They’re not big in stature, and at first glance, there’s really nothing all that intimidating about North Penn’s defensive line.
Until, that is, they step onto the football field.
Marcus McGraw (5-9, 210), Dave Jackson (5-9, 200), Andre Poe (6-0, 185) and Chuck Knower (6-1, 200) might comprise one of the smallest front fours in the area in high school football, averaging just under 200 pounds. Throw in reserve Anthony Ortiz (5-11, 175), and the line’s average drops even lower.
But size is the only place this group of young men comes up small.
The Knights’ defensive line boasts something more important than size –it’s called speed and smarts.
“Our philosophy on defense is speed,” coach Dick Beck said. “If anything I’ve learned at CB West with Mike Pettine and Mike Carey, it was to put your fast guys on defense and don’t worry about size.
“We have some genuine speed on defense, and the kids are very bright. They have a lot of football savvy. It can be complicated adjusting to sets and what we’re doing coverage-wise, and the kids have been amazing.”
The results speak for themselves. The Knights are 7-0 entering week seven of the season and ranked 21st nationally in the latest MaxPreps Top 25.
But these players don’t pay a whole lot of attention to polls or rankings.
“It’s very easy to maintain your focus with Beck,” Poe said. “He always reminds us – we’re only as good as our next win. If we get a win, we treat it like it’s the first win of the season.
“We really don’t pay attention to the politics of what they say about us. We just go out there and play and work hard. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what helps us keep our mindset.”
Players discover quickly there’s a price to pay if you lose your focus.
Just ask McGraw, a junior starter at defensive tackle in the Knights’ season-opening 42-10 win over defending state champion Liberty.
“I came out the next week and had a lousy week of practice thinking, ‘Oh, it’s just Lansdale Catholic,’ and I wind up not starting that game,” he said. “I got very little play time during that game.
“Personally, for me, we have so much competition within the positions, and we always want to get better.”
McGraw quickly worked his way back into the starting lineup, and he hasn’t left. As a matter of fact, he believes the Knights have some unfinished business.
“As a sophomore last year, I got to dress at the end of the year,” he said. “I didn’t play, but I was in the locker room after the loss to Liberty in the state semifinals – it was a bad feeling. It was a really bad feeling, and I don’t want to feel that again.
“We want the 16-0. We want to go to Hershey. We constantly try to stay motivated and keep getting better and better every week.”
The defensive line is the driving force of a unit that has allowed an average of less than seven points a game in league play, under 10 points in six games overall.
“We’re always communicating,” Jackson said. “At the end of every play, we’re telling each other what we could have done better.
“When we’re coming off the field, we’re talking to the defensive line coach (Zach Raffle), and he’s telling us what we need to do. We all want the next big hit, we want the next tackle, and we’re just competing with each other. That’s how we get better.”
There’s also the little matter of chemistry – this group of players has it.
“We’re good friends in school, and we push each other,” Poe said. “As a senior, I’m a leader for my players on the line. Any time one of them isn’t going hard enough, I let them know. We push each other.”
“We talk to each other about everything,” Knower added. “We see each other in school. We’re all really good friends.
“We all focus on making whatever the coach wants us to do the key thing that we work on each week. Every week we work on something different, and everything we have learned is coming together, and we’re playing very well.”
‘Playing very well’ hardly covers the performance of the Knights’ starting defensive unit in Friday night’s 43-13 win over Quakertown that saw the Panthers manage five net yards total offense in the first half as the Knights opened up a 41-0 halftime lead.
“We heard they said that they thought the weakest part of our defense was our defensive line, and they wanted to try and line up and run between the tackles,” McGraw said. “That definitely got us fired up as defensive linemen. That’s not going to happen. We’re going to come out and play our best. That’s motivation right there.”
Making the job easier for the defense is an offense that has been scoring points in bunches.
“That’s one of the things that’s surprised me,” Poe said. “I knew the guys were working hard, but they went in there and stepped it up. They really came through for us.
“We have a lot of young talented guys, and they really filled some big shoes for us.”
So far this season, the Knights have outscored their opponents 160-27 in SOL play and 258-58 overall.
“A lot of games we have jumped out to a 21-0 lead,” Jackson added. “(Opposing) offenses automatically have to go in a passing mode, and we get to sit back and get our pass rushing on.
“A lot of people didn’t think our offense would be that good, but Craig (Needhammer) stepped up his game, and Todd (Smolinsky) is a senior quarterback, and he knows the offense really well. Our offensive line is mostly seniors, and they have done an amazing job. They’re not the biggest line either, but they’ve been firing off the ball, staying on their blocks. Our offense has just picked it up.”
In much the same way that the defensive line has ‘picked it up’ as it regularly finds itself lined up against much bigger opponents.
“I love the challenge,” Poe said. “We stay low, we play big, and we go in with the mindset we have to beat them. We don’t think about our size. We use speed and technique, and we never stop trying.
“We treat every game as seriously as if it’s a state game.”
“When we played St. Joe’s Prep, I went up against a kid that was 6-6, 290,” Knower added. “He was a big kid, but you have to use your speed to your advantage, and you have to play tough.
“We play against guys that are twice our size, and if you don’t play tough, you’re not going to play. He (Beck) trains us to make us as fast as we can be, and you always try to beat the person in front of you off the ball. We give it our all every game, we give 100 percent all the time.”
Anything less would not be acceptable to a coaching staff that demands excellence.
“It’s all about coaching consistently, never being satisfied with those guys up front,” Beck said. “From game to game, we don’t let them relax. They’ve got to know that they have to improve every game.”
The players have gotten that message loud and clear.
“The way we maintain excellence is we go to practice, and we give it our all,” Poe said. “If you don’t the coaches stay on us. It’s a lot of help from coach Beck too. He’s one of the best coaches in the State of Pennsylvania, if not the best.”
“Our coaches push us very hard,” Jackson added. “They know what they’re talking about, and we really want to win.”
There’s a decided sense of pride for those involved with North Penn football.
For Knower, that pride was instilled long before he set foot on the field at North Penn. His grandfather, Al Brodhag, was the football coach at North Penn from 1962-70, and his squad won a Bux-Mont League co-championship in 1968.
“He’s been teaching me, and just to be part of the tradition is awesome,” Knower said. “The school spirit is amazing, and to say that I play for North Penn puts a smile on my face. I love it. It’s awesome.”
“By the grace of God, I have been blessed to be on a good team like this,” McGraw added. “It’s a privilege to be on a team like this. We have a lot of players that are junior varsity, and if they would be at other schools, they would be that team’s best player.
“A lot of the kids on the team I’ve been playing with since I was eight years old. We have a lot of people that love football, and it makes it fun. We’re all close, we’re all friends.”
On Friday night, the Knights will face Souderton in their Homecoming Game.
“Souderton seems to have some pretty good players,” Poe said. “They have some pretty good backs. We’re looking for a challenge from them too.
“They’re going to come at us – they want to smack us in the mouth too. We’re their Super Bowl. They’re going to play hard.”
That’s hardly news to a Knight squad that is accustomed to taking opposing team’s best shot and just seems to get better every time out.
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