Link to Photo Gallery: http://sos.exposuremanager.com/g/091208_north_penn_vs_st_joes_prep_dw
By Scott Huff
The North Penn-St. Joseph Prep game Friday night at Crawford Stadium did not live up to its pre-game hype.
Mother Nature wouldn’t let it as the host Knights slogged their way to a 14-7 victory over the Hawks. The game was played during a driving rainstorm and on a field that was treacherous – at best.
“Anybody know a good landscaper,” joked North Penn coach Dick Beck as he gazed over the field that was ravaged with gaping holes and pocked with muddy puddles of water. “We really couldn’t do anything offensively under these conditions – but neither could they.”
The Hawks entered the game as the second-ranked team in the state according to Pennsylvania Football News – North Penn was ranked number four. The Prep was ranked number one in Eastern football by EasternPAFootball.com – while the Knights were ranked number two.
“We had to keep everything offensively in the middle of the field,” said Beck. “I thought the weather might be an advantage to them, but we came up with a nice job defensively.”
St. Joseph Prep averages a hefty 265 pounds along the offensive line and loves to run the football. Through the Crawford Stadium quagmire, the Hawks rushed for 182 yards and finished with just 206 yards of total offense.
And 60 of those yards came on a single play as running back Michael Yeager broke through the Knights for a long distance score. Yeager – who had a team-high 117 yards on 13 carries – scored in the third quarter to shave the North Penn lead to 14-7.
“Really, that was the only breakdown we had on defense the whole night,” said Beck. “I thought that Andrew Stoll, Ronnie Akins, Dom Taggart, and Joe Godio played very well.”
North Penn made its 14 first period points stand up – and the Knights also dialed long distance for their touchdowns.
The Hawks second offensive series resulted in a punt. The Prep punt was a line drive that was fielded cleanly by Akin at the 24-yard line.
Akin darted through the first wave of defenders and then jetted along the Prep sideline to race 76-yards for a touchdown. Brandon McManus booted the first of his two conversions.
“Scoring there was a great feeling,” said Akins. “I got some good blocking, and I just ran as fast as I could.”
The Knights added a second score in the first period to take a 14-0 lead.
The Hawks booted a punt that pinned North Penn back on its four-yard line. But a simple handoff to Knight running back Tyler Smith resulted in a sparkling 96-yard TD run.
“Tyler reads the defense on that play,” said Beck. “He takes the handoff and decides whether to take it inside or out.”
“Tyler showed a lot of speed on that play,” smiled Akins. “It was nice to get some points on the board.”
Smith finished the night with a game-high 147 yards on 13 carries and the 96-yard touchdown.
The North Penn offense, though, sputtered most of the evening. The Knights were hampered not only by the poor condition of the field, but also by mental and physical errors.
North Penn was flagged for a staggering 10 penalties – all on offense. And during the first offensive series of the second half, the Knights were penalized on four successive plays and faced a second and 47 yards to go for a first down.
“That was pretty embarrassing,” said Beck. “Obviously, we are going to have to do better with that.”
One of the Knight penalties nullified a gorgeous 16-yard scoring pass from quarterback Justin Davey to Akins in the corner of the end zone.
“I thought it was six,” said Akins. “I saw the ball, got as high as I could, and kept one foot inbounds in the back of the end zone.”
“We’re proud to be 3-0 for the season, but we can’t be satisfied with that,” said Beck. “Our league schedule starts next week with Central Bucks South, and those are the games that count.”
There is a possibility that North Penn could meet St. Joseph’s Prep down the road in a PIAA playoff situation.
“Anything is possible,” said Akins. “But we have to concentrate on the seven games in front of us.”
A possible North Penn – St. Joe Prep playoff game will be hyped – and maybe Mother Nature will let them live up to it this time.
St. Joseph Prep 0 0 7 0 - 7
North Penn 14 0 0 0 - 14
NP – Akins 76 yard punt return (McManus kick)
NP – Smith 96 run (McManus kick)
SJP – Yeager 60 run (Skalamera kick)
SJP NP
First Downs 8 6
Rushing Yards 182 183
Passing Yards 24 16
Total Yards 206 199
Passing 4-14-1 4-10-0
F / L 7-1 7-0
Pen/Yds 2-20 10-65
Punts/Avg 9-25 8-33
St. Joe Prep
Rushing: Yeager 14-117-TD; Compton 14-71; Giubilato 7 (minus 5). Totals 35-182-TD
Passing: Giubilato 4-14-1; 24 yards
Receiving: Bonner 3-26; Yeager 1 (minus 2). Totals 4-24.
North Penn
Rushing: Smith 13-147-TD; Davey 13-18; Akins 4-15; Stoll 3-3. Totals: 33-183-TD
Passing: Davey 4-10-0; 16 yards.
Receiving: Smith 2-8; Akins 1-8; Stoll 1-0. Totals 4-16.
Link to Photo Gallery: http://sos.exposuremanager.com/g/091208_north_penn_vs_st_joes_prep_dw
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