Hempfield Upsets Exeter Township in a Classic

Tagged under: District 3, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

Phil Myers | October 11, 2025

It may be a long time before football fans on both sides will see another game as good as this one.  Hempfield came from behind and scored ten points in the fourth quarter.  Then the Black Knights stopped a 2-point conversion inches short of the goal line late in the game to upset unbeaten Exeter 30-28 in a classic contest that will be talked about for years.  The game was played on Hempfield’s home field on band recognition night before a rather large crowd.

The game had almost everything a fan could ask for.  It was a battle for 4 quarters, it had plenty of offense, it had defense at just the right times, and the outcome was in doubt until the end.

There were heroes on both sides of the field.  For Exeter, the man of renown, Leo Brown, excelled by gaining 254 yards on 33 carries, scoring twice.  Jayden Ware grabbed five passes for 155 yards and a touchdown.  Plus, he recovered a fumble and snagged an interception on defense.  

Leo Brown (center with ball) is spying out a crease. He ran for over 250 yards on the evening. QB Jake Hafer is #9 on left.

For Hempfield, P.J. Poole, Derek Katch, and Brady Briscoe were the guys.  Poole caught five passes, two of which went for touchdowns.  He also returned his second interception of the game 85 yards for his third TD of the night.  Katch completed sixteen of his throws for 265 yards, including three touchdown tosses.  Briscoe kicked a 37-yard field goal under pressure to give his team their first lead in the fourth quarter, was perfect on PAT tries, and constantly kept Exeter pinned deep when he had to punt. 

Left to right: PJ Poole, Brady Briscoe, Derek Katch.

The win gives Hempfield, who upped their record to 4-4, a real boost going forward.  An extremely happy Black Knight head coach, George Eager, had this to say about the game, “this win is hard to describe in words, but we’ve got a great group of seniors, who were disappointed in the 3-4 record.”

The loss drops the Eagles of Exeter, ranked #7 in Class 5A, from the ranks of the undefeated and to a 7-1 record.  It was Hempfield’s first defeat of Exeter since 2021.

Before everyone was in their seats, the visiting Eagles took a lead they did not relinquish until the fourth quarter.  After the opening kickoff by Briscoe went for a touchback, Brown broke free, made a nice move and raced 80 yards to the house in the first 13 seconds of the game.  Then, a fumbled snap on the point after attempt led to a 2-point conversion when the holder, Jayden Ware, had the presence of mind to roll and look for a receiver.  He found Braylon Reinhert for the completion on a broken play.  8-0 Exeter Township.

Hempfield answered by driving 74 yards on 11 plays using up over six minutes of the clock.  Three straight times the Knights converted on third downs to keep the drive alive, one of which was a 28-yard pass from Katch to Zion Caban.  Caban also turned in a huge game by snaring seven passes for 144 yards.  The score came when Katch pitched a 14-yarder to Orion Abrams.  Briscoe’s PAT made it 8-7 Exeter Township.

Hempfield’s QB Derek Katch (#2) puts his all into a deep pass.

A pair of penalties on the same play doomed the Eagles on their next drive.  A holding call on a 4-yard gain by Brown was bad enough, but then a dead ball personal foul was tacked on.

It looked as though Hempfield would take advantage when a pass to Caban for 58 yards put the football at the Exeter 10-yard line.  But on the next play a pass that was really a lateral went awry and Ware scooped it up almost going the distance before he was tackled at the 30 by what appeared to be the last man.

The visitors got almost to midfield before another major penalty set them back forcing them to punt the ball away.  Then the Eagle defense got a big stop on Hempfield with the help of a five-yard penalty on second down and two for the home team.  Briscoe bombed a 50-yard punt to push Exeter back to their own 16.

For the second time Exeter used a big play that only used a few ticks of the clock.  Jake Hafer, who himself threw for 222 yards, tossed his first of two touchdown passes.  He laid the ball right into Ware’s hands, who did the rest outrunning defenders to complete the 84-yard touchdown.  Jakob Franek booted the PAT and Exeter’s lead increased to 15-7.

