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By Scott Huff
N
EWTOWN – Venerable North Penn athletic director Don Ryan wandered around Walt Snyder Stadium clutching the PIAA Quad-A District One championship trophy after the Knights dominated Neshaminy, 42-6, in the title game.
EWTOWN – Venerable North Penn athletic director Don Ryan wandered around Walt Snyder Stadium clutching the PIAA Quad-A District One championship trophy after the Knights dominated Neshaminy, 42-6, in the title game.The loss of the District One title to Ridley (19-10) last season quickly evaporated into the chilly air as North Penn was in total control on both sides of the football over its Suburban One League rival.
“This never gets old,” smiled North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “Every year is special and every group of kids is special. To play in front of 6,000 or 7,000 people is special – if it isn’t you better check your pulse.
“It is nice to play a game like this against a class organization like Neshaminy,” added Beck. “Mark (Schmidt) does a great job with his team. There is no chippy play on either side, no trash talking, just play the game of football.”
And did North Penn ever play the game of football.
“I really hoped we could play that well on the defensive side of the ball,” said Beck as his Knights were relentless in disarming the potent Neshaminy weapons.
One particular defensive play that set the gold standard of defensive play for the Knights was a hit made by senior Dominic Taggart in the open field on talented senior Redskin fullback Corey Majors.
The Villanova-bound Majors – who had just caught a swing pass from quarterback Charlie Marterella – squared his shoulders after the reception and was headed full speed downfield in front of the North Penn bench.
Taggart blasted Majors with a flawless, punishing, tackle to end the play with a meager three-yard gain. If there was a Spalding Guide in football, it could be described as the picture-perfect tackle.
“That’s just something that Dominic has done all year,” said Beck. “It is what we have come to expect.”
What most people didn’t expect was the gold-star performance of the Knight defense against a powerful Redskin offense. Neshaminy entered the game with an offense that generated a shade over 32 points per game.
“We knew that they had a lot of stars on offense,” said gifted North Penn safety Gerard Wendowski who intercepted two key Skin passes. “We knew that they had big receivers and were going to be able to get to the ball. We had to work hard to shut them down.”
“We knew that we had to have 11 players playing together as a team,” said North Penn linebacker Matt Donovan who seemed to be all over the field making plays and also intercepted a pass. “We knew that they were a good team.”“If you don’t do your job on defense, someone is going to jump down your throat,” said North Penn senior Marcus McGraw who helped stifle the Redskin offense. “And you better pick it up.”
The North Penn defense was especially impressive – and so was the Knight offense that generated 323 yards of total offense and scored 42 points.
The initial drive of the game for both teams produced a huge momentum swing in the game.
Neshaminy had a fourth-and-two on the Knight 48 yard line on its first drive. The Skins elected to go for the first down and managed to gain one yard-two feet-and 11 inches and came up just short of the first down marker.
“If it were me, I would have gone for it too,” said Beck. “You have to be able to score points, and sometimes with that type of field position you have to take a chance.”
North Penn scored one play later as senior running back Craig Needhammer jetted 54-yards for the game’s first score. Needhammer – who did not play in the second half due to a ‘rolled’ ankle – would gain 105 yards on just four rushing attempts.
Wendowski came up with his first interception on the ensuing Neshaminy possession, and six plays later North Penn scored to extend the lead to 14-0. The TD play came on a gorgeous 12-yard pass from quarterback Corey Ernst to tight end Ralphie Reeves.
The third Knight touchdown followed a critical interception by Donovan that created a short field for NP. It took North Penn just four plays to cover 29-yards as Taggart bulled in from the one-yard line.
The 21-0 advantage would become the score at the half.North Penn iced the game with a touchdown drive to open the second half. The Knights needed just four plays to cover 71-yards with the scoring play a splendid 49-yard TD sprint to the end zone by Brandon Mercer.
“The one advantage that I thought we might have coming in the game was speed,” said Beck. “And I thought we were able to use that speed tonight.”
The Knight defense handed the NP offense some more terrific field position as Wendowski intercepted his second pass and returned it to the Neshaminy 14-yard line.
It took the Knights four plays to find pay dirt as Mercer scurried into the end zone from five yards out. And when Brandon Mandes kicked his fifth extra point of the game, the game suddenly became a ‘mercy-rule’ game at 35-0.
North Penn scored a ‘running-clock’ touchdown on the first drive of the fourth period to make the score 42-0. The march showcased the second team NP offense as the Knights scored with 5:33 left in the game. Junior running back James Fielder crashed in from the one-yard line to earn scoring honors for NP.
Neshaminy avoided a shutout with a fourth quarter touchdown run of its own. The Skins scored with 57 seconds left in the game when freshman Cole Creighton toppled into the end zone.
“Remember this night, take a good look at the trophy,” said Beck to his team after the game. “Maybe we can get another one in a couple of weeks.”
It’s a safe bet that A.D. Don Ryan would love to wander around the Hershey Park Arena with that one.
Neshaminy 0 0 0 6 - 6
North Penn 14 7 14 7 - 42
NP: Craig Needhammer 54 run (Brandon Mandes kick)
NP: Ralphie Reeves 12 pass from Corey Ernst (Mandes kick)
NP: Dominic Taggart 1 run (Mandes kick)
NP: Brandon Mercer 49 run (Mandes kick)
NP: Mercer 5 run (Mandes kick)
NP: James Fielder 1 run (Mandes kick)
N: Cole Creighton 3 run (run failed)
Neshaminy North Penn
14 First Downs 13
152 Rushing Yards 281
78 Passing Yards 42
230 Total Offense 323
0-0 Punts / Avg 1-32
4-30 Pen. / Yards 0-0
Neshaminy:
Rushing: Anthony Woodroffe 12-65; Sean Ulmer 11-48; Corey Majors 5-17; Cole Creighton 3-18 & TD; Joe Bianchino 1-5; Charlie Marterella 3 (minus 1). Totals 35-152.
Passing: Charlie Marterella 9-23-3; 58 yards; Bianchino 1-2-20. Totals 10-25-3; 78 yards.
Receiving: Bobby Marterella 2-15; Majors 2-5; Creighton 1-20; Justin Andrews 1-11; Woodroffe 1-11; Ulmer 1-10; Dwight Williams 1-4; Shane Quinn 1-2. Totals 10-78.
North Penn:
Rushing: Craig Needhammer 4-105 & TD; Brandon Mercer 5-64 & 2 TD; James Fielder 7-42 & TD; Dominic Taggart 10-40 & TD; Kyle Mayfield 3-15; Corey Ernst 3-15. Totals 32-281- 5 TD.
Passing:
Ernst 2-4-0; 37 yards & TD; Corey Rogers 1-1-0; 5 yards. Totals 3-5-0; 42 yards.
Receiving: Taggart 1-25; Ralphie Reeves 1-12 & TD; Ryan Moran 1-5. Totals 3-42 & TD.
Interceptions: Gerard Wendowski (2); Matt Donovan.
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