North Penn came up short in its bid for a PIAA Class AAAA football title, falling to Central Dauphin 14-7. To view action photos of the game, please visit the Photo Gallery. To view the Calkins Media highlight video, please click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzOx9zbtSPQ&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.phillyburbs.com%2Fsports%2Fhigh_school%2F&feature=player_embedded
By Scott Huff
Hershey – The setting for the PIAA Quad-A state title football game at HersheyPark Stadium was indeed picturesque with the snow falling gently throughout the game as 5,174 fans witnessed the contest between the North Penn Knights and the Central Dauphin Rams.
And in the end, it was the District Three - Western Champion from Central Dauphin (15-1) that celebrated its first state title with a 14-7 victory over the District One – Eastern Champion from North Penn (13-3) in the ‘Snow Globe Bowl’.
“There was so much excitement in the community about this game, and the players can look back on this as having the time of their lives,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “Even though we lost the game, the players are going to look back on this as one of the great experiences of their lives. Losing this game is going to hurt, but this group of players is a very special group. We gave a good effort.”
It was genuinely difficult for the players on the team to believe that they had lost this final game of the season. There were numerous tight-lipped smiles to be found among the tearstained faces of the seniors.
“The atmosphere here is so great, and I can’t believe that the season is over, and we didn’t come up with the win,” said North Penn senior center TJ Smink. “When we scored the touchdown to tie the game, I thought we were one play away from being a winner.”
“This was one of the greatest games that I have played in,” said North Penn senior quarterback Corey Ernst. “It was two tough teams going at it for an entire game. We were asked to give everything we had, and we did. It was a game that I will not forget.”
“This was a great game to play in, and our fans have been unbelievable,” said senior Ralphie Reeves. “It is hard to put into words what my emotions are right now, all I know is that it sucks to lose.”
Central Dauphin won the game on the big play performance of Drew Scales.
Scales – who accumulated 254 all-purpose yards for the Rams – scored the first touchdown of the game on a 74-yard scoring pass from quarterback Brandon LaVia with 7:25 left in the second period. The Knights would allow only one other completed pass – for zero yards – and eliminated the passing game for Central Dauphin the remainder of the game.
That touchdown appeared to be all that the Rams would need as the staunch Central Dauphin defense kept the explosive Knight offense in check for the first three periods. But a fourth quarter North Penn touchdown drive would knot the score at 7-7 and gave hope to the Big Blue fans.
The Knights would piece together their most impressive drive of the game as NP covered 72 yards on nine plays to force the deadlock. Showcased in the march was a spectacular catch-and-run by senior James Fielder that covered 23 yards, and a 30-yard burst by senior by Dan Gevirtz on the final play of the third period. Fielder would culminate the scoring drive with a five-yard blast with 10:09 left in the game, and it looked like the momentum had finally swung in the Knights favor.
Wrong.
Scales – who led all rushers with 109 yards on 10 carries – returned the ensuing kickoff 52 yards to the North Penn 43-yard line. Adam Hollinger – who added 79 yards on 10 carries for the Rams – rambled 36-yards to the North Penn 2-yard line. And Zayd Issah – the 6-4 inch, 210-pound junior running back – bulled in for the 2-yard to score what proved to be the final points of the game with 8:08.
“The kickoff really hurt – it gave them the momentum back,” said Beck. “That #5 (Scales) is a tremendous football player. He broke some big plays on us that really hurt.
“I thought that we left some opportunities out there to score points, especially in the first half,” added Beck. “There were some things that I thought we could do offensively, but we just didn’t get it done.”
What North Penn did get done was a Suburban One League Continental Conference championship, a PIAA District One championship, and a PIAA Eastern championship – and the 2011 Knights have much to be proud about. And both the North Penn coaching staff and the North Penn community are very satisfied with the performance of these Knights.
North Penn Knights 0 0 0 7 - 7
Central Dauphin Rams 0 7 0 7 - 14
CD: Drew Scales 74 pass from Brandon LaVia (Evan Brandes kick)
NP: James Fielder 5 run (Brandon Mandas kick)
CD: Zayd Issah 2 run (Brandes kick)
North Penn Knights Central Dauphin Rams
10 First Downs 12
131 Rushing Yards 265
62 Passing Yards 74
193 Total Offense 339
5-32 Punts / Avg 3-34
2-7 Penalties / Yds 4-40
North Penn:
Rushing: Dan Gevirtz 8-52; Corey Ernst 6-24; James Fielder 6-21 & TD; Matt Smith 2-11; Kris Akins 1-10; Kyle Mayfield 6-7; Taylor Everett 1-6. Totals 30-131 & TD.
Passing: Corey Ernst 7-15-0; 62 yards.
Receiving: Dan Gevirtz 3-20; James Fielder 1-23; Shayne Watson 1-19; Kyle Mayfield 1-1; Ralph Reeves 1 (minus 1). Totals 6-62.
Central Dauphin:
Rushing: Drew Scales 10-109; Adam Hollinger 10-79; Zayd Issah 20-58 & TD; Brandon LaVia 6-19. Totals 46-265 and TD.
Passing: Brandon LaVia 2-9-0; 74 yards.
Receiving: Drew Scales 1-74 & TD; Bobby Schaffer 1-0. Totals 2-74 & TD.
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