Sean Baldwin. Trey Farmer.
They’re not exactly household words to fans of North Penn football, but talk to coach Dick Beck about the success of a Knight squad that is averaging close to 36 points a game, and it won’t be long before their names come up in conversation.
“Both of them have had very good years for us,” the Knights’ coach said. “Our question marks going into the season were our offensive and defensive lines.”
Baldwin and Farmer put to rest any concern Beck may have had about his offensive line. The two senior captains have been the undisputed leaders of a line that has excelled - Baldwin at guard and Farmer at tackle.
“I knew those two were going to be good players, but could they carry the other guys along with them?” Beck said. “I try and tell the guys – we’ll only go as far as the line takes us. 
“Those guys have made that group better by their leadership, their work ethic and showing the way. We make a lot of adjustments during the week and during the game – we’re always changing blocking schemes. These guys have helped the more inexperienced guys along. They have been our anchors all year.”
They are, in many ways, the Knights’ version of ‘fire and ice.’
Baldwin is the fire, Farmer, the ice.
“Sean is the emotional leader on our team,” Beck said. “He’s the guy giving the fiery speeches, getting guys going when things are bad. He also brings a lot of intensity with his play. He’s much more verbal than Trey.
“Trey is super quiet and unassuming. He’s one of those kids that works hard, never complains. If he does something wrong, he listens and takes criticism.”
Together they’ve formed a winning combination on the line, albeit a very unlikely one as recently as a year and a half ago when Baldwin was high on the depth chart after a successful year on the sophomore squad but Farmer was relatively unknown.
“Trey came out of nowhere,” Beck said. “Usually when kids come in from ninth to 10th grade, the coaches give you opinions about who you have coming in. I heard good things about Sean, but I could tell you honestly I don’t think I heard one thing about Trey.
“I probably didn’t even know Trey’s name until about mid-spring his sophomore year.”
Farmer knew he hadn’t exactly made a big impression, and he decided to do something about it.
“I just worked hard,” he said. “I wanted to make sure I was playing varsity my junior year. I wanted to just get their attention, so I worked my hardest.”
Beck took notice.
“Trey, especially when he was a sophomore going into his junior year, did not have an offensive lineman’s build,” the Knights’ coach said. “He wasn’t somebody that jumped out at you when you saw him. Through working his butt off in the weight room, he developed that.
“His technique and his intensity are at the level where he’s a leader by example.”
Both Farmer and Baldwin got involved in football at a relatively late age. Baldwin began playing in eighth grade after a short-lived attempt in fifth grade when he was forced to quit playing for the Cannoneers because of knee problems.
“I had to take a year off from sports, and I just decided to stay with basketball for a while,” Baldwin said. “In middle school, my gym teacher came up to me and said, ‘I think you’d be great for football. Why don’t you give it a shot this year?’
“My knees were feeling good, so I went out for it. Once I got into football, I just fell in love with it. It turned out it was the right sport for me.”
Farmer – who played soccer and basketball – didn’t get his start until ninth grade.
“All my friends were saying I should play football because of my size, so I decided to go out for the team,” he said. “I ended up liking it.”
So much so that Farmer – who also plays on the defensive line for the Knights - would like to play at the collegiate level.
“I didn’t think I was going to do anything my sophomore year when I was just playing for the sophomore team, and coach didn’t even know my name,” he said. “I knew I had to work harder, so I could eventually earn that varsity spot.”
Farmer and Baldwin, both starters on the ‘O’ line as juniors, are enjoying their supporting roles on a team with its share of big-name players in the backfield.
“I enjoy it,” Baldwin said. “I feel we have the most important job – no offense to the backs.”
And then he added with a laugh, “We make them look good.”
“I like it,” added Farmer. “Just knowing I helped them get those touchdowns and all those yards means a lot.”
Both are enjoying every minute of a season that has seen the Knights roll to an 11-0 record. Last week, the Knights threw a scare into their fans when they went into halftime of their opening round district game against Souderton deadlocked 7-7.
“I could tell the crowd was all nervous going into halftime 7-7,” Farmer said. “In the playoffs, anything can happen.”
At least one person wasn’t concerned.
“I was relaxed,” Baldwin said. “I was more excited that we actually had a game on our hands. It was a lot of fun.”
The senior captain says he didn’t give a fiery halftime speech.
“I don’t get real angry,” Baldwin said. “I don’t try and get everybody rowdy in the locker room. I just try and keep calm, tell everybody we’re still in it, keep our heads up.
“Once we get on the field at the beginning of halftime, we’ll do our little psyche drill. I’ll just yell and tell them – this is our game, this is our half, we can’t let go – this is our season.”
A season the Knights hope will end with a championship.
“It’s great,” Baldwin said of the playoffs. “This is the most exciting part ever.
“All the seniors know that for most of us it’s our last season ever playing football, our last season ever playing in the stadium, so we all want to take great advantage of it and continue to push as hard as we can.”
The Knights’ next obstacle will be a fired-up Abington squad in an all-SOL showdown at Crawford Stadium.
It should be interesting.
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