North Penn advanced to the District 1 6A title game with a win over top-seeded Central Bucks South. Photos courtesy of Kim Supko & Michael Rice Photography. CLICK HERE to view Suburban One Sports’ FOOTBALL GALLERIES.
District 1 6A semifinals
#1-4 NORTH PENN 21, #1-1 CENTRAL BUCKS SOUTH 19
It was a win they’ll be talking about for a long, long time.
And moments after the Knights’ electrifying win over previously undefeated Central Bucks South, senior Aidan Eves had a hard time finding the words to describe his emotions.
“We knew we could do it,” Eves said of his team’s big win over the favored Titans. “I can’t even speak right now. This is the best moment of my career by far.
“I’m extremely appreciative of our coaches and our team. I’m just one guy. Our team played the best game all season. I have never felt happier in my life right now.”
It was Eves coming up with an interception on the Titans’ opening possession of the second half, marking the beginning of four consecutive turnovers on four straight CB South possessions. A stretch that came after the Titans took a 13-7 advantage into halftime, swinging momentum firmly in the Knights’ favor.
“Jack Silvers forced that fumble on the sack, and I caught the interception out of the air – it popped up in the air,” Eves said. “If we’re down, we just need a big play, and Jack Silvers brought that big play to us. I just got lucky to be in the spot with the interception, but Jack Silvers forced that fumble”
The Knights couldn’t convert that turnover into points, but they were far from finished. Eves forced and recovered a fumble on the Titans’ second possession. Again, they were forced to punt, but they turned the third turnover – forced by Eves and Cole D’Ambrosia – into the go-ahead score.
The drive was highlighted by a 37-yard strike from Matt Bucksar to Matt Pownall on third-and-four that took the Knights to the two-yard line. The touchdown was hardly a gimme, and after a four-yard loss on first down that pushed the ball back to the six, the Knights found themselves staring at a fourth-and-goal from the four.
After a Knights’ timeout, Bucksar connected with Eves – who also plays tight end – for a touchdown that, after Ryan Bocklet’s extra point, gave North Penn a 14-13 lead.
“At first me and Jack Silvers lined up in the wrong spot, so we had to switch it,” Eves said. “I check blocked, ran to the flat, Matt threw a great ball, I put the ball in the end zone, and I got popped real hard – I got the wind knocked out of me. That was a great throw by Matt Bucksar.”
The senior tight end acknowledged the important role of the Knights’ wildly enthusiastic student section.
“On that fourth down – I could feel my skin vibrate by how much noise (our student) section was making compared to the other student section,” Eves said. “Our student section is amazing.”
The Titans fumbled the ensuing kickoff that was recovered by the Knights, and two plays and 59 seconds after taking their first lead with 7:51 remaining in the game, the Knights upped their lead to 21-13 after Pownall – in a highlight reel play – hauled in a 28-yard pass from Bucksar for a touchdown.
“I love how Pownall goes up for the ball,” Norh Penn coach Dick Beck said. “Always comes down with it. He’s so special, so special.
“We were practicing all week – it’s one of our go-to routes,” Pownall said. “It was a great ball by him, props to him. I knew I had to adjust to the ball at the last second. God took the wheel from there.
“Props to Aidan and the whole defense. The momentum shift propelled us. We knew it was going to be a struggle to get in – (they have) a great defense. We just had to keep pushing, trusting our offense and trusting our defense to get stops.”
The Titans answered with a touchdown of their own on an 80-yard scoring drive that was highlighted by a 32-yard pass from Owen Pinkerton to Matt Harmon. It also featured 34 rushing yards by Pinkerton and was capped by Braylen Cape’s eight-yard touchdown run. The Titans’ two-point attempt for the tie failed, and the Knights led 21-19.
South attempted an on-sides kick, but Eves made the leaping grab to give the Knights’ possession.
“I was surprised they were going to on-sides kick it because they had three timeouts, and they had three-and-a-half minutes left,” Beck said. “We weren’t running the ball with much success. I figured they would kick it deep.
