Almost everyone had left the field and the only sound was Harrisburg's band joyously playing in the distance.

The end always comes faster than you expect.

"High school's over," Schappell said. "A big part of my life is gone right now. That's hard to deal with."

Fifth-seeded Harrisburg eliminated No. 4 Exeter 36-10 in the first round of the District 3 Class 5A football playoffs at Don Thomas Stadium Friday night.

The Eagles' hopes of defying the doubters gradually drifted away, a victim of the Cougars' big-play capability.

Micah Parsons, a Penn State recruit who transferred from Central Dauphin during the season, scored three touchdowns.

The 6-3, 225-pound junior's 16-yard run in the first quarter opened the scoring and his 19-yard TD reception made it 20-3 just before halftime.

"They've got a lot of athletes; they've got a lot of good players," Schappell said. "Micah is a monster."

Exeter knew what it was up against and creatively found ways to keep Harrisburg's burners from getting the ball in open space.

It's just difficult to avoid it for an entire game.

"We challenged them all week," Exeter coach Matt Bauer said. "We weren't going to take a backseat to these guys. They fought their guts out. That's all I can ask."

After holding Harrisburg (8-3) to six points for most of the first half, it started to slip away from Exeter when the Cougars scored twice in the final two minutes before intermission.

Joel Davis' 9-yard touchdown run and subsequent interception sparked the pivotal sequence.

"That was definitely a momentum swing," Bauer said. "We came out in the second half and we scored. These kids kept fighting. That shows a lot about their character."

Exeter put together a bruising touchdown drive in the opening minutes of the third quarter.

Braelin Grill's 1-yard plunge made it 20-10 and injected some life into the Eagles.

They couldn't hold it.

Harrisburg's size and quickness ultimately had their say.

"We came out fired up," Exeter running back Nick Sarangoulis said. "We did a great job preparing all week. I think they made a couple of big plays and we hung our heads."

Exeter couldn't generate much down the field.

Sarangoulis rushed 26 times for 84 yards. Quarterback Brandon Unterkoefler carried 18 times for 85 yards.

While Exeter was able to move the ball, it wasn't enough to combat Harrisburg's explosiveness.

"They're big boys up front," Sarangoulis said. "I think my line handled it very well. We were chopping wood, getting good yardage on almost every run."

Schappell, a high-impact two-way player, finished with five catches for 60 yards and a big sack on defense that forced a field goal.

Exeter (8-3) was 2-2 through four games. It closed the regular season with six consecutive wins by at least 15 points each.

After replacing 10 starters and most of their line, the Eagles made a return trip to districts.

That'll have to be enough.

"It shows how far we've come," Bauer said. "Eight wins almost feels like a disappointment. Eight wins is a helluva season."

Article from the Reading Eagle: http://www.readingeagle.com/sports/article/football-exeter-falls-to-harrisburg