Turnovers doom Exeter in loss to Penn-Trafford in state semis

WINGATE » The postgame scene Friday night at Bald Eagle Area High School was much more subdued than the one last week at Gov. Mifflin.

Exeter players, coaches and parents shared tears of sadness instead of tears of joy.

They quietly embraced each other and wondered why their championship season suddenly came to a halt in a 49-14 loss to Penn-Trafford in the PIAA Class 5A semifinals.

“We were ready,” senior Ty Yocum said. “It just doesn’t always go your way. It just wasn’t there for us tonight.”

The District 7 champion Warriors (122) advanced to the state final for the first time by forcing five turnovers by the Eagles (10-4) and containing Eric Nangle and a rushing attack that had marched through the District 3 playoffs.

Nangle had run for 919 yards against South Western, Cedar Cliff, Manheim Central and Gov. Mifflin. Penn-Trafford held him 50 yards on 15 carries and Exeter to 63 rushing yards overall.

“The penetration killed us,” Eagles coach Matt Bauer said. “When they’re diving into the backfield, it screws up the timing. We couldn’t really establish the line of scrimmage like we have the last four weeks. That definitely was problematic for us.”

So were the five turnovers. Senior quarterback Colin Payne threw four interceptions — he had six in the previous 13 games — and lost a fumble on a sack. He had been such a large part of the Eagles’ success, but it wasn’t his night.

“This definitely wasn’t us,” Payne said. “We made a lot of mental mistakes, myself included. I’m going to take as much blame as anyone. I wish we had one more game. This was not us at all.”

Penn-Trafford converted the turnovers into 31 points.

“We have to protect the football better and make better decisions,” Bauer said. “Colin played so well for us all year. We’re gonna live and die with him because he’s our leader.”

Wisconsin-bound Cade Yacamelli carried 17 times for 144 yards, including 135 in the first half, and three touchdowns for Penn-Trafford. He scored on a 75-yard run in the second quarter and on a 15-yard screen pass in the fourth.

Quarterback Carter Green completed 7-of-10 passes for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Seth Dunlap ran for 65 yards on a fake punt, which set up a Yacamelli run.

Exeter wide receiver Joey Schlaffer caught seven passes for 104 yards, including a 24-yard touchdown in the first quarter.

The night didn’t start well for Exeter, which watched Jacob Otto return the opening kickoff 73 yards. The Eagles held after Penn-Trafford picked up a first down at the 8 and forced the Warriors to settle for a field goal.

Later in the first quarter, Exeter’s Lucas Palange tackled Green for a 2-yard loss on fourth-and-1 at the Penn-Trafford 43. Four plays later, Payne threw a strike over the middle to Schlaffer for a 24-yard touchdown and a 7-3 lead.

The Warriors took command in the second quarter, scoring on four straight possessions with the help of Payne’s two interceptions.

Green connected with tight end Conlan Greene for a 5-yard touchdown, giving Penn-Trafford the lead for good. Liam Hileman picked off Payne’s pass for Ty Yocum and returned it to the Exeter 23. Yacamelli scored on a 5-yard run to make it 17-7.

“We thought we had a nice route,” Bauer said. “The wheel was open. The kid made a great play and that kind of turned the momentum. We really never recovered from that.”

After Exeter went three-and-out on its next series and Mikey Mosey booted a 52-yard punt, Yacamelli took the ball off the right side and sprinted down the sideline for a 75-yard touchdown with 4:12 left in the half.

Exeter drove to the Penn-Trafford 44 behind Payne’s four completions to Schlaffer for 55 yards. But Dunlap intercepted Payne’s pass to Carson Schmidt and returned it 51 yards, setting up Nathan Schlessinger’s 34-yard field goal as time expired that made it 27-7.

Exeter opened the second half by driving to the Penn-Trafford 13, but the Warriors stopped the Eagles on downs, snuffing out their last chance to make it close.

Yocum scored on a 1-yard run to close out the scoring in the final minutes.

“Last week was such a high,” he said about Exeter’s 31-28 win over Mifflin for the District 3 title. “Now it’s such a low. The hardest part is leaving all these guys who I’ve played with my whole life.”