Abington,PA -Riding a three game losing streak and at risk of missing the District 1 playoffs for the first time since 2020’s shortened bracket, the injured North Penn Knights had their backs against the wall. And after receiving the opening kick they didn’t waste time getting themselves off it.
Shortly following Sal Colella converting a 3rd & 2 to give the Knights a fresh set of downs, the SOL’s leading passer London Evans hit William Rittenhouse for a 39 yard touchdown to give North Penn a 7-0 lead on their first drive.
When Abington’s first turn with the ball came around, I doubt it could’ve gone worse. The Ghosts were called for a false start, then a fumble on the first play gave North Penn the ball back within the 25.
Colella quickly capitalized off the Ghosts errors and got into the endzone for the first time on the night to extend the lead to 13-0 after a missed extra point.
The second Ghosts drive wouldn’t go much better than the first, getting pushed back to a 4th & 37 and being forced to punt.
The Knights ground attack continued to shine, converting another 3rd down and setting up Evans’ second touchdown pass of the night to Jacob Garrett to expand their lead to three scores.
Abington’s third attempt to march down the field was halted by a Sal Colella interception, who would be the recipient of a 48 yard touchdown just the very next play!
Colella was all over the field on Friday night, dominating in the backfield, as a wideout, and in the secondary.
When I asked him about his stamina after the game, he said, “We do conditioning every day in practice; there really is no secret. You just have to take conditioning seriously, run as hard as you can all practice and that gets you ready for the game. The adrenaline definitely helps you with that”.
Abington finally started to get going as the second quarter began, with Caleb Smith going 51 yards to put the Ghosts right on North Penn’s doorstep. Then, tragedy struck for Abington. Smith failed to bring down a high snap, and possession returned to the Knights.
Fortunately for the Abington offense, the defense would prevent a score for the first time on the night. Unfortunately for the Abington offense, North Penn shut them down, forcing a turnover on downs and returning the ball to the Knights offense.
Jacob Garrett wouldn’t waste any time taking a breakaway 69 yard touchdown to the house, his second of the game expanding the Knight lead to 34. Colella’s second pick of the game further established North Penn dominance, but Abington would strike back with a fumble recovered by Jaeden Wright halting the Knight’s progress.
The Knights defense would put together another stop, but a Kai Taylor interception would put them back on the field. Luckily Johaun Luke picked up the third North Penn interception to give them some rest.
Just before the half, Evans picked up his 4th passing TD, a 45 yarder to Kai Corbin, bringing us to 41-0 at halftime.
Things picked up just where they left off in the first once the second began, with Abington’s drive going all but nowhere and Jaxon Suttie getting into the endzone and giving North Penn a 48-0 lead.
EJ Dickson would finally break the Abington scoreless streak with a touchdown, followed by kicker Kaleb Adams’ extra point being deflected off the defensive line and through the uprights to cut the North Penn lead to 41.
The Knights would take only two plays to respond, with Jayden Jenkins speeding his way 65 yards down the field to get back the 7 points taken from the margin of victory.
Now with some offensive momentum, the Ghosts would get into double digits with Kai Taylor hitting Caleb Smith for the Ghosts second touchdown of the game.
Both players got snaps at QB throughout the season, making this a fitting conclusion to the Abington season.
North Penn certainly wasn’t finished though! The Knights broke the 60 point mark after Jake Weidenmiller went 50 yards to put North Penn’s final score at 62.
With less than two minutes left, there was no time for an Abington response, and this game would come to an end with a final score of 62-14.
North Penn’s win ensured that their season will continue, taking on Pennridge in round 1 of district playoffs.
Head Coach Dick Beck emphasised the need for the Knights to heal up over the week and continue to play their best football, which both Beck and Colella credited for the night’s success.
Sal specifically stated that the Knights “keeping their heads down” helped them hold the massive lead they accrued.
Abington’s season comes to an end in week 9 for the 7th consecutive season, a disappointing end to a campaign that began with so much promise all those weeks ago. The 2-1 start going into a matchup against 0-3 CB South feels like a different season, and all the Ghosts can do this offseason is reflect on what went wrong since then.