Mathias’ big plays unable to overshadow Exeter’s big win, 48-27
REIFFTON >> Ayden Mathias had an unreal night under center for Boyertown running the football, but his individual exploits were not enough to save the Bears Friday night at Exeter.
The host Eagles overcame a sluggish start on both sides of the football to post a 48-27 non-league win over Boyertown at Don Thomas Stadium.
Mathias had rushing scores of 62, 83 and 85 yards, respectively, for Boyertown and went untouched on all three scampers. That’s 230 yards rushing on three snaps.
But that was about it for Boyertown highlights, as spectacular as they were. Exeter — despite its reputation for accelerated pace — had the football for 80 of the contest’s 110 recorded snaps, while the duo of Kolby Haag and Devon Scott proved hard to stop.
Haag was 13 of 24 for 284 yards and four touchdowns, three of them to Scott (of 71, 3 and 27 yards, respectively) while running for a fourth. Haag and Scott narrowly missed a fourth hook-up, when a corner route to pylon, late in the game, was ruled out at the Boyertown 2.
“When we saw them playing Cover 3 the way they were, we knew there was no one who could match up with him,” Haag said of his wingman, Scott. “We had the advantage there.”
The snapshot that typified Exeter’s evening was a 71-yard touchdown pass, from Haag to Scott, in which the latter seemed to get lost in coverage in the seam. By the time the second level defenders reacted, Scott was already past them.
The score pulled Exeter to within 13-12 midway through the first half, which started an hour late, at 8 p.m., due to extensive flooding in Berks County during the afternoon.
The touchdown pass that secured the lead for good came on Exeter’s next possession, when wide out Alex Javier outjumped his man on the corner and did the final 25 yards himself, a 35-yard connection that gave the Eagles their first lead, at 20-13, with 2:44 left in the half.
Exeter needed to keep producing because Mathias was a one-man wrecking crew off left tackle for three plays. On the Bears’ first snap following the Javier score, Boyertown’s quarterback slipped off the left guard for 85 yards un–touched for his second such score. A 62-yarder opened he game’s scoring midway through the first quarter.
Mathias would do it a third time, same call, for 83 yards midway through the third. That would slice to it a 34-27 game, but it would be the last time the call was featured. Mathias finished with six carries for 213 yards — and that included a 17-yard sack in the first half.
Opening week star Jamie Moccia finished with 88 yards on nine totes. His 67-yarder to paydirt late in the first gave the Bears a 13-6 lead. But Moccia was largely kept in check for the balance of the evening.
