The North Penn Knights finished their perfect regular season last night with a dominating 56-14 win over William Tennent. 42-7 at halftime, the entire second half was played with a running clock (mercy rule). The number one seed in the 16 team District 1 6A playoff field, it remains to be seen how they will hold up under the challenges of playoff football. Also, what artificial turf field will they play on (assuming they win) on November 16? From what I've heard, the 16 seed will be Ridley, resulting in a rematch of the 2009 District final. Ridley has to come play in "the Swamp" this time, though.

Just in case anyone is paying attention, PIAA football is about to start. Here is a pre-season ranking from Pennlive.com.

The Knights come in at 8th in the PA Class 6A rankings:

Class 6A
1. St. Joseph’s Prep (12) – 13-1 – 2
2. Pine-Richland (7) – 16-0 – 1
3. Coatesville (1) – 13-2 – 3
4. Parkland (11) – 13-1 – 5
5. Williamsport (4) – 7-4 – NR
6. North Allegheny (7) – 8-4 – NR
7. State College (6) – 10-3 – 8
8. North Penn (1) – 9-3 – NR
9. Central Bucks South (1) – 7-4 – NR
10. Erie (10) – 9-3 – NR

North Penn’s Beck among 4 inductees into Montgomery County Coaches Hall of Fame - North Penn Reporter

DICK BECK

Another product of the incredible football legacy at Central Bucks West High, Dick Beck began his coaching career at his alma mater, before accepting the head coaching position at North Penn High in 2002. In 16 seasons he has compiled a 176-40 record. His teams have 12 Suburban One championships, seven District 1 titles, have reached state playoffs 11 times and won the state championship in 2003.

The most telling statistic about North Penn’s consistent excellence is that Beck has led his team to the state final four seven times. Under his leadership, the Knights have rolled to 12 10-win seasons and he was named Coach of the Year by the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2011.

Congratulations, Coach Beck!

From Earther article about Tobasco:

To everything there is an end. Step by step, we trudge towards our eventual destination. Bound by chains that drag along those who agree with this path, they move unerringly to their final end. That choice, that destination, was chosen by hubris and by force - by greed and power and lust. And sold in a neat package to keep everyone marching along. And all those that don’t agree will struggle against the forces arrayed against them, until they simply move on in their own way or succumb to the will of the leaders that wish to go in this direction. And while the chains can be broken, they can never be forgotten.

To everything there is an end. Step by step we move towards our eventual destination. Hand in hand, helping those who have a will to move in the same path over difficult terrain. Helping each other over every obstacle until we reach a resting place. That choice, that destination, remains within our power and will to change, if that is what we wish. It can be determined by hope, optimism, courage and strength. And we can invite others to join us, but we cannot force them to follow. This is a choice that must be made by the individual and cannot be commanded it can only be offered.

There’s a reason why McIlhenny doesn’t work the same as corporations that answer to shareholders. Its the same reason that SpaceX can take risks that not only baffle but anger people: because a human being guides the direction based on human ideals, whether we agree with them or not. This can be good or bad, depending on the path you feel we should take.

There are those who think we are not doing enough to take the riches we can lay our hands on. Who believe the greatness of humanity depends on what we can acquire and what level of consumption we present: that the only measure of worth is that of wealth - and wealth cannot be achieved without taking from everything and giving to yourself in some hedonistic orgy of consumerism. An objectivist ideal that would do Ayn Rand proud.

Then there are those who believe that the measure of who and what we are is tied to our actions and our willingness to take responsibility for our place in the world. That our actions in comparison to our society are what matter, and that our survival as a species depends on us standing together and helping each other. That when we see ourselves doing damage to the world we have an obligation and responsibility to step back from that and stop doing it. This is a socialist ideal, and has been lumped in with all the ills and woes of despotism and Soviet communism - which really wasn’t communism in any sense that served the majority of the people. And because of this, the absolutists out there feel that any step towards social awareness and environmental care taking is anathema to their personal happiness and wealth.

So we march forward, step by step, towards a destination that will be our end. And perhaps this end will be a new beginning. The Earth will abide, after all, even if we do not. Or perhaps this end will be a new start for us, because we will have realized our place in the world and will be better caretakers because of it. Or maybe we’ll pack up and go elsewhere, building our worlds as we go and let those who remain behind have what they will.

In all these cases, what humanity is right now will end at that place. We will either change or die off (in part or in whole) and what, if anything, remains will be alien to our current understanding. That’s okay too - change will come one way or another. And the Earth, as it has done in so many different epochs, will abide.

To everything there is an end. And to everything... there is also a beginning.