“When they lined up on-sides, we had our regular kicking team in, and I had no more timeouts left. They jumped off-sides, and now we get our hands team on. Aidan Eves is the best on-side catcher of the ball that we’ve ever had. He went up for that ball, grabbed it.”
With the Titans burning their three timeouts, Pownall took the suspense out of the game when – on third-and-long – he raced 13 yards for a first down.
“It was a key part at the end of the game, so I knew I had to get the first down, put my body on line for the team,” Pownall said.
The Knights’ drive stalled at South’s 25 but left the Titans with just 66 seconds and no timeouts. The Titans made it to midfield when they saw a fourth down pass fall incomplete, and the big win was in the books for the Knights.
“It was full of emotions,” Bucksar said. “We didn’t score a touchdown the last time we played them here (in a 14-6 loss), and throughout the entire week of practice, we just had a chip on our shoulders.
“That’s a great team. For us to do this, I’m in shock.”
Earlier, on the Knights’ opening drive, they appeared poised to take an early lead when they marched down the field to the Titans’ 26, but a bad snap resulted in a 21-yard loss and forced the Knights to punt.
“We hit Matty over the middle – he’s going to walk into the end zone, and he trips,” Beck said. “We had a good play called, and the ball gets snapped over the head. That was a brutal start, and they drive down and score. It was definitely a struggle every single play.”
The Titans took a 6-0 lead when Jimmy Wade took it 25 yards for a touchdown to cap a seven-play 60-yard drive. The Knights took their first lead (7-6) when Pownall – despite a defender with tight coverage – hauled in a 31-yard touchdown pass Bocklet made the extra point.
The Titans closed out the half with a 68-yard touchdown drive that culminated with Pinkerton scoring from four yards out for a 13-7 halftime lead. The second half belonged to the Knights.
“As we go through the season, we’re trying to figure out who we are and what we are,” Beck said. “We’re growing each week.
“The resiliency our guys showed, especially after being down.
“I said, ‘Let’s make them go 20 plays down the field and score.’ They’re high school kids – they’re going to make mistakes. We bent but didn’t break too much.”
Eves is everywhere – It’s hard to imagine anyone having a bigger game than senior Aidan Eves had in Friday’s district final. The senior defensive end spent the night creating havoc and had a hand in three of the four Titans’ second-half turnovers.
“He’s pretty explosive,” Beck said. “He’s been one of our best players all year long. We depend on him whether it’s catching passes or blocking, playing defensive end – tackling, sacking the quarterback, getting pressure – anything. He’s always been available.
“Last week, we moved him to nose tackle against Haverford – never played there before, played great. He had seven tackles at nose tackle – caused two fumbles, recovered one of them. He was a monster last week.”
In Friday’s win, Eves also scored the go-ahead touchdown that gave the Knights a lead they would not lose, and for good measure, he recovered the on-sides kick after the Bucks pulled to within two with 3:13 remaining in regulation.
All of this in an inspired second half.
“I felt kind of slow in the first half,” Eves said. “When we caught the pick, that just turned it over. We forced the fumble, and momentum was just barreling downhill.
“We knew how good of a team we were, and that’s when we stepped up.”
Friday’s win avenged a 14-6 loss to the Titans in a regular season meeting.
“We knew we could have won last game,” Eves said. “We were telling everyone – this is the one that matters, and it matters now. We got the win.
“CB South is by far the best team I’ve ever played against. Number 76 – Nick Micewski – is a fantastic player. He’s unreal. Same with number five (Eddie Bowen), same with number 22 (Jimmy Wade), same with seven (Owen Pinkerton). We’re just extremely grateful to be in this position.”
Eves went on to credit a higher power.
“It’s all God, it’s all faith – we had faith in God the whole time, and our faith leads us,” he said. “When we’re down, God is the answer.”
Bucksar & Pownall double trouble for Titans – Quarterback Matt Bucksar was fielding questions from reporters when coach Dick Beck offered his QB some indirect high praise.
