By Scott Huff
TOWAMENCIN - The frozen tundra of Lambeau Field in Green Bay actually paled in comparison to the frozen tundra of Crawford Stadium in Towamencin Township.
On a brutally frigid Friday night, North Penn (13-0) warmed the hearts of its die-hard fans with a 51-21 victory over visiting Downingtown West (11-2) in the semifinal round of the PIAA Class AAAA District One Playoffs.
The unbeaten Knights will take on Neshaminy next week, at a neutral site still to be determined, for the district title game. The Redskins (12-1) edged host Garnet Valley, 21-14, to advance to the championship game against North Penn.
“We haven’t been to a district title game in three years,” said North Penn coach Dick Beck. “One of our goals for the year was to get the program back to that level.”
“It’s going to be exciting to play Neshaminy for the title,” said North Penn running back Tyler Smith who rushed for a staggering 208 yards and three touchdowns. “Our offensive line played great tonight, and I think we made a statement in the second half.”
The Knight blue print to victory has been very similar the first three district playoff games against Souderton, Abington, and now Downingtown West. The game is relatively close in the first half, followed by total domination by North Penn in the second half.
“It just seems like we play with more emotion in the second half,” said Smith. “We seem to want it that much more, and we start to take over.”
It is actually hard to believe that a 51-21 game was competitive, but with 10 minutes and 19 seconds left in the third period the Knights led the Whippets by a 28-21 score.
North Penn then scored 23 unanswered points to cruise to the win.
“We hit them for quite a few big plays,” said Beck. “We saw some things (in film) that we thought we could do. It was pretty much straight up running the football.”
The backfield tandem of Smith and Ronnie Akins came as no surprise. In addition to Smith’s 200-plus out burst, Akins added 97 yards rushing and 12 yards receiving.
The surprise came in the sensational play of sophomore running back Craig Needhammer. Needhammer, who came into the game for the injured Andrew Stoll, scored a pair of touchdowns and rushed for an astounding 91 yards on just four carries.
“We had a lot of confidence in Craig,” said Beck of his 5-foot, 6-inch – 155-pound dynamo. “We threw him into the fire and he did a great job - not only running the football but blocking for Tyler and Ronnie.”
North Penn got out of the blocks quickly as it scored on its first offensive possession. Quarterback Justin Davey capped a 48-yard scoring drive with a nifty 13-yard run with 8:57 left in the period. Brandon McManus made the first of six extra points to give the Knights a 7-0 lead.
Downingtown West – champions of the Ches-Mont League – rallied back with its own scoring drive. The Whippets moved 71-yards on 11-plays for the score. Quarterback Bret Gillespie concluded the march with a seven-yard dash on a fourth down play. Phil Yanella added the PAT to tie the score at 7-7.
North Penn pieced together a nine-play scoring drive that covered 65 yards to regain the lead. Needhammer scored his first career touchdown on a four-yard burst, and the Knights led 14-7.
“It was amazing to cross the goal line,” said Needhammer. “I really haven’t gotten into any games before the fourth quarter when we have a big lead, but it was exciting to get into this game early.
“The coaches asked me to block,” added Needhammer. “And if you don’t block – you can’t score.”
North Penn stretched the lead to 21-7 later in the second period when Davey threw a 10-yard scoring strike to Dom Taggart. The scoring play was set up by an interception by NP freshman linebacker Ralph Reeves.
Downingtown West would close to within 21-14 at the half. Gillespie – who torched the Knights for 248 yards passing – polished off a 10-play Whippet scoring drive with a four-yard TD pass to tight end Ryan Kendra.
North Penn opened the second half with a quick scoring strike. On the first play after intermission, Akins danced for 18 yards. And on the second play after intermission, Smith jetted 52 yards for a touchdown to give the Knights a 28-14 lead.
It didn’t last long – less than a minute.
The Gillespie-to-Kendra TD connection clicked again. This time the scoring play covered 66-yards, and the Whippets closed to within a single score at 28-21. They would get no closer.
The Knights went on a 10-play drive that culminated in a 37-yard field goal by McManus to make the score 31-21.
Needhammer scored early in the fourth period on a dazzling 38-yard touchdown scamper to boost the lead to
37-21.
Reeves intercepted his second pass, and one play later Smith broke numerous tackles as he sprinted 39 yards for a touchdown to forge a 44-21 advantage.
The final score of the game came when Smith capped a 68-yard scoring drive with a three-yard burst. Needhammer raced 49 yards to set up the score.
The game was to be the final game for the seniors at Crawford Stadium. And as Smith prepared to leave the field for the final time, the words came out through chattering teeth.
“It’s tough thinking that this is the last time we will play here,” said Smith. “I will miss it.”
Even if the tundra was frozen.
Downingtown West 7 7 7 0 - 21
North Penn 7 14 10 20 - 51
NP: Davey 13 run (McManus kick)
DW: Gillespie 7 run (Yanella kick)
NP: Needhammer 4 run (McManus kick)
NP: Taggart 10 pass from Davey (McManus kick)
DW: Kendra 4 pass from Gillespie (Yanella kick)
NP: Smith 52 run (McManus kick)
DW: Kendra 66 pass from Gillespie (Yanella kick)
NP: McManus 37 FG
NP: Needhammer 38 run (run failed)
NP: Smith 39 run (McManus kick)
NP: Smith 3 run (McManus kick)
First Downs: [DW] – 14; [NP] – 22.
Rushing Yards: [DW] – 137; [NP] – 423.
Passing Yards: [DW] – 248; [NP] – 26.
Total Offense: [DW] – 385; [NP] – 449
Punts: [DW] – 4-28; [NP] – 1-38.
Penalties: [DW] – 7-52; [NP] – 2-15.
Downingtown West:
Rushing: Heller 12-72; Gillespie 22-54-TD; Scott 1-11; Trexler 3-0. Totals 38-137-TD.
Passing: Gillespie 13-23-2; 248 yards – 2 TD.
Receiving: Trexler 5-87; Kendra 3-95- 2 TD; Heller 2-30; Goodrich 2-24; Mulville 1-12. Totals 13-248- 2 TD.
Interceptions: None
North Penn:
Rushing: Smith 20-208- 3 TD; Akins 11-97; Needhammer 4-91- 2 TD; Davey 8-17-TD; Bennett 3-10. Totals 46-423- 6 TD.
Passing: Davey 3-4-0; 26 yards – TD.
Receiving: Akins 1-12; Taggart 1-10-TD; Reeves 1-4. Totals 3-26- TD.
Interceptions: Reeves (2).
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