Central Bucks South brought an end to North Penn’s 30-game SOL winning streak, thanks to its 36-29 win on Friday night. To view photos of all the action, please visit the Photo Gallery.
By Scott Huff
There were whispers coming into the North Penn-Central Bucks South game that the visiting Titans actually had a shot at ending the Knights 30-game Continental Conference winning streak.
However, by halftime those whispers had been drowned out by a raucous North Penn student section as CB South was punished in the first half by the Knights. The powerful Knights led 23-7 – outgained the Titans by a staggering 325 yards to 49 yards in total offense – and collected 15 first downs to just three for the pretenders from Bucks County.
Central Bucks South (6-0, 3-0) had the last laugh, though, and it was heard all over the scholastic football world as the Titans mounted a furious second half comeback to stun the Knights (3-3, 2-1) 36-29 and silence the North Penn faithful.
“We have an offense that is built on scoring points fast,” said Central Bucks South senior quarterback John Pileggi who was sensational in the second half with four touchdown passes. “We know that if we can keep moving fast up and down the field, we can wear teams out.
“We had some great halftime speeches from Coach Rac(kovan) and the senior leaders on this team,” added Pileggi. “We knew that if we could come out strong in the second half, we still had enough time to win the game.”
“We talked about some adjustments at halftime, but really all we said was to come out and play the way we can play,” said Central Bucks South head coach Dave Rackovan. “North Penn put a beating on us in the first half and really knocked us off the ball. That didn’t happen in the second half.
“The key to the game was that we were able to get some defensive stops in the second half,” added Rackovan. “I don’t like to compare wins, but I would have to say that this is a great one for our football team.”
“We made too many mistakes, and their quarterback got hot in the second half,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “He threw some great balls, and we didn’t do a real good job of covering the pass.
“There were key plays late in the game that we just didn’t make,” added Beck. “We had a chance at the start of the second half to put them out of their misery, but we didn’t do it. We never really thought we had (control of the game) at halftime.”
Beck and his team may not have thought so, but the overwhelming majority of the Homecoming Night crowd at Crawford Stadium had to more than like the Knights chances after the first two periods.
North Penn got on the scoreboard on its first possession as the Knights marched 52 yards on seven plays for the initial score of the game. Senior quarterback Mike Berstecher – who once again shared time with junior Austin Shearer – fired a 26-yard scoring strike to Kris Akins. Brandon Mandas boosted the lead to 7-0 for North Penn.
The lead lasted all of 15-seconds as CB South super soph Josh Adams gathered in the ensuing kickoff and jetted 95 yards for a game-tying touchdown. Evan Stahl added the placement to knot the score at 7-7.
North Penn dominated the remainder of the half.
Senior Kyle Mayfield – who was selected Homecoming King at halftime – culminated a six-play scoring drive that covered 83 yards. Mayfield – who rushed for a game-high 133 yards on 21 carries – capped the scoring drive with a nifty 15-yard burst. The Mandas PAT presented the Knights with a 14-7 first period lead.
North Penn extended the lead to 20-7 with a nicely executed 11-play scoring drive that covered 71 yards. The scoring play was a five-yard pass from Berstecher to tight end George Shipp. The snap for the extra point was low, and a pass failed for the 2-point conversion that kept the score at 20-7.
The Knight would add to the lead later in the second period on a 23-yard field goal by Mandas. There was little to doubt that North Penn – which led 23-7 – would continue its domination in the second half.
Wrong.
The beleaguered Titan defense came up with a stop on the first North Penn series of the second half. And the snowball began to roll for CB South.
CB South scored on its first offensive possession of the second half. The Titans scored on a well-executed 11-play drive that covered 75 yards. The scoring play was a 1-yard touchdown pass from Pileggi to Cale Mosher. The Stahl extra point closed the lead to 23-14.
Another Titan defensive stop gave CB South momentum as the offense generated a 10-play scoring drive. Pileggi capped the scoring drive with a four-yard scoring pass to Paul Weeks. Stahl’s placement sliced the lead to 23-21.
North Penn, though, appeared to weather to storm. The Knights countered with a nine-play scoring drive that was culminated on a five-yard scoring burst by Steve Gozur. The placement failed, and North Penn settled for a 29-21 advantage.
Central Bucks South mounted its third scoring drive in as many possessions to force a 29-29 deadlock. The Titans pieced together an effective 10-play scoring drive that covered 65 yards. Pileggi fired a 10-yard scoring pass to Weeks, and then found Mosher for the critical 2-point conversion to tie the score with 5:54 left in the game.
A third Titan defensive stop resulted in what proved to be the game winning drive for CB South. Pileggi found Steve Veal on a key 35-yard pass and then located Mosher across the middle for a 17-yard scoring pass. Stahl’s extra point would make the score final at 36-29.
“To be able to beat North Penn here – and to be 6-0 – it doesn’t get much better,” said Mosher. “We were down in the first half, but we never felt like we were out of it.”
And he was right.
Central Bucks South Titans 7 0 14 15 - 36
North Penn Knights 14 9 0 6 - 29
NP: Kris Akins 26 pass from Mike Berstecher (Brandon Mandas kick)
CBS: Josh Adams 95 kick off return (Evan Stahl kick)
NP: Kyle Mayfield 15 run (Mandas kick)
NP: George Shipp 5 pass from Berstecher (pass failed)
NP: Mandas 23 FG
CBS: Cale Mosher 1 pass from John Pileggi (Stahl kick)
CBS: Paul Weeks 4 pass from Pileggi (Stahl kick)
NP: Steve Gozur 5 run (kick failed)
CBS: Weeks 10 pass from Pileggi (Stahl kick)
CBS: Mosher 17 pass from Pileggi (Stahl kick)
Central Bucks South North Penn Knights
17 First Downs 22
77 Rush Yards 246
231 Pass Yards 237
308 Total Offense 483
2-12 Penalties/Yds 5-50
2-38 Punts/Average 3-39
Central Bucks South
Rushing: Josh Adams 21-62; Bobby Mallon 4-19; John Pileggi 2 (minus 4). Totals 27-77.
Passing: Pileggi 18-28-0; 231 yards & 4 TD.
Receiving: Steve Veal 6-84; Cale Mosher 6-76 & 2 TD; Paul Weeks 5-65 & 2 TD; Adams 1-6. Totals 18-231 & 4 TD.
Interceptions: None.
North Penn Knights
Rushing: Kyle Mayfield 21-133-TD; Steve Gozur 14-104-TD; Mike Berstecher 3-4; Luke Berry 1-3; Chris McGinnis 1-2. Totals – 40-246-2 TD.
Passing: Mike Berstecher 8-17-0; 102 yards & 2 TD; Austin Shearer 5-7-0; 135 yards. Totals 13-24-0; 237 yards & 2 TD.
Receiving: Kris Akins 4-103 & TD; George Shipp 3-36 & TD; Gozur 3-29; Colton Pyne 1-40; Kyle Mayfield 1-18; Eddie Posavec 1-14. Totals 13-237- 2 TD.
Interceptions: None.
- Log in to post comments