“Can this kid throw strikes or what?” the Knights’ coach asked. “Was he huge tonight or what?”
The Matt-to-Matt connection proved to be all but unstoppable in Friday’s district win over South.
“I definitely think this year more than last year – they have more confidence in me,” Bucksar said. “I worked my (butt) off the entire offseason to gain that.
“It’s all the coaching throughout the entire season is the reason why we’re here. All the hard work we put in the offseason.”
Bucksar completed 8 of 12 passes for 157 yards and three touchdowns, a marked contrast from the regular season meeting that saw Bucksar finish 8-for-19 for 96 yards with no touchdowns.
“I think the O-line definitely had a chip on their shoulder way more this game because of what happened last game,” Bucksar said. “We switched some of the blocking, added extra protection. The O-line played great tonight.”
Six of Bucksar’s passes were hauled in by Pownall, who had six receptions for 133 yards. He also had 17 carries for 74 yards.
“Matt is an incredible player,” Bucksar said. “I’ve actually been playing baseball with him since fifth grade, so I’ve known him for a while – insane athlete. He’s great.”
“Both Matts were unbelievable tonight,” Beck said. “Matt Pownall is unbelievable, and Aidan’s not too bad either.
“I couldn’t be more happy for those guys.”
Pownall has played his best football of the season in the Knights’ postseason run.
“It’s all God,” the junior standout said. “I just pray and put him first. All my work in the offseason (paid off) now.”
End of a special era – One team’s joy is another team’s heartbreak, and that was certainly the case in Friday’s District 1 6A semifinal. While the Knights celebrated their exhilarating win, the Titans were left to deal with the reality that their magical season had ended too soon.
“The deeper you get in the playoffs – everybody’s good,” South coach Tom Hetrick said. “You’ve got to be able to bring your ‘A’ game. We hung out in the first half close to our ‘A’ game.
“We didn’t play our ‘A’ game the second half, and against good competition and a well-coached team like that, it’s probably not going to end well if you can’t bring your ‘A’ game, but it doesn’t take away from anything these guys have done this season.”
And what this team did – most notably the senior class – was nothing short of remarkable.
“This group of seniors over the last two years is 25-3,” Hetrick said. “That’s elite air.
“I told them – for decades, they’ll be talking about what this group of guys did during ’23-’24. I’m very proud of them. Clearly, once you make it here – everybody ends with this feeling except for one team, and it’s just a shame that it came this early because we weren’t thinking it was going to come this early, but I give credit to Dick Beck and North Penn. They played a good football game.”
Despite the losses to graduation from last year’s District 1 6A championship team, this year’s South squad brought a 12-0 record into Friday’s district semifinal.
“There were nine guys on both sides of the ball that contributed amazing things for us last year that we had to replace,” Hetrick said. “I’ve never been around a group of players that were more committed to each other, to this football team than this group of seniors.
“It’s something, and I hope it’s an example they have set, so that next year it’s the same kind of feeling that this is the vibe, this is the expectation of this football program because they’ve set an expectation that we hope can carry forward.”
North Penn coach Dick Beck tipped his hat to his opponent.
“Holding these guys to three touchdowns – CB South is a very good team,” Beck said. “They have very good players, they’re tough, they’re very well coached. They’re very deep, and Tom Hetrick couldn’t do a better job. He’s doing a great job.”
The Titans closed out the season with a 12-1 record that included a 7-0 record on their way to an SOL National Conference crown.
“It was a ride, it was a good ride,” Hetrick said. “It’s a shame. It’s hard to beat good teams twice in a season, and it’s not even an excuse.
“I think we’re a very good football team. We just didn’t come out on the right end tonight.”
For the Titans, senior quarterback Owen Pinkerton had 22 carries for 156 yards and one touchdown, Jimmy Wade had 10 carries for 80 yards and a touchdown, and Braylen Cape had nine carries for 53 yards and a TD.
