BIRDSBORO – Exeter football coach Matt Bauer calls Eagles senior quarterback Chase Yocum “one of a kind.’
“He means everything to our team,’ Bauer said. “Our offense doesn’t go without him.’
Thanks largely to Yocum, the Eagles offense went all over the Brazinsky Stadium turf Friday night as Exeter turned away Berks League Section 1 archrival Daniel Boone 30-13 in the traditional battle for the Pig Iron Trophy.
The 6-foot, 190-pound Yocum ran for a game-high 169 yards and one touchdown and also threw for 153 yards and two more scores while also contributing an interception as part of a dominating defensive effort for the Eagles (5-1 Section 1, 8-2 overall).
With monster tackle Michel Menet, D-line mate Dyllon Scott (the younger brother of former Boone star Darrell Scott) and linebacker Nate Weber doing most of the damage, the Exeter ‘ D’ limited a potent Boone running game to a season-low 76 yards while harassing quarterback Nick Hughes into three interceptions.
“Unfortunately our offense was a little out of sync,’ said Boone coach Bill Parks, whose team closed out the regular season 3-3 in Section 1 play and 6-4 overall. “That’s a credit to Exeter. Their front guys were physical and they brought a lot of pressure.
“I think they rattled us a little bit and I don’t think we handled it well. We need to be more mature in that situation and need to handle it better.’The Blazers seemed to be handling things fine for the better part of the first half, answering Yocum’s 8-yard, fourth-down TD toss to Gabe Shappell five plays into the second quarter with a 36-yard scoring burst by Hughes that tied it at 7-7 with 4:55 left in the second quarter.