Hempfield once again answers the bell.  This time the Black Knights traversed the field 62 yards in 9 plays.  The only third down conversion on this possession was the 7-yard scoring toss to Poole.  With 4 minutes remaining in the half, Briscoe’s second PAT reduced Exeter’s margin to one point again at 15-14.

Exeter calmly drove to the Hempfield 35, but a fumble and a short gain left them with a 3rd and ten.  A seven-yard completion put the ball at the Knight 28, but the 4th down pass fell incomplete with five seconds on the clock.  Halftime score is Exeter 15 Hempfield 14.

The second half began with Hempfield being forced to punt and Briscoe’s kick being downed at the eight.  Exeter then embarked on a 92-yard journey that took only seven plays.  The key to the possession was the 58-yard Hafer pass to Ware on a 3rd and nine.  Brown scored the touchdown on a nice cut, going the final 16 yards of the drive.  Franek hit the PAT.  22-14 Exeter.

Ware stymied Hempfield’s next drive with an interception that he returned from his fifteen to the 36-yard line.  But the Black Knight defense forced the only Eagle three and out of the evening.

Hempfield got a first down, then on the next play, Katch found an open receiver in the speedy PJ Poole who turned on the burners to complete the scoring play of 55 yards.  The 2-point attempt failed, but the Exeter lead is whittled to two points, 22-20 with 30 ticks left in the third quarter.

For Hempfield in dark uniforms, #4 is Orion Abrams, #44 is Cam Rice, #52 is Nate Swanger, and #9 is Lucas Weisglass.

As the fourth quarter opens, Exeter is faced with a second and two.  On the first play of the last stanza, Poole came up with his first pick giving Hempfield good field position at the Eagle 46-yard line.  The first two plays cover 21 yards to the fifteen.  Then a pair of incomplete passes followed by a third when Katch threw the ball as he crossed the line of scrimmage which resulted in a five yard penalty and loss of down.  On to the field trotted Briscoe who nailed the 37-yard field goal with room to spare.  The kick, however, was almost blocked.  The Knights now hold their first lead at 23-22.

“It was business as usual on the sideline,” said Eager when asked what the feeling was on the bench throughout the game, “honestly this is every week playing the teams we play.”

The decision was made by Exeter coach Matt Bauer and staff to feed the football to Leo Brown behind the bruising offensive line.  The result was a seven minute drive that covered 72 yards with Brown carrying the agate on 12 consecutive plays gaining 77 yards with a 5-yard penalty against them thrown in.   

After two Brown runs only gained a yard, Hempfield broke up the third down pass.  Facing a 4th down, the field goal team was sent out and it looked like Franek was going to try a 40-yard field goal as the ball sat at the Hempfield 23.  Bauer called a time out and changed his mind putting the offense back out.  The subsequent pass was picked off by Poole who ran 85 yards right down the Exeter sideline to pay dirt.  Briscoe’s third PAT made it 30-22 Hempfield.  There was 3:02 left to play.

It did not take long for Exeter to rebound as fans started biting nails on both sides.  Going 73 yards in just six plays, the Eagles drew within a 2-point conversion of tying the game.  The score came on Hafer’s 34-yard pass to TE Aiden Dauble.  Using the Power-I where Brown gets the ball and blasts through for good yardage, Exeter is stopped inches short by a determined Black Knight defense.  The score remains 30-28 Hempfield.

Hempfield had all eleven men up near the fifty in two waves expecting the onside kick.  But Exeter fooled them and pooched the kick to the thirty where the race was on by both teams to get to the ball.  A pile up ensued and when it was unpacked, Hempfield had secured the ball and the game.  This contest was one for the history journals for sure.

Congrats to both teams and some individual players for putting on quite a show!!!

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