen after a 48-6 non-league rout of Lower Dauphin at Don Thomas Stadium, “that’s where it starts.”
Indeed, that’s where it started, and that’s where most of Lower Dauphin’s plays ended -- in a heap of lost yards.
The rebuilding Falcons (0-3) were physically overmatched. They were unable to slow down tackle Gabe Eagle, nose guard Jaylin Miller or anyone else up front. It looked like a jailbreak at times when sophomore quarterback Braden Landis dropped back to pass.
Lower Dauphin saw a third of its offensive snaps end in negative yards; it’s offense earned just two first down (it got two others on penalties) and finished the night with 26 total yards.
The Falcons’ only score came on an interception return.
“Gabe’s probably one of the fastest d-tackles in the county,” Javier said, “and Jaylin Miller’s our nose guard, and Robbie Unruh’s the (Berks) wrestling champ at 227. Up front, we have three good linemen.
“When our defensive linemen get in the backfield, it causes the quarterback to make bad throws, and it helps us out a lot in the secondary.”
Javier took advantage of that, snaring a hurried throw and taking it 55 yards to the house four minutes into the second half to give the Eagles (21) a 34-6 lead.
Eagle, who played defensive back as a junior, had a pair of first-half sacks and three hurries. Miller had a pair of hurries. Linebackers J.R. Strauss and Ty Yocum – both sophomores – shared an early sack and spent their share of time in the backfield, too.
The night must’ve seemed like a blur for Landis, who had guys in his face and was throwing on the run all night. He remained on the turf for a minute or so midway through the first quarter after Eagle decked him on a pass attempt.
“We played lights-out,” said Exeter coach Matt Bauer of his defense. “Other than two plays at Berks Catholic (a pair of long scoring runs in a seasonopening 14-10 loss), I’d say they’ve played lights-out the whole season.
“They’re very assignment-oriented, they tackle well and they flow to the ball well. It’s a good group, and they’re excited, they play with passion, and that’s what we like to see.”
There was lots to be excited about.
Even with their leading rusher, Jeremiah Nixon, removed after just two carries because of a strained muscle in his leg, the Eagles ran up and down the field and put up 412 yards.
Strauss replaced Nixon in the first half and ran for 98 yards on 10 carries, including a 62-yard TD for a 14-0 lead late in the first quarter.
Whippet-like Wender Polanco took over in the second half and ran 13 times for 94 yards, including all five plays of a 50-yard scoring drive that gave the Eagles a 41-6 lead and put the mercy rule into effect with 4:14 left in the third quarter. Quarterback Gavin McCusker threw a pair of first-half TDs – 36 yards to Devon Scott and 16 yards to Javier – and scored on a 30yard run.
“We have a lot of weapons, a lot of ways to get the kids the ball, and it’s fun,” Bauer said. “It’s a great group of kids, they’re very unselfish and they play for one another.”
Of course he’ll let his guys know they still have work to do. They fumbled it away three times and had a whopping 10 first-half penalties.
“We’ve got to clean up so many mistakes, offensively,” Bauer said. “I feel we did a great job in Week 2 cleaning up mistakes; we regressed in that area. We have to be able to sustain drives.”
Even though the defense pitched a shutout – one week after getting one against Boyertown – Eagle knows there’s work to be done. Spring-Ford, which passed for over 400 yards against Wilson Friday, visits Don Thomas Stadium next week.
“We’ve just gotta keep pushing,” he said. “We’ve got more competition next week.”