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TOWAMENCIN — The North Penn seniors really wanted to play one last game at Crawford Stadium.
After two weeks in which the Knights opted to move their first and second-round playoff games to Souderton’s new turf field, they were back home Friday night for their District One Class AAAA semifinal against fifth-seed Avon Grove.
And they did exactly what they’ve done no matter where their games have been played all season – the Knights won, and they won big, rolling to a 42-7 victory to earn a spot in next week’s district championship game.
“It feels awesome,” said North Penn quarterback Todd Smolinsky. “Especially coming into the season, nobody expected much from us.”
NP’s championship game opponent will be seventh-seeded Ridley, which beat Downingtown East, 28-7, in its semifinal on Friday. In three playoff games, the Green Raiders have outscored their opponents, 105-22, with their wins coming against the No. 10, 15 and 11 seeds. The title game will be held next Friday or Saturday at a site to be determined, although rumors circulated throughout the stadium on Friday that it would be held at Coatesville.
“We want two more wins, and that will put us in Hershey,” said North Penn coach Dick Beck. “Then, we’ll see how the chips fall once we get there.”
On both sides of the ball against Avon Grove, North Penn (13-0) dominated from start to finish.
Craig Needhammer scored three first-half touchdowns and had four for the game, giving him nine in the last two weeks and 29 for the season, including one to culminate a dominating eight-play, 69-yard opening drive.
“It means a lot to score right away,” said Needhammer. “That gets the momentum on our side. Then, the defense shuts them down and we get the ball back and score again.”
Needhammer was a workhorse for the North Penn offense, which concentrated more on running the football because of high winds and muddy field conditions, rushing 18 times for 104 yards in the first half, and 138 for the game.
“Craig’s got great vision,” Beck said. “He’s always running north and south. Sometimes, a three-yard run is as good as a 50-yard run, because you’re not turning the ball over. Plus, he’s a great blocker. If every kid was like Craig Needhammer, we would have no problems.”
Smolinsky, who completed 5 of 9 passes for 95 yards, ran for one first-half touchdown and later threw for another.
The Knights’ opening drive ate up three-and-a-half minutes and covered 69 yards before Needhammer sprinted in from nine yards out. Dylan Harris converted his first of six extra points to put North Penn on top 7-0.
A three-and-out for the Red Devils on their opening possession set the stage for another Knight scoring drive. This one covered 47 yards. It began with a 17-yard Needhammer run, included a 12-yard completion to Dom Taggart and culminated with Needhammer punching it in from one yard out.
Senior Andre Poe put to rest any thoughts that the Red Devils could turn a fake punt into a first down near midfield on their ensuing possession, throwing Jordan Harris for a six-yard loss and giving the Knights the ball on Avon Grove’s 45-yard line. A 25-yard Smolinsky screen pass to Needhammer highlighted the six-play scoring drive and set the stage for a five-yard Smolinsky touchdown run.
The Red Devils followed with their longest drive of the night that stalled at the Knights’ 33. Eight plays later, Needhammer took it in from the one, and after the Harris extra point, the Knights led 28-0. Their final scoring drive of the half covered 48 yards and took just two plays – back-to-back completions from Smolinsky to T.J. Gill, the second a 34-yard touchdown strike that sent the Knights into halftime with a 35-0 lead and put the mercy rule into effect.
“We’re just trying to peak at the right time,” Beck said. “If we’re not getting better, we’re getting worse. Whether it was a shutout or we won by one, we’re just trying to get out of here with a win.”
In all, the Knights accumulated 328 yards of total offense, and their first-string offense scored on all six possessions it was in the game.
“The offensive line played great,” Smolinsky said. “We were able to move the ball on the ground, and it was even better being able to run the football in conditions like this.”
Defensively, North Penn was just as effective.
Avon Grove came into the game with three running backs with big offensive numbers out of its Wing-T offensive set — fullback Brandon McLaughlin, tailback Jordan Harris and wing-back Brandon Monk. The Red Devils (11-2) have been able to run the ball and score points against every opponent they have played all season.
Except North Penn.
That trio, each of whom ran for over 1,000 yards on the season, accounted for 136 yards on the ground for the game, much of which came after Beck pulled his starters early in the third quarter. Harris, who led the team with 71 yards, had just 26 yards on 10 carries in the first half.
Sophomore linebacker Ralph Reeves was in the middle of the defensive effort, but the Knights also had big games defensively from Mike Culbreath, Andre Poe and Matt Donovan.
“We can talk about offense all night and how it was huge, but I thought defensively — for a team (like Avon Grove) that has been rushing for 300-400 yards a game and has three 1,000-yard rushers — I think our defense has kind of been our crutch,” Beck said. “If we haven’t done something offensively, our defense has always come up with a big stop.”
NORTH PENN 42, AVON GROVE 7
Avon Grove 0 0 0 7-7
North Penn 14 21 7 0-42
NP-Needhammer 9 run (Harris kick)
NP-Needhammer 1 run (Harris kick)
NP-Smolinsky 5 run (Harris kick)
NP-Needhammer 1 run (Harris kick)
NP-Gill 37 pass from Smolinsky (Harris kick)
NP-Needhammer 1 run (Harris kick)
AG-Rooney 15 pass from Kush (Ruggieri kick)
AG NP
First Downs 9 19
Rushing Yards 165 233
Passing Yards 50 95
Total Yards 215 328
Passing (C-A-I) 4-7-1 5-10-0
Fumbles-lost 2-1 0-0
Penalties-Yrds. 3-25 2-10
Punts-Avg. 2-34 1-33
RUSHING:
Avon Grove: Jordan Harris, 16-71; Brendan McLaughlin, 10-40, Ryan Ayers, 4-26; Brandon Monk, 4-25; Kyle Kush, 2-3.
North Penn: Craig Needhammer, 22-138, 4 TDs; Todd Smolinsky, 3-34, 1 TD; Brenden Mercer, 5-26; Dom Taggart, 3-18; Mike Culbreath, 1-9; Anthony Check, 1-5; Troy Brosky, 1-3; Sean Varga, 1-0.
PASSING:
Avon Grove: Kyle Kush, 4-7-50, 1 TD.
North Penn: Todd Smolinsky, 5-9-95; Corey Ernst, 0-1-0.
RECEIVING:
Avon Grove: Brandon Monk, 1-18; Mike Rooney, 1-15, 1 TD; Ryan Samuels, 1-13; Jordan Harris, 1-4.
North Penn: T.J. Gill, 3-58, 1 TD; Craig Needhammer, 1-25; Dom Taggart, 1-12.
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