2007 Varsity Football

Matt Rawson '08 kicks field goal at 24 yards to win 3-0 with 37 seconds left in the game.

Exeter wins opener and shuts out Avon 3-0

In a game that featured ball control offense by Exeter, and stifling defense by both teams, the Big Red managed to pull this one out.
Set up by a great fourth period defense, a 22 yard punt return by Jon Stidd and a powerful running game featuring Stidd and elusive tailback Eric Bunker, Exeter took six minutes off the clock and drove to the Avon 4 yard line with 51 seconds left in the contest. The Big Red then trotted out place-kicker Matt Rawson who proceeded to drill the field goal through from 24 yards for the winning points. A solid performance by Quarterback Alex King as he threw for 170 yards and led the offense on several time consuming drives that kept the ball away from the Avon offense.
The kickoff team then pinned Avon back deep in their own zone with less then 45 seconds to go in the contest. Out of timeouts and facing the stingy Exeter defense Avon was sacked for a big loss. Linebacker Sam Gardner closed the door and sealed the victory with an interception as time ran out.
The team defensive motto of "Get to the Ball" was carried out to perfection for most of the game as the "D" made it very difficult for the highly talented running back from AOF to control the tempo of the game. Led by Captains Julien Dumont at defensive tackle, Eric Eberhart at inside linebacker, Malcolm McClain at safety, and Eddie Williams anchoring the defensive end spot the four "D" totaled 24 tackles on the day, including several tackles for lost yardage. Also playing great games defensively were Stidd and Bunker on the corners with Bunker getting the first interception of the game, Nick Mancini at linebacker, BJ Lalonde at safety, whose big hit late in the first quarter on the AOF receiver, seemed to ignite the "D". Along with the 6'4" 270 pound Dumont up front, was the excellent play of the rest of the front four 6'5"295 pound Matt Harrison, 6'3" 290 pound Greg Vaughan, and 6' 3" 235 pound Matt Kendrick which controlled the line of scrimmage most of the game.
A Big Red thank you to our parents who put on a great Friday Night Lights dinner before the Avon game. Great food, fun and relaxation to spur us on to a solid win. The team hopes our fans will support us this Saturday at 3PM as the Big Red take on the always tough and well coached Hilltoppers of Worcester Academy in Phelps Stadium.
Submitted by Coach Glennon

Another excellent defensive performance by the squad led the way for a solid win. The first team defense shut out their second straight opponent with the only touchdown by Worcester Academy coming with 5 seconds left in the game.  

Several tackles by Eric Eberhart, Nick Mancini, and Sam Gardiner shut down the run game of the Hilltoppers. Eric Bunker ended a late first half drive by WA with an exceptional one handed interception deep in our own territory to send the Big Red to the locker room with the lead. Colin Dougherty also had a key interception on a second half drive by WA.

The offense, led again by the solid running and receiving of Bunker and Jon Stidd, controlled the pace of the game. Quarterback Alex King was again on target most of the day as well as scoring a TD on a two-yard run. He connected on two touchdown passes to Malcolm McClain - one a 42 yarder and the other a 37 yard toss. Matt Rawson converted on the extra point.

B.J. Lalonde played well on both sides of the ball including two crucial first down catches. The defensive line of Julien Dumont, Greg Vaughan, Matt Kendrick had several tackles. Ebs Gyasi recorded 6 tackles in his first career start at nose tackle and played well all game.

With the score 19-0 halfway through the fourth quarter a lot of Big Red players got plenty of action with solid play from Esosa Ovisu and Dan Maddox. Overall a strong team performance including the play of the special teams.

Exeter takes its 2-0 record on the road to Choate this weekend for a 2:30 kickoff. Choate is also undefeated with a big win last week over perennial power, Kent School. The Big Red will have to bring our A Game to Choate and put together another solid outing.

Many thanks to our parents for the Friday Night Light's Dinner in the Athletic Centers T.A.D. Jones Room. Great food, fun and relaxation for the team.     "GO BIG RED".
Submitted by Coach Glennon
Photos thanks to Mark Kelley

The Big Red traveled to Wallingford, Connecticut to face the always tough Wild Boars of Choate and came away with a hard fought loss.  The defense played a strong game, but gave up more yards than usual. The offense sputtered most of the day, but was still able to be in a position to win the game in the end. As the clock was winding down in the last 3 minutes of the contest, the Big Red moved the ball 74 yards to the Choate 6 yard line. Highlighted by a great pass from Alex King and as equally great a catch by Eric Bunker, the Big Red were on the move. Two plays later, an excellent run by Malcolm McClain brought us inside the ten yard line with a minute to go. The defense from Choate stiffened, and the boys were unable to reach pay-dirt as the game ended. A valiant effort in the fourth quarter by the defense and a great TD saving tackle by Bunker kept us in contention.

Below average offensive and defensive line-play by Exeter allowed Choate to control the tempo of the game, which usually is in favor of the Big Red. Exeter scored their only TD of the day on its only good drive of the contest in the first half. Led by the running of Bunker and Jon Stidd, Exeter headed to the end zone on a 6 yard TD jaunt from Bunker capping off a nice 68 yard drive. The extra point was good by Matt Rawson and the Big Red took the lead 7-6. Later in the game, Rawson connected on a 39 yard field goal to extend the lead to 10-7 in the third quarter. Choate methodically moved the ball toward our end-zone and scored the eventual game-winning TD in the fourth. Exeter stopped the 2 point try but were flagged for an offside call. The second attempt at 2 points however was good and the score stood at 14-10 which would turn out to be the final score.

