Football
Favorite athlete: Josh Hamilton
Favorite team: University of Oregon football
Favorite memory competing in sports: Going to states sophomore year.
Most embarrassing/funniest thing that has happened while competing in sports: Locker room pranks
Music on iPod: Hard Rock
Future plans: Go to college and study engineering or become a physician’s assistant.
Words to live by: “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”
One goal before you turn 30: Get a job in my desired major
One thing people don’t know about me: I play guitar
By Mary Jane Souder
Alex Eppinger had plenty of reasons to walk away from football.
The North Penn senior, after missing a good portion of his junior jayvee season with a broken wrist, was penciled in to start on the offensive line for the Knights this fall. Things didn't exactly go as planned, however, as Eppinger was diagnosed with mononucleosis just before football camp began in August.
“No one really looks forward to camp, but everyone knows how important it is," Eppinger said. "It's what starts your whole season.
"It's everything for you. It's what gets you in shape. It's what gets you motivated for the rest of the season.
“The first couple of days it felt nice because I knew how hard camp was, and it felt good that I wasn't doing it. The third or fourth day I realized - wow, this is really going to set me back, and once I'm cleared I'm really going to have to work to get back to where my teammates are."
No thought was given to quitting, and there is not a trace of bitterness or anger. Just the simple realization that he would have to work harder to get playing time. A statement that speaks of Eppinger’s character.
"There's nothing I could do, and that was the worst part,” he said. "There was nothing I could change.
"I couldn't rehab it, I couldn't do anything for it. It just took time, and it was painfully slow."
After five weeks of missed practices, Eppinger was cleared to play. By the Knights' fifth game of the season against Quakertown, Eppinger had worked himself into a backup role, but he was beginning to feel some frustration.
"I knew if I had game reps I could push myself to get better and get myself in shape," he said. "I knew I wasn't going to get those reps in varsity - it wasn't that they didn't want to waste time with me, but they had more important things to take care of than just trying to get me back.
"One Monday, which is when our jayvee games are, I asked if I could play in (the jayvee game) because I wanted to get those game reps to try and get myself back. He (coach Dick Beck) said no and kind of laughed."
Beck, it turns out, had a much better idea.
"He came walking by me in the weight room, and I'm thinking to myself, I've got to believe we've got to put this kid on the field somewhere,” the Knights’ coach said.
So Beck decided to give Eppinger a shot at tight end.
"Nick Wright and Connor Gill were playing tight end, and both of those guys play defense also," the Knights' coach said. "The two-way thing with those two guys was really hard, so I said to (Eppinger), 'If you can show me that you can learn tight end and make a difference there, I'll start you there.' I told him he had two days, and by Thursday, I was convinced he was the guy at tight end."
Eppinger seized the moment.
"It started with just a few plays, and they were all run plays," he said. "He said, 'If you can learn these plays by Friday, I think we can work you in.'
"I knew this was my opportunity because we were really struggling to move the ball early in the season. I knew I could be one of the guys on the line, but because they were so far ahead of me, I knew I wasn't going to get that chance. I saw this opportunity at tight end to really show them what I had and show them I could be what they wanted from me at tight end."
And show everyone he did.
"He goes out against CB South, and we rushed for over 400 yards," Beck said. "He won the lineman of the game for his blocking.
"The next week he was lineman of the game again. I think the difference in our running game has been what he's given to us at the tight end position."
Eppinger acknowledged that watching from the sidelines gave him a new perspective.
"When I was out with mono, I kind of understood how our coaches view us and how they want to motivate us, and it really helped me understand why coaches do the things they do and what they're really looking for," he said. "You don't realize it when you're actually practicing what the coaches are seeing and what they notice and stuff like that.
"When I was finally back, I had that knowledge, and I think that really helped me understand the situation. I did what I could with it because I really just wanted to play."
Eppinger was part of a miraculous comeback for the Knights that saw them rebound from an 0-3 start that included three lopsided non-conference losses to reel off seven wins in a row en route to a Continental Conference crown.
"It's honestly really great to see our team not just put our heads down and say, 'Oh, this season is a wash, and we'll never be anything,'" Eppinger said. "It was really great after those tough three losses in the beginning to see everyone knowing what we had left and seeing there were so many more games to win.”
And win they have. The Knights won their ninth straight game on Friday night when they upset third-seeded Pennsbury 31-21 in a second round district game.
“It’s just crazy to see how much of a different team we are than when we started the season,” Eppinger said. “It’s unbelievable to be on this team and share something special with these guys. These guys every day are working so hard to get better and better. I have to give it to my teammates. They’re just stepping up.
"We knew we had the skill - it just seemed like mentally we weren't there, and we weren't playing like a team the way we are now. It just feels like all of our players really came together and played as a team. It's like everyone is worried about the team, not really themselves."
Perhaps they took their cue from a player who had every reason to hang his head, every reason to say, 'this season is a wash,' but chose instead to battle his way back into a starting role.
"Here's a kid that doesn't even practice the first five weeks of his senior year when he was looking to start, and then he sits on the bench for three straight games and is probably saying to himself, 'All this work for this?' and it probably went through his head - is it worth it?" Beck said. "But he stuck with it and kept working hard.
"He is one of our most important lineman and really does a good job at tight end. I find it to be an amazing story."
Eppinger got his first taste of football playing flag football in fifth grade. It was during his Corpus Christi CYO days that he developed a love of the sport.
"My coach - LC coach Tom Kirk - opened my eyes to not only football but sports in general and what it's really all about," he said. "It really helped me to be self motivated and understand how the game works.
"It's not about you at all. It's really just doing your job – that is what makes a team successful."
Eppinger is planning to try out for the baseball team this spring. Next fall, the North Penn senior will be attending college with an interest in pursuing a career in engineering or as a physician's assistant.
"I had so much experience with physician’s assistants through the wrist injury," he said of an injury that required a bone graft from his hip and kept him sidelined for several months. "I was always around them and saw what their job really is, and it interests me."
His interest in engineering is sparked by his enjoyment of physics and how things work. Whatever he pursues, it's a safe bet he'll succeed if he brings the same persistence and passion he displays on the gridiron.
