COATESVILLE – Thirteen weeks.
Thirteen magical, memorable weeks.
That’s how long it had been since the North Penn Knights took the field for their season opener at Bethlehem Liberty.
What began on that warm August night when the Knights downed the Hurricanes 23-15 continued for 13 weeks as North Penn methodically took apart its opponents, rolling to 14 straight wins that surely would be 15 after Saturday afternoon’s rematch with Liberty in the Eastern Final.
But the script – so perfect until then – did not exactly go as planned. The Knights fell behind early, led briefly in the second period but eventually fell 21-14 to a fired-up Hurricane squad.
“I’m speechless,” senior captain Sean Baldwin said.
The loss not only brought an end to the Knights’ dream of winning a state title, it also meant the end of the line for a squad that was as much family as it was team.
“This was the best time of my life,” Baldwin said. “We’re a family.
“The (state) championship meant nothing compared to the family. We worked hard together every day, pushing each other, and we became so close.”
That camaraderie was apparent as the players said their farewells through tears.
“This has been the greatest year of my life,” senior Casey Reim said. “There’s nothing even close. It’s just knowing this is it – it’s over.
“We were together every day. Every day after school we had three or four hours of practice together. It just brought us all closer together. It feels so surreal right now. It feels as though we should go back to school on Monday and have practice.”
For a while, it looked as though the magic might be continuing for the Knights when – on a big second down play with the score deadlocked 14-14 late in the third quarter – senior Drew Brady sacked elusive quarterback Anthony Gonzalez for an 11-yard loss, setting up third-and-20 from the Hurricanes’ 36-yard line.
The Knights, who had just scored the tying touchdown, appeared to have all the momentum, but with the North Penn faithful imploring their team to make one more defensive stop, forcing the Hurricanes to punt into the wind, the unthinkable happened.
Gonzalez somehow escaped the Knight pass rush and found teammate Horvin Latimer for a 31-yard pickup that forever turned the tide in the game.
“It was unbelievable,” Baldwin said. “It just crushed us.”
Four plays later, the Hurricanes punched it in to take a 21-14 lead they would never lose.
“We practiced our hearts out,” Baldwin said. “I guess we didn’t come to play our hearts out today.
“They really didn’t do too much different today. It was really the same game. They put up a great fight. They deserved it.”
“We had a great season, winning districts and everything, but that wasn’t really our goal,” Reim said. “Getting to Hershey was what we planned on. It’s unfortunate it had to end like this.”
Coach Dick Beck acknowledged that this year’s squad was special for reasons that went well beyond its immense talent.
“They were a great group to coach – maybe the best ever in terms of character and hard work,” he said. “We had a lot of fun. There was a lot of laughter.
“Unfortunately, you get in this situation, and one team’s happy, and one team’s not.”
The Knights closed out the year with a 14-1 record and an SOL National Conference title as well as a District One Quad-A crown.
“It’s unmatched,” Reim said of the season. “I don’t think I’ll ever do anything like this again. I love these guys. They’re my best friends. They’re the greatest friends I could ever have.
“This was a great year,” Beck said. “We had so much fun. I think the community had fun.
“These kids represented what North Penn High School is all about. We showed a lot of class, a lot of hard work and determination and grit.”
Time will heal the pain of Saturday’s season-ending loss, and while the players will remember the wins and the championships, what they will remember most are the memories of the time they spent together and the family they became.
“This is a close group,” Beck said. “They’ll be lifelong friends. This is something they’ll remember forever. I want them to remember it fondly, which they will after today.”
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