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WARMINSTER – The message was clear.
And if it wasn’t, a group of North Penn fans wearing white t-shirts made sure that it was as they lined the front of the stands prior to Friday night’s District One Quad A title showdown against Neshaminy.
Their t-shirts – with one letter on each shirt – spelled out a simple message: PAYBACK.
The Knights had a little score to settle with the Redskins, who sent North Penn packing in the district quarterfinals last season with a 35-0 win that saw the mercy rule go into effect. 
Throw in a 31-7 loss to the Redskins earlier in the season last year, and it’s a safe bet the Knights didn’t need any pep talks prior to Friday night’s title tilt. A pair of losses by a combined 66-7 score was motivation enough.
“We were thinking about it all year – back in February and throughout the offseason,” Knight senior Andrew Stoll said. “That’s all we were thinking about.”
The Knights did more than just think about it. They decided to take steps to ensure it wouldn’t happen again.
“We were lifting so much harder than what we did the previous year,” Stoll said. “I think we conditioned more than any year that I’ve been here. We just really worked hard.”
They reaped the benefits of that hard work with a no-doubt-about-it 28-0 win in Friday night’s title game before a standing room only crowd at William Tennent High School.
“This means a lot, especially against Neshaminy after they beat us last year,” Stoll said. “This was one of our goals from the beginning of the year. Now that we’ve accomplished it – it feels great.”The Knights pretty much owned the game after the Redskins’ came up empty on their opening drive of the game that ate over seven minutes off the game clock. The 13-play drive covered 46 yards but stalled on the Knights’ 19. A 36-yard field guy hooked just left of the uprights, and the Knights had dodged a bullet.
“Just to make sure they didn’t get any points was really key,” Stoll said. “We got embarrassed last year, and we wanted to make sure we didn’t again this year.
“After we realized we could stop them, it was just clicking for us.”
A dazzling 42-yard touchdown run by the impossible-to-catch Ronnie Akins put the Knights on the scoreboard with 1:35 remaining in the opening quarter, and they took a 7-0 lead into the intermission. 
North Penn opened the second half with a drive that all but duplicated the Redskins’ opening drive of the game. The Knights also held the ball for close to seven minutes and ran 13 plays. The big difference – they put a touchdown on the board as Tyler Smith capped the 80-yard drive with a one-yard run that, after a Brandon McManus extra point, put the Knights on top 14-0.
After a huge defensive stop on fourth-and one, the Knights went on to add a pair of touchdowns for the big win.
The post-game scene was a study in contrasts, and as the jubilant Knights exchanged chest bumps and posed for photos with the championship trophy, the Redskins were left to deal with the disappointment of seeing their season – and a 12-game winning streak – come to an end.
“I’m proud of our kids,” Neshaminy coach Mark Schmidt said. “They played hard. They never quit – they battled.
“They (the Knights) are a very good team. They’re very talented, they’re very explosive. Our goal was to keep them off the field as long as we could and keep them from sustaining drives.”
The Knights were on the field long enough to score 28 points while keeping the Redskins off the scoreboard with a stellar defensive showing.
“It’s nice to keep them from putting points on the board after what they did to us last year,” Stoll said. “It feels that much better knowing we could do this to them after they did it to us twice.”
No more talk about paybacks. The score has been settled. The Knights are the 2008 District One Quad A champions.
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