There’s a different feeling surrounding Saturday night’s SOL showdown between neighboring rivals Souderton and North Penn, and it has nothing to do with the fact that the Indians have suffered three losses already this season while the Knights – ranked second in the state – are undefeated.
Instead, it has everything to do with the fact that the Indians lost a member of their family on Monday when Ronnie Powell passed away. The 2007 graduate – a dangerous running back who earned a scholarship to Tennessee State – was an integral part of Souderton’s rise to the top of the SOL’s Continental Conference. His younger brother Justin is a key member of this year’s team.
Services for Powell will be held Saturday morning at Calvary Baptist Church in Lansdale. Later that day, the Indians – with Justin Powell expected to be in the backfield – will play their final homecoming game at Indian Stadium when they face the Knights.
“It’s hard,” coach Ed Gallagher said. “I had a great deal of involvement in Ronnie’s life the past five years. There’s no easy way to describe how it feels.
“I’m just trying to be strong for the team and for the kids, especially for Justin. It’s hard to imagine what he’s going through.”
Waiting at the end of a difficult week for Gallagher and his players is a Knight squad that has been mowing down SOL opponents with ease.
“It’s not a great week to have this happen, but there’s never a great week to have something like this happen,” Gallagher said. “I don’t know if it will happen or not, but we’re going to try and stay focused. If we’re not up to the task, it’s a game – it’s just a game of football.
“It’s not as pressing as what some of these kids are going through, but we’ll do the best we can. I thought we had a real good practice yesterday.”
Souderton will undoubtedly have the emotional advantage in Saturday night’s game, but it will take more than emotion to derail a Knight squad that has looked all but unbeatable.
“We have to be able to make some plays and stop the run,” Gallagher said. “They’re going to hit us with a screen or a play action pass at some point, and we can preach it and coach it to the best of our ability, but they’re very good at it. They’re just an outstanding screen team.
“They also can run the ball off tackle, and they can throw the ball down the field. Their quarterback is a threat to do both. There’s no easy way to stop North Penn.”
Not with an arsenal of offensive weapons that includes the likes of Tyler Smith, Ronnie Akins, Justin Davey and company.
“We have been hitting guys with big plays,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “We have guys that can make something out of nothing or can get in the open field and go the distance. We’ve had the ability to score quickly.
“I’m happy with the fact that we’re playing sound defense, we’re not giving up the big play.”
The Knights put 49 points on the board in each of their last two games. They scored 42 the game before that.
“We’re going to need to make some plays,” Gallagher said. “It’s a huge task.
“The best defense could be our offense. If we’re able to keep them off the field and sustain a drive, maybe we have a shot.”
Last year, the Indians never found their offense in a 24-0 loss to the Knights.
“Their kids made some very good plays,” Gallagher said. “They’re well coached. I give them credit.”
According to Beck, the Knights will go only as far as their offensive line will take them this season.
“Our line didn’t start off great,” senior lineman Sean Baldwin said. “But as the season progressed, we started to pick it up, and we’re really playing as a team.”
The Knights’ O-line will do battle with a Souderton defensive line comprised of Jake Metz, Cody Muller, Khalid Major and Ian Eisenhart that – despite injuries to the rest of the team - has remained intact this season.
“Coach always tells us our defensive line needs to step up because we lost a lot of our secondary,” Metz said. “We have worked on a couple of different formations. The coaches know what they’re doing.”
Baldwin knows the Knights will be in for a battle.
“We just have to drive our feet, get low, finish blocks,” he said. “It’s going to be tough, but I’m really confident in the line, and I feel we can compete.”
Confidence, according to Metz, is a key for the Indians.
“We really have to have it in our heads that we’re good because we are definitely a good football team,” he said. “If we don’t approach this game thinking we can beat them, then there’s no way we can.
“If we play as a team, give nothing less than 100 percent, we should do pretty good.”
Metz isn’t interested in using Souderton’s long list of injuries as an excuse for its 4-3 record.
“People think that spot is going to be bad because we lost our number one kid, and people say we don’t have depth,” he said. “But it’s really just in our heads. You have to think you’re still going to be a good team.”
For his part, Beck believes the Indians’ offensive line is playing better this year than last year.
“And they probably have one of the two or three defensive players in the entire league in Muller,” Beck said. “He’s one of those good players who plays hard all the time. Sometimes you get good players who don’t play hard all the time, but this kid does.”
The Indians are still in a position to earn a berth in the post-season tournament.
“Even if we lose but can put up a good fight – it’s all about the points,” Metz said. “As long as everybody gives 100 percent, I won’t be upset. It doesn’t matter what the outcome is – if we put up a fight, I think our coaches will be proud.
“We just want to finish out the season with some good wins.”
While it’s been a difficult week for Souderton’s coaches and players alike, it’s been a week that underscored that football is always just a game.
“Me and the whole team’s sympathy is definitely going out to the family and the whole Souderton area and the team – we do feel badly, but on the other hand, we can’t let that affect our game,” Baldwin said. “We’ll just all try and stay focused.
“We’re really, really excited because it’s a great matchup, and it’s been a rivalry for years. We’re practicing real hard, and we’re just going to go out and give it our best.”
Kickoff is 6 p.m. at Indian Stadium.
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