Game action photos have been posted in the photo gallery at the following link: http://photos.suburbanonesports.com/ To view WNPV's post-game wrap, click on the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF1UyU276Wo For additional coverage, visit the following links at Varsity365.com: North Penn 42 Liberty 10 and Stars of the Show from North Penn/Liberty
By Scott Huff
TOWAMENCIN – North Penn head coach Dick Beck has an extremely impressive resume during his tenure with the Knights that includes four District One championships and a PIAA state title.
The 2009 line of that resume has yet to be written, but if the Friday night season opener against defending state Quad-A champion Bethlehem Liberty is any indication, the resume will be even more remarkable.
“It is really an honor to defeat a team like Liberty,” said Beck after the Knights administered a 42-10 drubbing to the visiting Hurricanes. “We learned a lot about our football team. We reacted very well when we got down early in the game.”The early part of the game looked like anything but a huge win for the Knights.
Liberty returned superb quarterback Anthony Gonzalez this season, and the gifted lefty engineered a touchdown drive on the Canes first possession. Gonzalez fired a 54-yard scoring aerial to Jarrod West to cap a seven-play, 80-yard scoring drive. Tim Kane’s placement made the score 7-0.
The initial North Penn drive resulted in a punt.
Liberty again marched toward the Knight goal line as the Canes had a first and goal on the NP two-yard line. However, a pair of penalties put the ball back on the 12-yard line, and the ensuing play turned the game around.
Liberty coach Tim Moncman opened his playbook to the page that showed a double reverse. The play not only lost 10-yards, but resulted in a fumble that was recovered by the Knight junior Matt Donovan.
“If we go down there 14-0, we’re in a lot of trouble,” said Beck. “But we came up with the turnover, and it gave us some life.”
“We seemed to take some momentum after that play,” said North Penn junior running back Craig Needhammer who rushed for an astonishing 223 yards and a pair of touchdowns. “We fell behind, but we knew that if we could keep up the intensity, we would get back into the game.”
North Penn got on the scoreboard late in the first period. The Knights received a 40-yard burst off tackle by Brandon Mercer to set up a 23-yard field goal by Dylan Harris.
“That run by Brandon was big,” said Beck of his junior running back who left the game with a broken collarbone and will be lost for at least six weeks. “We wanted to be able to run the football, and that play got us started.”
A special teams play set up the first North Penn touchdown. A strong pass rush on a punting situation forced the punter to run with the football, giving North Penn excellent field position on the Liberty 11-yard line.
North Penn scored its initial TD when Needhammer blasted through the heart of the Cane defense for an 11-yard touchdown run. The Harris PAT gave the Knights the lead at 10-7.Liberty would knot the score at 10-10 later in the period when the Hurricanes moved to the NP 10-yard line. The drive stalled, however, and Kane split the uprights with a 32-yard field goal.
North Penn would snatch a 17-10 halftime lead as the Knights traveled 79 yards on just six plays. Needhammer reeled off an 81-yard dash, and senior Mike Culbreath capped the scoring drive with a one-yard run on fourth down.
“I told the kids in the huddle that the first three plays that I called weren’t supposed to be scoring plays,” smiled Beck. “I wanted to run the clock out.
“Needhammer and Culbreath did a great job running the football,” added Beck. “And our offensive line came up big.”
Center Steve Trabanas, guard Tyler Scherer, guard Kevin Harrell, tackle Will Kye, and tackle JD Duzrko began to dominate the line of scrimmage.
“North Penn is known for pounding the football on the ground,” said Duzrko as the Knights hammered the Cane defense for 329 rushing yards. “We have four new starters on the line (with the exception of Duzrko), and I think we showed tonight that we could move the ball.
“We needed a spark after the bad start,” added Duzrko. “But once we started playing the way we can, things worked out for us.”
North Penn dominated the second half of the game with 25 unanswered points. Culbreath scored on a pair of short TD bolts of one and three yards – and Needhammer concluded the scoring with a 99-yard touchdown run.
“The line did a great job at the point of attack,” said Needhammer. “And I cut it outside and just ran for the goal line.”
North Penn did feature a TD pass play when senior quarterback Todd Smolinshy – who engineered a turnover-free game – fired a 25-yard scoring pass to Ralphie Reeves.
“We have some young guys, and a lot of weapons,” said Smolinsky. “I was a little worried after a bad start, but I knew we would come back.”
“I hope that we can build on this game,” said Beck as the Knights prepare for next week’s game against crosstown rival Lansdale Catholic. “We can’t forget what we did to beat a good Liberty team.”
And a glance at Beck’s resume would indicate that the Knights won’t forget.
Bethlehem Liberty 7 3 0 0 - 10
North Penn 3 14 12 13 - 42
BL – Jarrod West 54 pass from Anthony Gonzalez (Tim Kane kick)
NP – 23 FG Dylan Harris
NP – Craig Needhammer 11 run (Harris kick)
BL – 32 FG Kane
NP – Mike Culbreath 1 run (Harris kick)
NP – Culbreath 3 run (kick failed)
NP – Culbreath 1 run (pass failed)
NP – Ralphie Reeves 25 pass from Todd Smolinsky (Harris kick)
NP – Needhammer 99 run (kick blocked)
Liberty North Penn
9 First Downs 14
74 Rushing Yards 329
109 Passing Yards 87
183 Total Offense 416
6-15-1 Passing 6-11-87
4-40 Punts 1-42
6-60 Penalties 4-35
Liberty
Rushing: Gonzalez 15-61; Andrew Klotz 7-19; Malik Smith 4-13; James McCarthy 2-3; Jamyl Aminu 1-2; Vladimir Marchena 1 (minus 10); West 1 (minus 14). Totals 31-74
Passing: Gonzalez 5-11-0, 105 yards, TD; McCarthy 1-4-1, 4 yards. Totals 6-15-1, 109 yards, TD.
Receiving: Marchena 3-21; Klotz 2-30; West 1-54, TD; Daniel lopez 1-4. Totals 7-109, TD.
North Penn
Rushing: Needhammer 15-223, 2 TD; Brandon Mercer 3-52; Smolinsky 8-31; Culbreath 8-21, 3 TD; Luke Tillger 1-2; Stephen Hood 1-0; Corey Ernst 5-0. Totals 41-329, 5 TD.
Passing: Smolinsky 6-10-0, 87 yards; Ernst 0-1-0, 0 yards. Totals 6-11-0, 87 yards.
Receiving: Needhammer 2-29; Reeves 1-25, TD; TJ Gill 1-14; Culbreath 1-13; Dom Taggart 1-6. Totals 6-87, TD.
Interception: Ernst.
- Log in to post comments
0
