Riley Martinez leads Exeter football to win over Daniel Boone in Pig Iron Bowl

Exeter sophomore quarterback Riley Martinez entered Friday’s game having attempted one pass in his varsity football career.

So when he took over for starting quarterback Nate Pashley on the Eagles’ second offensive series, Martinez’s mindset was simple.

“Take control of the ball,” Martinez said he told himself. “Don’t turn over the ball.”

Martinez managed to take control of the Exeter offense and the game, throwing for 165 yards and two touchdowns and running for another score to lead the Eagles to a 42-7 win over Daniel Boone in the Pig Iron Bowl rivalry game in a season opener at Don Thomas Stadium in Reiffton.

“I’ve been training for this since I was 5 years old,” Martinez said. “I think I’m just made for this moment.”

The 6-3 Martinez completed 6-of-10 passes and threw for two touchdowns with one interception. Five of his completions went for more than 25 yards.

“For a sophomore being thrown into a situation like that, I think he did very well,” Exeter coach Matt Bauer said. “He made good decisions, for the most part.”

Martinez’s first two completions went for touchdowns, as he connected with wide receivers Jayden Zandier and Carter Redding. While after coming in Martinez played in every series but the last, Bauer said the Eagles intend to have Martinez and Pashley, a senior, play quarterback again in Week 2.

“He executed very well given the situation,” Bauer said about Martinez. “He showed that he belonged out there.”

Despite a slow start, the Eagles dominated on offense and defense to win their 11th straight Pig Iron Bowl over the Blazers. Exeter outgained Daniel Boone 402-192 in the non-league game.

“We take a lot of pride in that,” Bauer said about the Pig Iron Bowl win. “We’re excited to keep (the trophy) at Exeter for another year.”

The Eagles took an 8-0 lead early in the second quarter when Martinez found junior Zandier for a 31-yard touchdown. On the ensuing extra point, Redding, the holder, bobbled the snap before recovering to find tight end Aiden Dauble in the end zone for the two-point conversion.

Later in the second quarter, Martinez connected with Redding on a shovel pass and the junior took it 40 yards for the score. The ensuing extra point was successful.

“We have a lot of versatile guys,” Martinez said. “We have a lot of speed on offense, so we can spread the ball out.”

The Eagles extended their lead to 21-0 with 33 seconds remaining in the first half, as running back Zaymar Paschall ran for a 36-yard touchdown. The junior finished with seven carries for 88 yards and the score.

Exeter’s Zaymar Paschall runs for a touchdown against Daniel Boone with 33 seconds left in the first half during the Pig Iron Bowl on Friday at Don Thomas Stadium. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

Exeter’s running attack carried that momentum into the second half, as junior Pharrell Caceres ran for a 40-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. Redding ran into the end zone for a successful two-point conversion to make it 29-0.

Caceres finished with 10 carries for 114 yards and the score. The Eagles ran for 225 yards.

“They really carried the mail for us,” Bauer said about Paschall and Caceres. “That’s a good problem to have, when you have two backs of that caliber functioning at a high level.”

Exeter’s Pharrell Caceres runs for a touchdown against Daniel Boone during the Pig Iron Bowl Friday at Don Thomas Stadium. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

The Blazers got on the board late in the third quarter when quarterback Dean Rotter found wide receiver Ethan Kryman for a 16-yard touchdown. Rotter completed 10-of-20 passes for 97 yards, the touchdown and an interception.

“I thought we played hard in the third quarter, but otherwise, (it was a) good, old-fashioned butt whooping across the board,” Daniel Boone coach J.D. Okuniewski said. “We need to do a better job of controlling what we can control. I don’t think we did that at all tonight.”

Daniel Boone quarterback Dean Rotter is pressured by Exeter’s Ryan McConnell during the Pig Iron Bowl Friday at Don Thomas Stadium. (BILL UHRICH – READING EAGLE)

The Eagles added two touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Martinez scored on a 1-yard sneak and running back Zumar Boston ran for a 6-yard touchdown behind the Exeter offensive line. Martinez finished with 18 yards on the ground.

“It is our heart and soul,” Bauer said about the offensive line. “If we can control the line of scrimmage, we can be successful.”

While the Eagles earned a commanding victory, Bauer acknowledged they must eliminate the miscues in their next game, especially on special teams. The Blazers blocked two of Exeter’s four extra point attempts.

“The mark of a good team is the improvement you make from Week 1 to Week 2,” Bauer said. “If we’re going to be a good football team, we have a lot to clean up.”