At the AAA game

BTW, Congratulations to Clairton on their 3rd straight A championship.

Labels: high school football, Pennsylvania High School Football, PIAA playoffs

Playoffs under way

Southern Columbia and Clairton are underway, with the North Penn-Central Dauphin game as the finale tomorrow knight at 6 PM. The Reporter has a nice write-up about the 2003 North Penn State Champs who are now with the team as coaches, Zack Raffle and Jim Laky. Kevin Brandt talks about the Knights' resurgence after a 1-2 start and how the team has come together in NP's Brandt anxious for state final test. Easternpafootball.com has a championship preview of the 2011 North Penn Knights and a championship preview of the Central Dauphin Rams.

Labels: North Penn football, North Penn Knights, Pennsylvania High School Football, PIAA playoffs

Going to Hershey!

North Penn 21 - LaSalle College High School 14

I never got to post a preview of the game, but I'm going to at least link to everything I can find on the review of the game. Inspired second half send Knights into finals describes the North Penn miscues in the first half and the defensive dominance the Knights had over the Explorers in the second half. A nice write-up and all the stats are in North Penn earns trip to state championship by Todd Thorpe in the Intel. La Salle’s injured Coleman put best foot forward in loss describes Sean Coleman's incredible effort to overcome injury and not only play, but contribute. In NORTH PENN FOOTBALL: Beck’s decisions keep working out for Knights, Christriaan DeFranco describes Dick Beck's all out strategy and how this time it paid off.

More stories:
North Penn's Fielder feels "lucky" to be back in lineup
North Penn solves La Salle, wins semifinal
Reeves' Hat Trick Sends Knights to Title Bout
'HOW SWEET IT IS!': Knights headed to Chocolatetown USA
PIAA football roundup: CD Rams get North Penn in Quad-A final
North Penn buries its demons
And their next opponent coach: Coaching peers applaud Central Dauphin's Glen McNamee

Labels: high school football, North Penn football, Pennsylvania High School Football, PIAA playoffs

North Penn 34 - Council Rock South 14

Kev Hunter describes the Knights' win in North Penn Rolls C.B. South. Led by 4 touchdowns from Ralph Reeves, the Knights finished off the Golden Hawks for their second straight District 1 title. This sets up the Knights for round 4 with the LaSalle College High School Explorers with a trip to Hershey on the line.

While the consensus will be that LaSalle is the superior team, the North Penn Knights will leave nothing on the field in their quest to get back to Hershey. The North Penn pass defense will have to provide the best performance of the last 2 years if they want to win. North Penn has certainly been of the losing side when they were favored. Ralph Reeves was their when they lost to Liberty in 2008 and Ridley in 2009. They came awfully close last year. If Corey Ernst's last pass had been complete, the Knights would have been in position to go to Hershey. That's all in the past now, and it comes down to Saturday's game at Northeast High School.

Labels: North Penn football, Pennsylvania High School Football, PIAA football, PIAA playoffs

North Penn-Council Rock South Preview

I feel compelled to link to the easternpafootball.com preview of tomorrow night's game. I particularly liked Armand Vanore's questions, which I will attempt to answer/predict.

Will the Knight defensive front be able to maintain their gap integrity vs. the Hawks triple option attack? Yes, the Knights have always focused on this and the defensive linemen are chosen for speed, strength and technique. This will allow them to succeed in filling the gaps.
Will heavyweights Smink and Garland be able to wear down the Hawks defensive front if they have a lead in the fourth quarter? Maybe, maybe not. If not, the Knights will go to traps and screens to free up Mayfield and Gevirtz in space.
Will Bedesem roll the dice and have Donnelly throw more in this game? Yes, and North Penn will be prepared, leading to stalled drives and turnovers.
Will Ernst look more to his TE (Reeves) in the second half? Only if necessary.
Will the Knights be able to avoid the turnovers that have plagued them in their previous four losses over the last two years? Probably not, but it will not be a factor, just like it wasn't a factor when Gevirtz muffed the punt against Neshaminy.

In this Suburban One heavyweight bout, it will all come down to execution. Everyone already knows what the game plans will be. North Penn's extensive playoff experience will give them an edge in taking advantage of any mistakes by Council Rock South.

Labels: District 1 AAAA playoffs, North Penn football, Pennsylvania High School Football, PIAA football