The Quaker Valley football team walked off the field as a winner in 2025.
QV shut out McGuffey, 21-0, in its season finale Oct. 24 on the Highlanders’ home turf.
“It was a great way to end the season for us,” said Tom Eshenbaugh, the Quakers’ first-year coach. “Our defense played great; it bent a few times but never broke. That included a goal line stop on fourth-and-1.
“Offensively, we were able to control the clock and produce points. We probably took a couple chances we shouldn’t have, but it was the last game of the year and I asked our OC to open the playbook and have some fun.”
QV snapped a four-game losing streak to finish 4-6 overall and 1-5 in the Class 3A Western Hills Conference. It was the fourth time McGuffey (0-10, 0-6) was shut out this season and marked the first whitewash for the Quakers in 2025.
“Overall, I was happy with year one,” Eshenbaugh said, “happy but not satisfied. We fell one game short of a playoff berth, and the goal is always to play in the postseason. I feel like we were one quarter away from that goal. The second quarter in the Beaver game really didn’t go our way and was the difference in that game.
“We play in a brutally competitive conference. If we played in any other (3A) conference, I strongly believe we would be playing in the postseason. Avonworth, Beaver, Central Valley, Hopewell and North Catholic are all playing postseason ball. There are teams with the same record in (the playoffs) right now, but we already have five from our section in. However, it only makes us stronger.”
Logan Benedict, a 5-foot-9, 175-pound senior wide receiver/defensive back, ended his high school career with an impressive individual performance.
Benedict reeled in four passes covering 84 yards and scored all three QV touchdowns, twice on 24-yard receptions and a third on a 27-yard catch.
“Logan had a career night with three touchdowns and some great defensive plays,” Eshenbaugh said. “Rex Fatur also caused a fumble for us and Tyler Cunnard had a great scoop-and-run for about 40 yards.”
Benedict finished with a team-high 31 receptions for 373 yards and six touchdowns in 2025. But he was quick to praise QV’s defensive effort versus McGuffey.
“I feel like we had our best team performance on defense,” he said. “We never got down on each other we played as a team the whole game.
“Some of my favorite memories in my football career are scoring my first varsity touchdown in a win against Seton LaSalle my freshman year and in the last game of my senior year against McGuffey having three receiving touchdowns and getting the shutout to win the game.”
QV senior quarterback/linebacker Atticus Barr completed nine of 18 passes for 133 yards and the three scores in his team’s final game.
“We played a solid four quarters,” Barr said. “We played together as a team and just went out there and had fun one last time. I’m extremely proud of my teammates this year; they continued to battle through adversity, low numbers and a tough conference.
“No matter what happened, we stuck together and continued to play as a team throughout the entire season.”
For the season, Barr connected on 67 of 154 passes for 748 yards, nine TDs and nine interceptions. He said he has many great memories from his football career at QV.
“Here are just a few of my favorites,” he said, “throwing my first varsity touchdown in my sophomore year in our homecoming win against Hopewell; scoring on a 55-yard pick-six against Central Valley earlier this year; the last throw of my high school career being a touchdown; and getting to end my career in victory formation after our first shutout in eight years.
“I would very much like to thank the QV football players, coaches and fans for an amazing four years filled with memories and a family I won’t forget.”
The Quakers held a 14-0 halftime lead against McGuffey before Barr and Benedict tacked on another score in the third quarter.
“One thing that was consistent when talking to other coaches was the toughness and never-quit attitude from our boys,” Eshenbaugh said. “It comes down to roster numbers; even five or 10 more players could have made a difference this year.
“As far as the season goes, Rex Fatur was our leader on defense. He produced the most tackles and was our defensive play caller. Ty Popowich, Ben McHenry, Logan Benedict, Malachi Adams and Kris Brown also played a big part on defense this year.”
A 6-2, 200-pound senior, Fatur manned a linebacker position on defense and played at the fullback position on offense. Popowich, McHenry, Benedict and Brown also are seniors. Adams is a sophomore.
“I would like to thank all my coaches over the years for everything they taught me,” Benedict said, “and helping me grow on and off the field.”
Quaker Valley started out 2-0 and 3-2 in 2025 with nonconference victories against Freedom, 38-20, Keystone Oaks, 20-13, and Valley, 29-20.
“McHenry, Benedict and Fatur were a three-headed monster for us this year,” said Eshenbaugh, who was named coach of the year in the conference. “All three had great seasons, along with quality reps by Popowich. Barr did a good job commanding the offense, as well.”
McHenry (85-583), Fatur (90-531 yards) and Benedict (76-287) combined to rush for 1,401 yards on 251 carries this season, an average of 5.6 yards per attempt.
McHenry started at wingback and safety and added kick returner, kicker and punter to his game-day duties. He led QV in scoring with seven touchdowns, 14 PAT kicks, one field goal and a two-point conversion, good for 61 total points. Benedict was next with seven scores followed by Fatur with four.
One of nine returning starters, McHenry rushed for 110 yards on 14 carries, scored on an 88-yard kickoff return, threw a 50-yard scoring pass, kicked a 38-yard field goal and, for good measure, added a 16-yard touchdown run — all in his team’s Week Zero game Aug. 22 at Chuck Knox Stadium against Freedom.
QV’s receiving corps in ‘25 consisted of Benedict, McHenry (17-187, 1 TD), senior WR/LB Ronnie Berry (9-97, 2 TDs), Popowich (8-81, 1 TD) and Fatur (5-44).
McHenry accounted for 820 total yards this season with 583 rushing, 187 receiving and 50 passing.
McHenry, Benedict, Fatur and Brown were four-year starters for the Quakers.
Benedict (athlete) and McHenry (DB) were named first-team all-conference on defense. Fatur (ILB) received second team status; Brown (tackle) and Popowich landed honorable mention accolades.
McHenry (RB) and Fatur (FB) were lauded as second-team all-conference on offense. Three players — Benedict (athlete), Barr (QB) and Brown (DL) — were honorable mention selections.
“I’m going to take a couple of weeks off to regroup,” Eshenbaugh said, “but I’ll be back in the gym watching basketball and wrestling — cheering on my players and recruiting kids who didn’t play this year.
“We have 11 potential incoming freshmen for next year, and we will try to grow that number. I hope our initial success will fuel that mission.”