Up next: North Penn (11-2, 5-2 SOL) will travel to #2 Downingtown West for Friday’s District 1 6A title game.
“This is a good win, but we’ve gotta stay locked in – work hard throughout the week, get better every day and then just go play when the time comes,” Bucksar said.
North Penn 0-7-0-14 21
Central Bucks South 6-7-0-6 19
#1-2 DOWNINGTOWN WEST 28, #1-3 CENTRAL BUCKS WEST 23
The Whippets opened up a 14-0 lead after one quarter, and the visiting Bucks spent the rest of the game trying to dig their way out of that early hole.
Downingtown West took a 7-0 lead on a 66-yard punt return and upped that to 14-0. The Bucks got on the scoreboard when Noah Miller connected with Ryan Clemens on a 46-yard touchdown pass, but the Whippets answered with a touchdown. Clemens connected on a field goal, but Downingtown West took a 21-10 lead into halftime.
The Whippets opened up a 28-10 lead early in the third quarter. Clemens scored on a short touchdown run to pull the Bucks to within 28-17 heading into the fourth quarter. West trimmed that lead to 28-23 but would get no closer.
Central Bucks West closed out its season with an 11-2 record overall, 6-1 in the SOL.
Central Bucks West 0-10-7-6 23
Downingtown West 14-7-7-0 28
District 1 5A semifinal
#1-2 WEST CHESTER RUSTIN 35, #1-6 UPPER DUBLIN 14
The Flying Cardinals trailed by a touchdown heading into the fourth quarter when Rustin added a pair of touchdowns to win going away.
“I think they’re a better team than us, without a doubt,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “I don’t think they’re three touchdowns better than us, but they were obviously the better team tonight.
“My kids gave me everything they got every week – even when we played (Central Bucks) South and West, and they didn’t come out our way and the Souderton game, but the ride they took us on was really like no other.
“When we’ve done this before, our teams are out by halftime, our teams are out in the third quarter or whatever it may be. This team – we were in to the end of every game. Our starters were in to the end of every game just because that’s the kind of team we had. We couldn’t separate ourselves necessarily, but we could finish. They were really good at finishing.”
In the opening half, the Cardinals rallied from a 14-0 deficit to pull to within seven on an 80-yard touchdown by Jordan Fields. They evened the score 14-14 on a scoop and score by sophomore Kevin Williams after a blocked punt by Ryan O’Sullivan.
“It was four or five minutes to half – momentum swung our way,” UD coach Bret Stover said.
But not for long when a questionable no-call on the ensuing kickoff might well have been the backbreaker.
Friday’s loss could not detract from a season that exceeded expectations.
“We sat there in July and you think about who you might beat and who you might not beat,” Stover said. “Did we expect to play tonight? Not one of us.
“The coaching staff, the players – everybody coming together. Just the fact they got us to play tonight which is really where you want to be and it’s kind of expected in our program, but we certainly had to earn our way to tonight.”
Leading the way behind center for a team that included more than a few young players was senior Kevin Etkin.
“I didn’t think he’d be a 1700-1800-yard passer for us, and he didn’t turn the ball over,” Stover said. “He threw one interception all year which was incredible, and with our punter, it was okay to punt. He was good.
“All three phases – I’m proud of my coaches and what they did with the clay they were given. We had some big injuries, lost guys for the year, and we were able to still keep going. I’m super proud of both players and coaches and really just proud to be an Upper Dublin Cardinal after a year like this.”
Upper Dublin closed out its season with a 9-4 record overall and a share of the SOL Continental Conference with a record of 6-1.
“When you have all the guns and are expected to win, we’ve done that, but with a team like this, we found ways to get here this year,” Stover said. “I’m proud of that.
“You’ve got a Ryan O’Sullivan and a Phil Roll just willing this team to the next week, and one of the things I’ll remember is those two guys specifically. They wouldn’t let us give up or quit. They were just those kind of competitors.”
Upper Dublin 7-7-0-0 14
West Chester Rustin 7-14-0-14 35
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