LANDSDALE – It’s been 25 years since Microsoft released the Xbox, “Shrek” premiered in theaters and Pennridge defeated North Penn on the Knights home turf.
That changed Friday night for the Rams.
Behind another suffocating defensive performance, Pennridge snapped its quarter-century drought with a 20-8 victory over North Penn at Crawford Stadium.
“We don’t look to make any regular season game too big of a game,” Pennridge head coach Kyle Beller said. “It’s just the way we do things. We didn’t talk about the 25-year stuff, and I’m not sure many of the kids even knew that. But it’s been 25 years, and that’s an accomplishment this team just earned and they did it through a lot of adversity.”
Pennridge, which boasts the Suburban One’s top-scoring defense, made an immediate statement.
On North Penn’s opening drive, the Rams jarred the ball loose, and senior defensive back Michael Ferguson pounced on it for the recovery.
That was just the start.
Later in the first quarter, junior linebacker Marquan Walker intercepted a tipped screen pass and took it to the house for a 23-yard pick-six. With 1:11 remaining in the first, Pennridge took a seven-point advantage.
“Last week I should have had a big pick, so I knew I needed to get one back,” Walker said. “I saw the ball get tipped; thankfully it came to me and I just had to run.”
For nearly the first 20 minutes of action, it was all Pennridge. Then the ball bounced North Penn’s way.
Backed up deep into its own territory, Pennridge was called for an intentional grounding in the end zone, resulting in a safety that cut the Rams lead to 7-2.
With both defenses continuing to dominate, the five-point margin appeared destined to hold until halftime.
Pennridge had other ideas.
With less than 30 seconds remaining in the half, the Rams found themselves with a first-and-goal opportunity. After being stuffed on consecutive plays, senior quarterback Aiden Tetkowski connected with senior wide receiver Nate Derstine on third-and-goal as the first-half clock expired.
“I told him I would connect with him tonight,” Tetkowski said. “I missed him on a deep ball, but I knew it would come back later. That was just a great play by him. He ran a great route, he beat him with speed, I put it out there and he made the play.”
The Rams carried a 14-2 lead into the break and added to it before all the fans could get back into their seats for the second half.
North Penn forced a three-and-out on Pennridge’s opening drive in the third, but a muffed catch on the punt gave it right back to the Rams inside the Knights 20-yard line.
Four plays later, Tetkowski found senior running back Brody Blomgren in the back of the end zone for a touchdown, extending the Rams lead to 20-2 with 7:26 remaining in the third.
North Penn responded with a drive into the red zone, sparked by a long run from junior running back Ziyon Smith. But Pennridge’s defense stood tall once again.
The Knights, after having first down on the Rams 12-yard line, went backwards, and Pennridge forced a turnover on downs to preserve its three-score advantage.
North Penn finally broke through early in the fourth quarter when Smith ran one in from six yards out. The ensuing 2-point conversion failed, leaving the Knights trailing 20-8 with 11:09 remaining.
With momentum beginning to shift, Pennridge turned to its workhorse in the backfield.
Junior running back Trevor Picciotti shouldered the load down the stretch, helping the Rams drain the clock and keep North Penn’s offense on the sideline.
“He’s just a football player,” Beller said. “He is a bull. He really is, and you can just see it. He is determined, and he does not go down.”
Picciotti finished with 139 yards on 23 carries, anchoring a ground attack that helped Pennridge burn eight minutes off the clock to extinguish any hopes of a North Penn comeback.
The victory keeps Pennridge unbeaten heading into next week’s road matchup with Abington. North Penn, meanwhile, will look to bounce back when it hosts CB East next week.