TOWAMENCIN- Bend but don’t break- it is a phrase that would aptly describe North Penn’s defense on Friday night. The Knights defense gave up 208 rushing yards, 19 first downs, and were forced to stay on the field for nearly two thirds of the game. Ultimately the defense was able to get the job done however, by forcing three Pennridge fumbles that would doom the Rams in their 47-22 loss to North Penn, in football’s National Conference opener.
The game got off to an ominous start for the Knights as they failed to convert on a fake punt on fourth down, conceding possession to the Rams on their own 34 yard line. Four plays later Pennridge had a 7-0 lead following a 2 yard rushing score from quarterback Devon Balmer.
North Penn was able to respond quickly however, as on the ensuing kickoff Elgin Horton returned the Ethan Aigeldinger kick 91 yards to the house to even the score at 7. The Knights were then able to rattle off 16 more unanswered points including a 57 yard passing connection from quarterback Jake Bevan to wide receiver Keith Earle.
“It was nice to have explosive plays. We hadn’t had those [earlier this season],” stated North Penn head coach Dick Beck after the game.
At halftime the Knights held a comfortable 23-7 lead and appeared to be in control of the game. The Rams however were determined to not go down without a fight, as they opened up the second half by manufacturing a 15 play, 91 yard scoring drive that ate up five minutes and 42 seconds of game time. Following a two point conversion by Pennridge tailback Joe Unangst, the North Penn lead was cut to 8.
The Knights were then able to respond again, answering Pennridge’s touchdown with one of their own on a 6 yard toss from Bevan to tight end Colby Beck. The North Penn lead then ballooned to 30-15 following a Matt Amendola extra point.
The Rams were able to shrink the lead to 8 again following an 18 yard pass and catch from Balmer to Unangst, but that was as close as they would get. The Knights would proceed to score 17 unanswered points, putting the game out of reach for good.
Quarterback Jake Bevan impressed in his first career start for North Penn. He completed 5-8 passes for 103 yards and two touchdowns while also rushing for 30 yards on five carries.
Bevan seemed indifferent about his performance despite the solid stat line following the game.
“I think [my performance] was alright, you know there were definitely things to improve. The receivers got open and made plays, the offensive line gave me time and that made my job easy” said the Junior signal caller following the game.
Coach Beck agreed that his quarterback had room to improve.
“I think he’s got a lot to improve on. I think that if he thinks this is what we’re looking for, we’re going to need a little bit more. I wasn’t happy with some of the mental stuff but its a good first step.” the coach added.
While Bevan played a solid game for North Penn, running back Nyfese West was limited to only 10 carries Friday night as he is still hobbled by an ankle injury. Nick Isabella carried part of the load on the ground carrying the ball 7 times for 84 yards and a score.
North Penn’s record now improves to 2-2 on the year and 1-0 in the conference. Pennridge, no longer undefeated, falls to 3-1 and 0-1 in the conference
Next up for the Knights is a road trip to Bucks county to face the C.B. South Titans who are coming off of a resounding 42-0 win over Bensalem. A win at C.B. South would go a long way towards helping the Knights build momentum as they head deeper into the conference schedule.
North Penn’s opening conference game win against Pennridge is a great start, but it isn’t about how you start. It’s about how you finish.
