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By Scott Huff
Suburban One Sports Senior Writer
Franconia – North Penn scored two critical touchdowns in the final 20.4 seconds of the first half to destroy upset thoughts of host Souderton. The unbeaten Knights (7-0, 5-0) – who trailed 16-0 at one point during the first half – cruised to a 40-22 victory over the Big Red (5-3, 4-1).
“The game went from ‘wow, we’re up 16-6 at the half - to ‘did that really happen?’ we’re losing 20-16?” said disconsolate Souderton head football coach Ed Gallagher. “To go into that locker room at halftime was very demoralizing. We had played so well in the first half, and we did some very good things to get the lead.”
All the good things evaporated into the Senior Night air due to the play of North Penn senior Dominic Taggart.
A thesaurus would have to be used to describe the play of the Knight senior Domini
c Taggart. How about outstanding, wonderful, exceptional, stupendous, dazzling, marvelous, and superlative – for starters?
c Taggart. How about outstanding, wonderful, exceptional, stupendous, dazzling, marvelous, and superlative – for starters?Taggart stuck the dagger deep into the Souderton hearts by scoring five touchdowns – including both scores in the final 20 seconds of the first half.
“Dominic was The Man tonight,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “This is the type of game that we expect him to play all the time.
“We try to get him the ball in different places on offense,” added Beck as Taggart rushed for a game-high 82 yards and three scores and added 147 receiving yards and two touchdowns. “And I thought that this was the best game that he has played all year on defense.”
“What he did tonight was no surprise to us,” said Gallagher. “Taggart is a phenomenal football player – on both sides of the football. He really is that good.”
“Taggart is a stud,” said North Penn senior captain Matt Donovan, who plays both linebacker and offensive guard. “The plays that we made at the end of the first half really got us amped up. We couldn’t wait for the second half to begin.”Souderton was ready to play on its first drive of the game. The Big Red ripped off five first downs and moved to the North Penn five-yard line before settling for a 22-yard field goal by sophomore Jeff Wolf.
The Indians extended the lead to 10-0 as Souderton took advantage of good field position created by one of three lost North Penn fumbles on the night.
Souderton quarterback Tanner Allem floated a 14-yard scoring pass to Ry Yozallinas for the touchdown.
The Big Red extended the lead to 16-0 as Clint Passerella jumped into the lateral pitch and jetted 53-yards for a touchdown.
“We knew that we had to remain calm and just do what we know we can do,” said Taggart. “The coach got a little crazy, but he kept our heads up and focused on what we had to do to win the game.”
The initial North Penn scoring drive came in the second period. Taggart capped the seven-play drive with a nifty 19-yard touchdown run. The PAT failed, and the Knights trailed 16-6.
The second North Penn scoring drive came with 20.4 seconds left in the half when Taggart bulled in from the one-yard line. The march covered 10 plays – eight of which were either runs or receptions by Taggart.
Souderton fumbled the kickoff return, and North Penn took one more crack at the goal line.Taggart broke free on a 29-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback Corey Ernst with just 1.3 ticks on the scoreboard clock.
“We were hoping to be able to kick a field goal there,” said Beck. “But nobody covered Taggart, and Corey did a nice job of getting him the ball.”
Ernst finished the night with 11 completions for 215 yards and a pair of TD passes.
Brandon Mandas added the extra point, and the stunned Souderton crowd saw its beloved Big Red down 20-16 at half.North Penn appeared to assume control of the game with an 11-play scoring march to open the second half. Taggart capped the drive with a one-yard run, and Mandas upped the lead to 27-16.
Souderton, however, sliced the lead to 27-22 with its only score of the second half. Tyler Scholl concluded a nine-play drive with a 15-yard TD run – the attempt for a two-point conversion failed.
North Penn would answer quickly as Ernst threw a gorgeous 73-yard scoring pass to a streaking Taggart who had gotten behind the Big Red secondary on third-and-17.
The final Knight score came with 1:59 left in the game when senior Craig Needhammer darted seven yards for the touchdown. The Mandas kick made the score final at 40-22.
The North Penn win was the 100th victory for Beck as head coach of the Knights.
What does it mean?
“Nothing,” said Beck. “I just want to win number eight next week.”
North Penn 0 20 7 13 - 40
Souderton 3 13 0 6 - 22
S: Jeff Wolf 22 FG
S: Ry Yozallinas 14 pass from Tyler Allem (Wolf kick)
S: Clint Passarella 53 fumble return (kick failed)
NP: Dominic Taggart 19 run (kick failed)
NP: Taggart 1 run (Brandon Mandas kick)
NP: Taggart 29 pass from Corey Ernst (Mandas kick)
NP: Taggart 2 run (Mandas kick)
S: Scholl 15 run (pass failed)
NP: Taggart 73 pass from Ernst (pass failed)
NP: Craig Needhammer 7 run (Mandas kick)
North Penn Souderton
13 First Downs 13
140 Yards Rushing 155
215 Yards Passing 56
355 Total Offense 211
7-45 Pen/Yards 3-40 2-34 Punts/Avg 4-37
North Penn:
Rushing: Dominic Taggart 17-82 & 3 TD; Craig Needhammer 15-58 & TD; Brandon Mercer 4-13; Corey Ernst 7 (minus 3). Totals: 41-140 & 4 TD.
Passing: Ernst 11-18-0; 215 yards & 2 TD.
Receiving: Dominic Taggart 7-147 & 2 TD; Brandon Mercer 1-26; Craig Needhammer 1-24; Gerald Wendowski 1-11; Shayne Watson 1-7. Totals 11-215 & 2 TD
Interception: Dominic Taggart.
Souderton:
Rushing: Joe McNamara 12-63; Tyler Scholl 16-58 & TD; Javon White 7-30; Tanner Allem 1-4. Totals 36-155 & TD.
Passing: Allem 5-21-1; 56 yards.
Receiving: Ry Yozallinas 2-21 & TD; Alex Sowhanger 2-22; Tyler Scholl 1-13. Totals 5-56 & TD.
Interception: None
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