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By Scott Huff
COATESVILLE – North Penn did not bring its ‘A’ game into the District One Quad-A Final against Ridley. And the Knights ‘B’ game was simply not enough as the Green Raiders punished NP, 19-10, and ended the season for the highly ranked Knights (13-1).
Ridley (13-1) – the Central League champions – was not intimidated in the least by North Penn. The Knights entered the game as the #1 ranked team in Pennsylvania by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and the #11 ranked team in the nation by USA Today.
“There is no question that we beat a very good football team,” said first-year Ridley coach Dennis Decker. “Football is a game of opportunites, and we made the most of ours.”
“They made some big plays, and we didn’t,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “You name something that could go wrong for us, and it went wrong.
“One thing after another kept going wrong for us,” added Beck. “Especially with all the injuries.”
The North Penn sideline looked like a M.A.S.H. unit with Ralphie Reeves (possible broken ankle), Brandon Mercer (possible broken collar bone), Mike Culbeath (concussion) and Craig Needhammer (injured shoulder) just some of the names that needed medical attention.
Only Needhammer was able to return to the field after his injury.“I got knocked out and they wouldn’t let me go back into the game,” said a tearful Culbreath – a senior. “Ridley is a great football team and they played very hard.”
The Green Raider defense swarmed to the football the entire game. The Knights had been able to run the football almost at will throughout the season and in the playoffs, but they were held in check for most of the game.
North Penn rushed for 158 yards, but 64 of those came in a single play – a 64-yard dash by Mercer. Needhammer – the iron horse of the Knight backfield – was held to just 38 yards on 12 carries.
“Craig didn’t play the entire second quarter because of the shoulder,” said Beck. “We didn’t think he could go in the second half, but to his credit – he gutted it out.
“But we still had to do a lot of mixing and matching in the second half with all the injuries,” added Beck. “And we didn’t play with much continuity on offense.”
North Penn took a 3-0 lead in the first period. Mercer’s electrifying 64-yard burst was the highlight of the five-play scoring march that culminated with a 32-yard field goal by Dylan Harris.
In the second period, a Ridley punt pinned NP on its own 3-yard line. The Green Raiders took over on the NP 41-yard line, and four plays later scored their first touchdown of the game.
The scoring play was a gorgeous 26-yard scoring pass from quarterback Colin Masterson to wide out Norm Donkin. The kick was blocked, and Ridley settled for a 6-3 lead.
North Penn regained the lead late in the second period on a gadget play. The Knights –faced with a fourth-and-one at the Ridley 31-yard line – deftly executed a play that saw Needhammer emerge from a scrum at the line of scrimmage to toss a scoring dart to a leaping Dominic Taggart. A Harris PAT made the score 10-6 with only 39 seconds left in the half.The final Knight lead lasted all of 15 seconds.
Ridley speedster Alex Nicolino cradled the ensuing kickoff and jetted 92 yards for a backbreaking touchdown. Tom Bongiorno added the placement, and the Green Raiders were to regain the lead, 13-10, at the half.
“I never considered a squib kick there,” said Beck. “We have covered kickoffs all season, and I didn’t really believe that we couldn’t cover that one.
“That was tough,” continued Beck. “We could have ended the half on such a good high, but the return brought us right back down.”
“To score there was a big deal for our team to go into halftime with the lead,” smiled Nicolino. “That was the second kick off I returned for a touchdown, but the other one was called back. So really, that was the first one.
“We knew that North Penn was good, but we felt they haven’t played a defense like ours before tonight,” added Nicolino. “We worked really hard on defense to prepare for this game.”
And it was a defensive stand at the outset of the third period that would seal the fate of the Knights.
North Penn took the second half kickoff and marched down the field. The Knights had first-and-ten from the Ridley 15-yard line. Three plays netted nine yards, but on fourth and one from the six-yard line – Needhammer was stopped short of the line.
“I would go for the first down every single time,” said Beck – who turned down a field goal attempt that could have tied the score at 13-13. “They was never really a question in my mind. We just didn’t get the yard.”
“We were right on the brink of getting back into the football game,” said North Penn quarterback Todd Smolinsky – who was also hobbled by an ankle injury for most of the game. “But when we needed the big play, we just couldn’t get it done.”Ridley would score one more touchdown to put the game out of reach. The Green Raiders took advantage of another ‘short field’ to go 29-yards on seven running plays for the score. Shahaid Smith – who led Ridley with 84 yards on 21 carries – sliced in from the 3-yard line with 8:13 left in the game.
The 19-10 lead would stand up as final.
“It just wasn’t a good night,” said Beck.
North Penn had its A+ season end with a B+ performance – and it wasn’t good enough against Ridley.
Ridley 0 13 0 6 - 19
North Penn 3 7 0 0 - 10
NP: Dylan Harris 32 FG
R: Norm Donkin 26 pass from Colin Masterson (kick blocked)
NP: Dominic Taggart 31 pass from Craig Needhammer (Harris kick)
R: Alex Nicolino 92 kickoff return (Tom Bongiorno kick)
R: Shahaid Smith 3 run (run failed)
Ridley North Penn
11 First Downs 13
152 Rush Yards 158
67 Pass Yards 135
219 Total Offense 293
6-33 Punts / Avg 3-27
5-45 Pen. / Yards 5-30
Ridley
Rushing: Shahaid Smith 21-84 & TD; Alex Nicolino 1-35; Jalen Rudolph 7-15; Colin Masterson 8-13; Casey Deprinzo 2-5. Totals 39-152- TD.
Passing: Masterson 7-14-0, 67 yards & TD.
Receiving: Nicolino 2-12; Smith 2-10; Norm Donkin 1-26 & TD; Dion Shaw 1-14; Deprinzo 1-5. Totals 7-67 & TD.
Interceptions: Casey Decker, Donkin.
North Penn
Rushing: Brandon Mercer 69; Craig Needhammer 12-38; Todd Smolinsky 10-22; Mike Culbreath 2-16; Dominic Taggart 3-13. Totals 30-158.
Passing: Smolinsky 14-25-2, 104 yards; Needhammer 1-1-0, 31 yards & TD. Totals 15-26-2. 135 yards and TD.
Receiving: TJ Gill 4-46; Taggart 3-39 & TD; Needhammer 4-16; Gerald Wendowski 2-16; Culbreath 1-11; Corey Ernst 1-7.
Interceptions: None.
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