North Penn was a winner in SOL football action Saturday.
Football stats provided courtesy of the Intelligencer/Bucks County Courier. To stay on top of the high school football news in the area, visit the Intelligencer (https://www.theintell.com/sports/high-school) and Courier Times (https://www.buckscountycouriertimes.com/sports/high-school) web sites.
NORTH PENN 49, CENTRAL BUCKS EAST 25
Khalani Eaton had himself a day.
The North Penn sophomore – a workhorse out of the backfield – had 32 carries and finished the game with 227 yards and four touchdowns in a dazzling performance.
It was all part of the day that saw the Knights put 49 points on the scoreboard while accumulating 500 yards of total offense – 397 of those on the ground.
“The O-line and the offense really played well,” coach Dick Beck said. “I thought Khalani ran the ball north and south, and we did a good job blocking with the fullbacks, RJ Macnamara and Nate Brown.”
Quarterback Anthony Giordano spotted the Patriots an early 7-0 lead, racing into the end zone from 50 yards out, but back-to-back touchdown runs by Eaton put the Knights on top 14-7. The Patriots had an answer as Giordano found Will Silverman with a 12-yard TD pass.
Eaton’s third TD run of the half – this one from two yards – put the Knights on top 21-14, but a Michael Smigley 38-yard field goal pulled the Patriots within four, 21-17, at halftime.
“I think their quarterback does a nice job of finding the open guy in the seam,” Beck said. “We had a couple – to me – bonehead plays that cost us. We had them twice in third-and-long and gave up touchdowns on both, so that was a little frustrating.”
The second half – well, that was another story entirely. The Patriots managed just one touchdown, and that came after the Knights opened up a 42-17 lead.
“I thought we covered better defensively in the secondary,” Beck said. “Our drop zones – we were in much better shape. In the first half, we seemed to be really flatfooted and not moving.”
The Knights received touchdown runs from Macnamara (8 yards), Eaton (2 yards) and Kenny Grandy (38 yards). Giordano interrupted the Knights’ tear with a 60-yard TD connection to Silverman, but Macnamara closed out the scoring with a 37-yard touchdown run.
Macnamara also eclipsed the century mark on the ground, finishing with 108 yards on 11 carries.
“Plus he had a huge fourth down stop on a quarterback sneak in the third quarter when they went for it on their own 44-yard line,” Beck said.
The Knights’ coach also lauded the play of Grandy.
“Kenny Grandy caught a long pass – even though he didn’t score a touchdown, he got it inside the 10,” Beck said. “He made a couple other nice catches and moves, and he had a long touchdown run when he was in the backfield. I thought Kenny was pretty explosive today at wide receiver.”
Zeltt was efficient behind center. The freshman quarterback completed eight passes for 105 yards.
“I was really happy with how well Ryan Zeltt played,” Beck said. “He was super accurate. He threw for a high percentage, threw a lot of good strikes, converted some third downs that we needed, used his legs a little bit when we needed.
“I really thought it was absolutely his best game. He called a lot of plays at the line of scrimmage, got us in the right play. He’s tough, he’s a competitor, he’s got confidence but it’s not arrogance. He’s a really nice, happy, competitive kid that enjoys playing and is there for the team. He doesn’t care if he hands the balls off or throws it. He’s been a complete pleasure this year.”
Giordano threw for 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns with Silverman his favorite target. The junior wide receiver had eight receptions for 142 yards and two touchdowns.
“I think Giordano is one of the best quarterbacks in the league,” Beck said. “Silverman made an incredible play. We were all over him, and he just made the play and outran us to the end zone.”
North Penn (4-1, 2-0 SOL) will host Council Rock South in a non-league game Friday, and Central Bucks East (3-2, 0-1) will be on the road at Souderton.
North Penn 14-7-14-14 49
Central Bucks East 7-10-0-8 25
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 29, SPRINGFIELD TOWNSHIP 13
ANC opened up a 20-0 lead after one quarter, and the Spartans never really threatened. A pair of Gabe Franczyk touchdown passes accounted for all the scoring – the first in the second quarter to Brennan Fluehr and the second in the final quarter to Cam Dennis.
Springfield Township (3-2) will host Bristol on Friday night.
Springfield Twp 0-6-0-7 13
Academy of the New Church 20-0-7-2 29
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