Pennridge remained undefeated in SOL play with its 28-21 win over North Penn.
By Scott Huff
Perkasie - Senior Kyle Bigam came up with the Pennridge version of the Immaculate Reception as the Rams (7-1, 4-0) stunned defending Suburban One League Continental Conference North Penn (4-4, 3-2) - 28-21. The more than spectacular one-handed Bigam 39-yard touchdown pass reception from Alex Krivda with just 25 seconds left in the game will most likely propel Pennridge to the conference title.
“That had to be one of the best high school catches I have ever seen,” said Pennridge head coach Randy Cuthbert. “Kyle was able to make an incredible play with the game on the line.”
“When I saw the ball in the air, I knew I had to catch it with one hand,” said Bigam. “I can’t ever remember making a catch like that – even in the back yard.”
“Give Pennridge credit, they made big plays when they had to make them,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “That touchdown catch at the end of the game was just a great play.”
Bigam not only made the magnificent game winning catch. Bigam came up with a terrific 24-yard touchdown burst, intercepted a pass, made some hard hits defensively, and returned a punt for 35 yards.
“We have players that can compliment Mike Class,” said Cuthbert in reference to his terrific junior running back who was ‘held’ to 83 yards and a touchdown on 14 carries. “We had players come up and make big plays for us all night.”
In addition to Bigam, Ram senior defensive back Jeremy Xander came up with two key interceptions. Xander also came off the edge to record a critical sack and quarterback pressure late in the game.
“I just react to the ball when I see it in the air,” said Xander who also calls the defensive sets for the Ram defense. “And I was able to run free and blitz on certain situations. It was all in the game plan.”
“Jeremy isn’t the biggest, or the strongest,” said Cuthbert. “But we took advantage of him tonight as our designated blitzer. He had a great game and was able to come up with key turnovers.”
Pennridge played an almost flawless first half to take a 14-0 lead.
The Rams scored on its second drive of the game to take a 7-0 lead. Class earned the scoring honors for Pennridge with a 10-yard touchdown burst, and Joe Unangst added the first of his four successful extra points. The key play in the scoring drive was a 13-yard pass on fourth down from Krivda to John Kim.
Pennridge extended its lead to 14-0 with a second period touchdown. Bigam earned scoring honors with his 24-yard touchdown run that concluded a 48-yard drive that covered six plays. A Krivda-to-Kim pass of 15 yards highlighted the drive.
The Ram momentum did not follow the Rams into the second half. In fact, North Penn was very much back in the game in the third period, and when the period closed the Knights were even at 14-14.
“I was proud of the way we came out in the second half to make it a game,” said Beck. “We were a few plays away from winning the game, but we couldn’t make them when we had to make them late in the game.”
North Penn was efficient on its first drive of the third period as the Knights covered 68 yards on nine plays to score its first touchdown. Luke Berry bulled in from the two-yard line, and Brandon Mandas booted the first of his three placements.
North Penn scored the game-tying touchdown on its next drive. This time it took the Knights just two plays to cover 68 yards as senior running back Kyle Mayfield jetted 51-yards for the touchdown. Mayfield finished the night with 140 yards on 20 carries.
The North Penn defense forced another three-and-out, but Xander stifled the ensuing Knight offensive series with his first interception.
Pennridge regained its offensive momentum and scored a touchdown to regain the lead. MacKenzie Crawford capped a 46-yard scoring drive with a 1-yard run. Class collected a 25-yard run to highlight the scoring drive.
North Penn, though, would not go away as the Knights tied the score with just 51 seconds left in the game. Mayfield capped the seven play – 65-yard scoring drive with a four-yard touchdown run. The huge play in the drive was a 36-yard run on fourth and four by James Desimone.
“We had time on the clock, and we had timeouts to use,” said Cuthbert. “After what happened against Bensalem (24-21 overtime loss), there was no way I wanted any part of overtime.”
And the Rams avoided overtime with a four play scoring drive that began with a 15-yard quarterback draw by Krivda. Crawford ran for four yards, and Krivda completed a first down 7-yard pass to Micah Stutzman. And then came the dramatic Krivda-to-Bigam touchdown pass that will go down as one of the finest plays in Pennridge football history.
If the Rams defeat both Central Bucks East (3-5) and Hatboro-Horsham (1-7) in the next two weeks, Pennridge will earn its first title since 2004. In that year, the Jeff Hollenbach coached Rams shared the title with both North Penn and Neshaminy.
“We want to go out and win every week,” said Cuthbert. “And if we do that, good things will happen.”
The loss for North Penn will most likely jettison the Knights from any postseason playoff games.
“We will go out and try to win the next game,” said Beck. “Our goal for the rest of the year is just to play hard and finish the season strong.”
North Penn Knights 0 0 14 7 - 21
Pennridge Rams 7 7 0 14 - 28
P: Michael Class 10 run (Joe Unangst kick)
P: Kyle Bigam 24 run (Unangst kick)
NP: Luke Berry 2 run (Brandon Mandas kick)
NP: Kyle Mayfield 51 run (Mandas kick)
P: MacKenzie Crawford 1 run (Unangst kick)
NP: Mayfield 4 run (Mandas kick)
P: Bigam 39 pass from Alex Krivda (Unangst kick)
North Penn Knights Pennridge Rams
14 First Downs 12
243 Rushing Yards 158
88 Passing Yards 80
331 Total Offense 238
4-35 Penalties/Yards 5-50
2-37 Punts/Average 5-38
North Penn:
Rushing: Kyle Mayfield 20-140, 2 TD; Steve Gozur 10-79; James Desimone 1-36; Luke Berry 1-2 TD; Mike Berstecher 4-(minus 14). Total – 36-243 & 3 TD.
Passing: Mike Berstecher 8-18-3; 88 yards.
Receiving: Colton Pyne 4-53; Gozur 2-11; Eddie Posavec 1-15; and Luke Berry 1-9. Totals – 8-88.
Interceptions: Mike Isabella.
Pennridge:
Rushing: Michael Class 14-83 & TD; MacKenzie 11-37 & TD; Bigam 5-37 & TD; Alex Krivda 8-1. Totals – 38-158 & 3 TD.
Passing: Alex Krivda 6-10-1; 80 & TD.
Receiving: Bigam 2-42; John Kim 2-28; Micah Stutzman 1-7; and Crawford 1-3. Totals – 6-80.
Interceptions: Xander (2); Bigam.
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