PENNRIDGE – Admittedly, the North Penn Knights football non league schedule is as rigorous as it gets. The Knights finished the three week stint 1-2, but left with a bad taste in their mouth after the heart wrenching loss that they suffered at the hands of Downingtown East last week.

So, as they have often in their conference openers of recent years, the Knights came back hungry on Friday night and handily picked up their first league win of the season, coasting to a 31-7 victory over rival Pennridge.

North Penn jumped ahead early, taking a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a Nyfease West 12 yard touchdown run. West had 8 carries for 66 yards, however his contributions on defense were just as valuable, spearheading a secondary that held Pennridge to a mere 62 yards through the air.

The scoring continued in the second quarter for the Knights as Nick Isabella was able to break numerous would be tacklers on his way to a 55 yard touchdown run, followed two minutes later by a Reece Udinski touchdown pass to Ricky Johns. The touchdown pass was one of Udinski’s 9 completions on the night which totaled 104 yards.

The North Penn defense was stout all night, only giving up one touchdown on a drive started at their own 10 yard line. The defense was led by the spirited and physical play of seniors Justin Ostopowicz and Nick Isabella

“I thought it was our best night defensively, I thought we were really physical and tackled well” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “I was really proud of the way our kids played.”

The Knights special teams were also major contributors to the victory. Along with a blocked punt by Spencer Jones which set up the first touchdown, North Penn return men averaged 27.2 yards per return, which included a 66 yard kickoff return by Justin Ostopowicz to set up a touchdown. Brett Bealer also got in on the action by tacking on a 38 yard field goal at the end of the first half.

“They are a big team with a lot of big kids,” Ostopowicz said. “We couldn’t take them lightly.”

On the offensive side of the ball Ostopowicz had 11 carries for 48 yards.

The Knights came out for the second half with the same intensity that they brought in the first half, and tacked on another touchdown on the first drive of the second half. Nick Isabella picked up his second touchdown on the night, this time an 11 yard run. Isabella finished up with 91 yards on 7 carries and two touchdowns.

After that it was up to the Knights defense to lock down the Rams offense, and they were able to do just that. Pennridge was only able to move the ball into North Penn territory once in the second half, due in large part to the tenacious defense of Dan Liberio.

“I thought that with (Liberio) playing so well and taking up blocks other guys were able to make easy plays,” said Beck of his senior defensive linemen.

“We’re 2-2, but really we’re 1-0 in the league and that’s what we are focusing on” an excited Ostopowicz said after the game. “We’re looking forward to next week to keep it going.”

The Knights return home next week for the first time since their season opener, as they host C.B. South in the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Game at Crawford Stadium at 7:30pm.

**NOTES:

• North Penn senior Jake Bevan was taken off the field after an injury and transported to the hospital. According to his parents, he is doing well, but would be kept over night for precautionary reasons only.
• Pink T-shirts for next week’s Breast Cancer Awareness game are available for purchase in the North Penn High School Athletic office throughout the week .
• The Knights will also play home vs. Souderton in two weeks. Friday October 9th is Homecoming vs. Souderton at 7:30pm.