North Penn defeated Pennsbury 27-20 in a key SOL National Conference battle. Check back for game action photos by Darryl Rule of J&D Photography.
By Scott Huff
Fairless Hills – North Penn sophomore Justis Hensley etched his name into the continuing legacy of the Knights domination of Pennsbury.
North Penn (6-2, 5-0) defeated the proud Falcons (6-2, 4-1) - 27-20 - at Falcon Field to take over sole possession of first place in the Suburban One League National Conference. It was the 15th consecutive victory for the Knights over Pennsbury – and the 10th straight win for Knight head coach Dick Beck over the Black and Orange during his tenure. Pennsbury has not beaten North Penn since 1996.
And it was the big-play ability of the diminutive Henley – who stands just 5-10 and 146 pounds – that secured the key victory for the Knights. Henley – who did not score a single point for the winners - still made significant plays on offense, defense, and special teams.
On offense – Henley caught three key passes for 52 yards and kept scoring drives alive for North Penn in the first half. On special teams – Henley caught a ‘lateral’ on a gadget return of the second half kickoff and raced 55 yards to set up a Knight third period touchdown. And on defense– Henley intercepted a desperation Pennsbury pass on the game’s final play of the game that finally secured the victory.
“I really didn’t know what to think about on that last play of the game,” smiled Henley. “All I know is that I didn’t want to let anyone behind me – and I really wanted to get to the ball.
“On the play on the kickoff – we just drew it up this week,” added Henley. “Spencer (Jones) made a great pass over to me – and I just took off.
“Being able to play in a game like this was a great experience for me,” continued Henley. “I am thankful that the coaches gave me the chance to play as much as I did tonight.”
Beck is just as thankful for his speedy sophomore.
“Justis has a very bright future,” said Beck. “He has played so well in recent games it seems like we just can’t take him off the field.”
North Penn opened the scoring with a 10-play scoring drive on its first possession that covered 68 yards.
Junior quarterback Reece Udinski – who polished off an impressive night with 13 completions for 260 yards and a touchdown – fueled the scoring drive with three completions. Udinski connected with Henley on two of those passes for 35 yards – and also located junior Nick Vasger for a 32-yard gain. Senior Nyfease West – back after missing the last three weeks due to injury – culminated the drive with a two-yard burst. The point after touchdown failed – and North Penn settled for a 6-0 first period lead.
Pennsbury came back in the second period to take an 8-6 lead. The Falcon scoring drive covered 74 yards on nine plays and was capped by a brilliant 32-yard scoring run by senior quarterback Mike Alley. Pennsbury took what proved to be its only lead of the game moments later when Chris Rupprecht scored on a 2-point conversion.
North Penn would answer with a scoring drive on its next possession. Udinski completed four passes on the drive totaling 63 yards – and West capped off the scoring drive with a three-yard run. Udinski tossed a 2-point conversion pass to Owen Thomas to give the Knights a 14-8 lead.
The Knights received the second half kickoff and used the gadget play to set up their third period score. Jones cradled the second half kickoff at the 18-yard line – and with 11 Falcon defenders converging on him – fired a lateral from one sideline to the other to Henley who raced all the way to the Pennsbury 28-yard line.
“We really thought we could hit with that play,” said Beck. “We worked on it all week – and Dante Watson made a great block to get Justis to the edge and down the sideline.”
A penalty at the end of the play moved the ball to the 14-yard line – and senior Nick Isabella bolted in on the first play from scrimmage in the second half to increase the Knight advantage. Kelly Mcnamara added the PAT to boost the North Penn lead to 21-8.
Pennsbury refused to go away and went on an impressive 11-play scoring drive to cut the lead to 21-14. Rupprecht carried on six of those plays and capped the scoring drive with a two-yard scoring run.
North Penn – again – answered quickly on its ensuing possession. This time it was a big play 67-yard touchdown connection from Udinski to junior Jake Hubler.
Pennsbury – again – refused to go away. This time it was an impressive 13-play scoring march – that covered 73 yards – and was capped on an 11-yard scoring pass from Alley to senior Luke Snyder.
The Pennsbury defense came up with a stop – and the offense got to the Knight 42-yard line as the clock ran down. A spiraling Falcon pass to the end zone fell into the hands of Henley as time expired.
“We still control our own destiny as far as making the district playoffs,” said Pennsbury head coach Galen Snyder. “We will go out and play hard next week – and who knows – we might see them again.”
North Penn Knights 6 8 7 6 - 27
Pennsbury Falcons 0 8 0 12 - 20
NP: Nyfease West 2 run (kick failed)
PB: Mike Alley 32 run (Chris Rupprecht run)
NP: West 3 run (Owen Thomas pass from Reece Udinski)
NP: Nick Isabella 14 run (Kelly Mcnamara kick)
PB: Rupprecht 2 run (kick failed)
NP: Jake Hubler 67 pass from Udinski (kick blocked)
PB: Luke Snyder 11 pass from Alley (run failed)
North Penn Knights Pennsbury Falcons
18 First Downs 14
60 Rushing Yards 194
260 Passing Yards 33
320 Total Offense 227
1-38 Punts / Average 4-36
2-20 Penalties / Yards 1-15
North Penn:
Rushing: Nick Isabella 9-57 & TD; Nyfease West 13-23 & 2 TD; Justin Ostopowicz 1-1; and Reece Udinski 7 (-21). Totals – 30-60 & 3 TD.
Passing: Reece Udinski 13-19-0; 260 yards & TD.
Receiving: Jake Hubler 4-101 & TD; Justis Henley 3-52; Nick Vasger 2-38; Justin Ostopowicz 2-26; Owen Thomas 1-17; and Ricky Johns 1-16. Totals – 13-260 & TD.
Pennsbury:
Rushing: Mike Alley 21-83 & TD; Chris Rupprecht 16-62 & TD; Daulton Hose 15-50; Rob Daly 2-3; and Luke Snyder 2 (-4). Totals 56-194 & 2 TD.
Passing: Mike Alley 3-7-0; 33 yards & TD.
Receiving: Rob Daly 2-22; and Luke Snyder 1-11 & TD.
- Log in to post comments