By PV

Too funny not to post.

Nick Trademark

Cleveland Browns Head Coach Mike Pettine

Wow! 3 posts in 2 days. In the off-season yet. But this news is too good to miss. As ABC news points out in Browns Hire Mike Pettine as Coach, "Football has formed Pettine's life. His father, Mike Pettine Sr., won four state championships at Central Bucks High School West in Doylestown, Pa., and retired in 1999 as the winningest coach in state history." There are a lot of tweets about Pettine. My favorites are from Kyle Berger: "I really learned a lot from Pettine. We did a weekly Coaches' Show on my high school's TV station together. Great guy...best of luck." and "The last time Mike Pettine was a HC, he had a full head of hair and I weighed 185. Man, those were the days. #NorthPennPride" For nostalgia's sake, I have to link to the North Penn Reporter story Browns hire former North Penn coach Mike Pettine as coach. I would have expected more of a local angle than an old picture from "The Swamp," Crawford Stadium, but the story is the same as the ABC News story.

For more pictures of the 2001 Season, check out the North Penn football site. Mike Pettine's career prior to the NFL has had a surprising amount of attention. The 1999 North Penn-CB West game was featured in The Last Game. I have to wrap up this post, but I hope to be back with more from youtube.

Richard Sherman

I have no problem with Richard Sherman. Have any of the people complaining ever been around even a high school team that has just won a big game on a big play? How can you blame the guy for being amped up? The league makes pass defense progressively harder and harder, he is covering a guy whose mouth is bigger than his talent, and he just made the play that sends his team to the Super Bowl.

This Mercury News item points out "The lesser-known side to Sherman, 25, is his relentless commitment to community service." (Of course, this is after another drawn out analysis of his actions and background.) My favorite analysis is SB Nation's Richard Sherman's pass deflection: The Xs and Os behind the big story. (Linked to Philly.com). And of course, somebody had to do a recap of Greatest NFL Feuds.

Of course, as much as I like and appreciate Richard Sherman, I still hope Peyton gets a second ring.

Football summary - 2013

The North Penn Knights lost the 2 games after my LaSalle post (to Archbishop Wood and St. Joe's Prep). They were written off by many, and CB West, CB South & Pennridge saw a glimmer of hope for winning the last year of the current Suburban One League Continental Conference. The Knights wouldn't stay down, though, rattling off 7 straight conference wins. By my tally, their record was 40-2 during this version of the Continental conference.

The Knights managed to get to the District 1 AAAA final in the playoffs, but they couldn't keep up with Neshaminy. It was a pretty good year, but it's all going to change with reorganization of the Suburban One League (again).

Crushing defeat for the Knights

North Penn Pounded by LaSalle provides the details of the 35-7 loss. The Knights were held to 165 yards of offense compared to 409 gained by the Explorers. The Explorers' defense stifled the Knights and the North Penn defense couldn't stop either Kyle Shurmur or Jordan Meechum. Two more tough games for the Knights coming up with Archbishop Wood and St. Joe's Prep.

EsaternPAFootball.com posted a "District 1 and 12 Report" by Armand Vanore today. District 12 looks to be dominated by the usual suspects, LaSalle & the Prep in AAAA and Archbishop Wood in AAA. The North Penn Knights play all three as non-conference games. Vanore also projects the Knights on top of the SOL Continental while at the same time giving a lot of pixels to Pennridge. Of course, last year the Pennridge loss kept the Knights out of the District 1 play-offs, due the 3 losses to the previously mentioned non-conference District 12 games. If the Knights can finish better than 0-3 during the first 3 weeks, it should put them in the play-offs as a very dangerous sleeper team from the bottom of the bracket.

It's still nice to remember the days when the Knights were winning all of their regular season games and near the top of the bracket. Speaking of former glory, I've heard that Andrew Stoll (North Penn class of '09) has returned to the Knights' fold as an assistant coach.

North Penn Knights 2013 Schedule

EasternPAFootball.com has the North Penn football schedule for this fall, starting with a scrimmage at PW on Saturday. I also found this article on the Channel 3 website that predicts better things for the Knights in 2013. Of course, as the article notes, North Penn's 3 non-league games are against the cream of the Catholic League. They will need to beat at least one of these teams, along with last years SOL Continental winner Pennridge, to get back in the playoffs.

Dick Beck talks about the 2013 North Penn Knights on EasternPAFootball.com. Sounds like they have good size on the o-line, but he doesn't say anything about speed, normally the difference maker for Dick Beck teams.

Now that I have blogger on my phone, maybe I can post more often. I'm not sure how to post links yet, though.