Check back for complete coverage of Friday night’s North Penn-LaSalle contest. To view WNVP 1440 AM announcer Kyle Berger’s video preview of the game, click on the following link: http://www.suburbanonesports.com/videos/all/100
When the lights go on at Crawford Stadium for Friday’s opening night showdown against defending PIAA Quad A champion LaSalle, emotions will be running high for everyone wearing a North Penn uniform.
For one of the Knights, senior Ryan Hessenius, the moment will be especially sweet. Just lining up healthy on both sides of the football for the first time in three years is a major victory for the Knight senior, who is coming back strong after twice undergoing reconstructive surgery for his left shoulder.
“I don’t take it for granted,” Hessenius said of playing football again. “I really, really enjoy it. It’s so much fun – even just practicing out there. It’s a lot of fun.
“It’s taught me a lot. It’s taught me not to take life for granted.”
Hessenius will see action at both fullback and linebacker for the Knights in Friday night’s opener, and coach Dick Beck couldn’t be happier to see him back in pads again.
“It’s good for the team, but it’s great for him,” the Knights’ coach said. “He is such a good kid. He’s one of those unassuming, quiet, good students. He always has a good attitude, and I just want to see him get an opportunity to play his whole senior year.”
Hessenius burst onto the scene as a freshman with great promise and found himself starting at linebacker for the varsity the final six games of the season. All signs pointed to a stellar career.
“There was good reason,” Beck said of those high hopes “He had great size, he had great speed for a freshman, and he was very mature.”
But then Hessenius was hit by the injury bug.
It began the first week of camp when he was a sophomore in the Knights’ scrimmage at Hazleton.
“I landed on my shoulder funny and dislocated my shoulder,” Hessenius said.
There was nothing about the injury to suggest it would become a problem that would keep the promising sophomore sidelined for two years.
“When I went into the hospital at Hazleton, the ER people said, ‘In two or three weeks, you’ll be back,’” Hessenius recalled. “When I went for the MRI and they saw things were torn up in there and I’d need surgery, it was a shock.
“I thought I was going to be out two or three weeks, and all of a sudden, I was done for the whole season. That was pretty rough. I didn’t really expect it.”
Hessenius, who had reconstructive surgery the end of August, was cleared to begin working out the middle of December.
“I was fine and able to do everything with no restrictions, so I had time to get back in shape,” he said. “I felt real good and totally forgot about it.”
The following year, Hessenius made it through the first week of camp and also the first scrimmage with no problems, but then – during a half speed tackling drill at the first practice after that scrimmage – his shoulder popped out yet again.
“It was weird because I made it through a full scrimmage without any problems, and then here I am on Monday morning going half speed, and I hurt myself again,” Hessenius said. “I was really shocked because I thought the surgery had fixed everything, but again, it came into my mind that in two or three weeks I’d be back.”
After several weeks of rehab, Hessenius was cleared to play in North Penn’s big game against St. Joe’s Prep.
“I had made it through a full week of practice, and I was feeling great – I was all excited,” he said. “That game was on a Saturday night, and that morning at eight o’clock, I rolled over in my sleep and dislocated my shoulder.”
That night, Hessenius found himself on the sidelines in a sling instead of lining up on the field, but two weeks later, he was cleared to play for 10 plays in North Penn’s win over Central Bucks East. He made those plays count, rushing for 65 yards and a touchdown.
“I had a lot of fun out there, and I was wearing a brace, and I felt real good,” he said. “A couple of times I got hit, and I was fine.”
After making it through another week of practice, Hessenius was cleared for 20 plays in his team’s game against Central Bucks West when his body once again betrayed him. This time Hessenius injured his knee and ankle and tore a ligament in his left foot.
“I went to a doctor for my foot, and he said, ‘You might need surgery, but if you put a metal plate in your shoe and rehab for five or six weeks, you might be able to come back for the playoffs,’” Hessenius said. “In that time, I wasn’t allowed to run or do anything, so I had to stay in shape somehow, so I started swimming a couple of times a week.
“While I was swimming to stay in shape, I dislocated my shoulder again.”
The prognosis – Hessenius would need to undergo a second reconstructive surgery on his left shoulder. He had surgery on Nov. 11, and this one was more serious than the first and required even more intense rehab.
“It was really, really tedious going through it a second time,” he said. “It took a lot longer.”
By late April, Hessenius received full clearance with no restrictions.
“I’m feeling great now,” he said. “They said the toughest part will be the mental part when you first start playing again – knocking the rust off and trusting yourself because it’s happened to me so many times, and it’s kind of hard to not have it in the back of your mind when you go to make contact with people.
“Now that I’ve made it through camp and two scrimmages I feel a lot better. I’m more confident.”
And a healthy Hessenius can only mean good things for the North Penn Knights this season.
LaSalle at North Penn*
Friday, Sept. 3, 2010, 7:30 p.m., at Crawford Stadium
Last year: North Penn - 13-1, SOL Continental Conference champions, lost to Ridley 19-10 in District One Quad A title game
LaSalle – 14-1, PIAA Quad A champions, defeated State College 24-7 in state title game, closed season with an 11-game winning streak
Players to watch: North Penn – Craig Needhammer (Sr., RB); Ralphie Reeves (Jr., LB); Dom Taggart (Sr., LB/FB); Willie Kye (Sr., OL); David Jackson (Sr., DL); Marcus McGraw (Sr., OL); Ryan Hessenius (Sr., FB/LB)
LaSalle – Jamal Abdur-Rahman (Sr., RB, second team all-state as a junior)
NP coach Dick Beck’s keys to the game:
1) We have to be able to move the ball offensively consistently without depending on the pass. We have to be able to run our running plays and always gain positive yardage and not put ourselves in a third-and-10 situation or third-and-12. When we’re in a third down situation, we want to be under four yards. We want to put our quarterback (Corey Ernst) in a situation where he doesn’t have to do too much, and he can grow into the position.
2) I want to see our offensive line gel – play tough together.
3) Our secondary has been a huge question, and our secondary is obviously going to have to play well against LaSalle if want to beat them.
Coach Beck says: “I really feel like it’s a no-lose situation. You’re going to get a good game, you’re going to get a high profile game. I like to play a game like this at the beginning of the season because you can put a star on the calendar during the offseason and say, ‘Look what we’re working towards now,’ which moves us along in the offseason. You know what – if you lose this game, so what. You come back next week and you play hard and you try and win the rest of them. You win eight or nine – you’re going to be in the playoffs, and all of your goals are still ahead of you. We’re not going to get too down if we lose, and we’re not going to get too up if we win. We’ll just hopefully continue to improve.”
North Penn senior Ryan Hessenius says: “We’re looking to have fun, and we’re obviously looking to win. We put in so much work in the weight room – all the conditioning, all the off-season workout plans, all the practices and the two tough weeks of camp – now we get to go out and have fun. It all comes together on Friday night, and we’re all really looking forward to it. We’re playing the defending state champs. It should really be a good challenge, and we’re all looking forward to playing (Friday) night.”
*Friday night’s North Penn/LaSalle game will be broadcast live on 1440 AM as well as the web site www.wnpv1440.com. To listen to Friday night’s Pennsbury/Easton game, tune in to WBCB 1490 AM for the pregame show at 6 p.m. with kickoff at 7 p.m. The Neshaminy/Souderton game will be broadcast on the web site www.wbcb1490.com at 7 p.m. with a pregame show at 6:45 p.m.
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