Exeter dominates Memorial in opener

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Exeter kicked off its season with a 28-0 victory over Manchester Memorial on Friday night in a matchup between two teams ranked among the top 10 in New Hampshire. Memorial came in at No. 4 in New Hampshire Football Report's preseason rankings, and Exeter began the season at No. 9. Here are five players who performed well in a contest between two of the top teams in Division I East:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2347966"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9c4527e20f2"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ream completed 9-of-15 passes for 124 yards and three touchdowns in the win. Although these are modest statistics for some QBs, they are impressive since Exeter operates a run-heavy Straight-T offense. [player_tooltip player_id='2083003' first='Colton' last='Ray'] (3 yards), Gavin Mulrey (59 yards) and Cam Wyskiel (16 yards) caught the touchdown passes. The TD pass to Mulrey seemed to deflate the Crusaders. The TD came on a third-and-6 play with 8:50 remaining in the third quarter and helped the Blue Hawks take a 21-0 lead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2375003,"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9c4527e2152"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Ray was the key player in the first half, when the Blue Hawks took a 14-0 lead. He opened the scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run with 2:54 remaining in the opening quarter. The TD came on a counter and capped a 16-play drive. He also had a 3-yard touchdown catch with 10 second left in the first half that helped Exeter go up 14-0. Ray also had a 15-yard run on a third-and-4 play that kept Exeter's second scoring drive alive. He rushed for 53 yards on seven carries before Exeter pulled its offensive starters late in the third quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2375015,"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9c4527e219b"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">There weren't many offensive highlights for Memorial in the loss, but Adumene, one of the state's top linebackers, stood out on defense. He held up well against Exeter's power running game, and shifted the momentum when he intercepted a pass on Exeter's second passession. The INT gave Memorial the ball on the Exeter 26-yard line with Exeter leading 7-0, but the Crusaders squandered the momentum when they turned the ball over on downs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2375057,"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9c4527e21f7"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">Bishop's contribution to Exeter's victory may go overlooked by many because he's a place-kicker, but he was clearly one of his team's top performers. He made each of his four extra-point attempts, and helped Exeter win the battle for field position with his deep kickoffs, one of which was fielded at the 1-yard line. With the exception of squib kick that followed Exeter's TD with 10 seconds left in the first half, Memorial took possession on its 11-yard line, it's 16-yard line and its 28-yard line following Exeter touchdowns.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":2375066,"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6a9c4527e223c"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">O'Kane, a 290-pound defensive tackle who was also used at nose guard, was at the center of an Exeter defense that held Memorial's triple-option attack to 77 yards of offense. The Crusaders picked up 45 of those 77 yards on their opening drive, which ended when Memorial turned the ball over on downs at the Exeter 23-yard line. That's as close the the Crusaders got to the Exeter end zone. Memorial ran only three plays on Exeter's half of the field in the final two quarters.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block -->