A disappointing loss but we will work hard this week and get ready for another long road trip to Windsor Connecticut to face the Pelicans of Loomis Chaffee. Game time has been moved to 4 PM. Thanks to all the parents who cheered us on at Choate and for the great tailgate after the game.
Submitted by Coach Glennon

Exeter Rolls to win at Loomis

The Big Red came to play today! After a sluggish first quarter that ended with Exeter up 7 -0, the Big Red exploded for 24 second-quarter points enroute to a 31 – 7 half-time lead. Led by the running of the two talented Exeter backs, Jon Stidd and Eric Bunker, and the great defensive play of Eric Eberhart and Nick Mancini, Exeter controlled the game and the tempo. It is said that the running game sets up your passing game and today that was certainly the case as Stidd and Bunker led the ground attack.

Quarterback Alex King was on the mark all day as he completed passes to six different receivers. With over 220 yards passing and with two TD passes, it was an exceptional day for any QB. The most impressive receiver of the day was John Squires, who caught 3 passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Also getting in the scoring column were King with a 1 yard run for a score, as well as Stidd and Bunker with one TD each. Matt Rawson converted on every PAT as well as hitting a 36 yard field goal (that would have been good from 56) to make the final tally hit 38. The first team defense played well all day with the strong line play of Matt Kendrick, Matt Harrison, and Captain Julien Dumont. Eric Bunker had a fabulous interception and return of 40 yards with the help of some great blocking to set up a score. The Big Red got some great play also from Justin Ramos with a nice reception as well as a spectacular leaping interception. Loomis is a very well coached and prepared team and never quit as they returned a kick off 99 yards for a TD and added a late TD drive to make the final 38-21, which raises our record to 3-1.

Thank you to all the parents for another great Friday Night Lights dinner for the boys. This tradition allows them to relax and get ready for some Big Red Football! Please come and root the boys on this weekend as we take on the always tough NMH Hogger's on Parent's Weekend in Phelps' Stadium. Kick off is at 4:00 PM.
Submitted by Coach Glennon

Big Red Defeats NMH
On Parents Weekend
 42 – 6

On a beautiful late afternoon in Phelps Stadium, Exeter rolled to a convincing win over the Hogger's. A well-coached NMH team, which is plagued by the injury bug, managed to play a tough, physical game all day. Exeter received great field position on the opening kick-off to set the stage for the first drive of the day. The initial drive was capped off by an Eric Bunker 39 yard TD jaunt on a great cutback. Matt Rawson hit the PAT for a 7–0 lead. On the ensuing kick-off, NMH's T.J. Strunk returned it 80 yards inside the 20. Several plays later, the Hogger's pushed it in, but missed the PAT and the score stood at 7-6. Jon Stidd continued the ground attack as he and Bunker shared the carries behind the excellent lead blocking of fullback Eric Eberhart. During this drive, Matt Rawson made two spectacular catches setting up a 4 yard TD scamper by Stidd. The extra point was good by Alex King and the lead now stood at 14-6.

Another drive by Exeter ended with a fantastic catch by Malcolm McClain for a 27 yard touchdown reception. With the PAT by King good, the score now read Exeter 21 NMH 6. Bunker followed the offensive line blocking well and hit a 24 yard run up the middle. It was the touchdown-making block of Jon Squires springing Bunker the final ten yards to pay-dirt. King again hit the PAT as the lead expanded to 22 points, with the score 28-6 in favor of the home team. Jon Squires continued his torrid pace of catching passes as he snared a perfect pass from King for a 38 yard touchdown catch. Again the PAT was successful and Exeter's lead was now 35-6.

The final score was set up with an NMH turnover. The Hogger's quarterback threw a backward lateral that fell to the ground and was alertly picked up by Grant DeRoo and "Whoa Nellie" he was "rumbling and stumbling" his way down the sideline to the 9 yard line before being caught and dragged down. After two hard runs by Eric Eberhart to bring the ball to the one yard line, tailback Dan Maddox scored his first career touchdown in an Exeter uniform. Congratulations to Danny and he's "only a soph-a-more!" Followed by the PAT from Shalin Thomas for his first career point for the Big Red. That would be the final tally for the day as well as the final score of 42-6.

(My apologies to the great sports commentator Keith Jackson for  my use of his famous "Whoa Nellie", "rumbling and stumbling", and "He's only a soph-a-more" but it seemed appropriate.) 

The Big Red defense played well all day long with another interception by Bunker and several good tackles by Eberhart, Ed Williams, Matt Kendrick and McClain. Sam Gardiner played strong on the outside as did Nick Mancini from his Linebacker spot. The offensive line with Sam Johnson, Gregg Vaughan, Julien Dumont, Matt Harrison, Dennis Gallagher and Gardiner turned in an excellent second half performance. The Big Red is getting closer to their A Game, but we still have to improve to get there. We will need it this week as we head to Deerfield Academy for a great match up of two excellent teams on Saturday.

Friday Night Lights this week was a great reception for all the players and a great turnout by many parents during "Parents Weekend" which is always a great get together. Thanks to all the parents who again put together quite an array of foods.
Submitted by Coach Glennon

Here's a link to a short video clip taken during the game.