Andre Poe might have summed it up best when asked what it felt like to compete in Friday night’s District One Quad-A title game against Neshaminy.
“It was like lightening,” North Penn’s junior defensive end said. “It was just incredible. I don’t think I’ll ever feel like that again. It was beyond words.”
This was the SOL’s version of ‘Friday Night Lights’ as the two perennial powers squared off for a district crown, and if the Knights were waiting for the perfect stage to turn in their defensive performance of the year, they found it in front of a capacity crowd at William Tennent High School on Friday night, keeping the talented Redskins off the scoreboard in a 28-0 win.
“We were getting off the ball,” Poe said. “We kept our heads in the game even if they gained yardage, and we brought a lot of intensity and were very fired up.”
The game’s defining moment came late in the third quarter when – with the Knights on top 14-0 – the Redskins elected to go for it on fourth-and-one from their own 29-yard line.
“I was really surprised,” Poe said. “I felt kind of offended that they would go for it, especially that early not thinking we would stop it.”
The Knights’ goal line defense stood tall, stonewalling the leaping Jay Colbert before he could vault over a throng of Knight defenders.
“It was just about who was going to play harder, who was the best on the field,” said Poe. “I saw (Andrew) Stoll jump over that huddle and make that stop.
“After that, everything was clicking, and when our North Penn team gets to clicking, there’s really no way to break down that machine.”
Shutting out the talented Redskins didn’t seem like a remote possibility when they took the opening kickoff of the game and marched 45 yards to the Knights’ 19-yard line, picking up four consecutive first downs.
“When they got first and 10 on the 20, I said, ‘Look, be patient. Let’s make them kick a field goal here,’” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “I didn’t want the D-backs to be trying to get an interception on a play they shouldn’t be intercepting and letting them get behind us.
“We tried to get our linebackers to make sure they would get in their drop zone and not be blitzing at the wrong time. I thought our linebackers did an outstanding job of getting their drop zones.”
The Knights dug in, and a pair of Redskin runs netted no gain. On third-and-10, Knight safety Joe Godio came up with a huge deflection, forcing the Redskins to settle for a 36-yard field goal attempt. The kick hooked just wide left.
“We had to be patient and not let them get the big play,” junior linebacker Mike Culbreath said. “It was real big showing we could stop them.”
Things were never the same for either team after that opening drive.
“They were driving, and we shifted to a man (defense) and got two stops on first and second down and brought a blitz at them,” Beck said. “You get one stop and you get the next stop – after that, I think the kids kind of said, ‘You know what, I don’t think they can do that all the way down the field on us.’
“You could kind of see the confidence build after the first drive.”
That confidence went up several notches when – on the Knights’ ensuing drive – Ronnie Akins blew by every defender in his path with one nifty move after another for a 42-yard touchdown run that put the Knights on top 7-0 after Brandon McManus nailed the extra point.
The tone had been set.
Take away a Redskin drive as time was about to expire in the contest, and Neshaminy got the ball over midfield just twice the rest of the way – once advancing to North Penn’s 46 and later taking it to the 44.
A fourth-quarter sequence that underscored the Knights’ defensive dominance began with Neshaminy quarterback Brian Titus finding tight end Paul Carrezola for a modest four-yard pickup.
On second down, Tyler Shearer threw Titus for an 11-yard loss, and then came a tremendous tackle of Colbert on a screen pass by Tom Conaway, limiting the gifted running back to just four yards. On fourth down, as Poe was closing in on Titus, the Redskin quarterback lofted a pass that was intercepted by Stoll.
“For me – after that first snap, after that first hit, I’m ready,” Poe said. “Seeing their line – it might have been one of the biggest lines we’ve seen all year, but that didn’t cross my mind.
“All I kept doing was starting at that ball and focusing on getting across the line.”
The turnover was the fourth of the game for the Redskins, and it put an exclamation point on a stellar effort by the Knights’ defense.
“We really didn’t change anything after that first drive,” Culbreath said. “We just stayed confident and kept fighting - staying low, fighting blocks and focusing on the fundamentals.”
The Knights have earned a date with Liberty in Friday night’s Eastern Final at William Tennent High School. Liberty, which fell to North Penn 23-15 in the season opener on Aug. 29, routed Washington 30-13.
“We celebrated over the weekend,” Culbreath said. “But we have to stay focused about next week’s game. We still have higher goals.”
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