North Penn entered their fifth game of the season 2-2. The Knights played in front of a home crowd for the first time in almost a month, and they did not disappoint. The Pennsbury Falcons came into the game ready to hand the Knights their third straight loss but were unsuccessful as North Penn came out on top.

The Falcons were set to receive the kick off from Dave Kornock, took the ball deep in their own zone, and returned it to their 26 yard line. On the very next play, not even 30 seconds into the game the Falcons put together a 74 yard passing play, and topped it off with a 2 point conversion, giving Pennsbury an 8-0 lead with only 16 seconds taken off the clock. After a penalty on the kickoff, the Knights took the ball at the 35 yard line. First downs from both Shane Gallagher and Peter Stoll helped the Knights in what turned out to be a 5 minute scoring drive. Pete Stoll took the handoff from QB Adam Hearns on the one yard line and plowed his way in for the score. Eric Halberstadt scored on the 2 point conversion tying the game at 8. Big stops by junior Ian Carpenter and senior John Kalis helped the Knights shut down the Pennsbury offense for the remainder of the quarter.

Carpenter also helped out on offense as he and Jeff Gill combined for more than 30 yards in the Knights next offensive drive. However, an attempt on 4th and 9 was broken up and Pennsbury regained possession on their own 34. After a short drive, a tackle by Halberstadt forced the punt. The return by Matt Burke put the Knights at their own 33 yard line. The drive chewed up most of the second quarter, only to be ended by a turnover on the Falcon’s 15 yard line. After a 50 yard pass play, and a roughing the passer penalty against the Knights, Pennsbury found themselves on the North Penn 15 yard line, with an opportunity to score. The Falcons could not capitalize, and a fumble recovery with about 1:30 left in the half gave North Penn the ball on their own 12 yard line. Peter Stoll helped set up Dave Kornock’s 49 yard field goal as time expired with a 27 yard run. Kornock’s kick gave the Knights an 11-8 lead heading into the locker room.

North Penn received the kick to start the second half, and senior Peter Lee returned the ball to the Knight’s 40 yard line. The Knights couldn’t do anything with the drive and were forced to punt away, however a fumble on the punt reception, recovered by North Penn, gave them the ball right back. Shane Gallagher scored a touchdown as a result of this play, and with 6:56 left in the 3rd, North Penn lead the game 18-8. The Knights defense took over, preventing the Falcons from cutting into their lead. Josh Nuebert contributed with a sack, and 2 passes were almost picked off by Brandon Turner and Adam Hearns. The Knights regained possession of the ball on their own 31 yard line. Gallagher gave North Penn excellent field position going into the 4th quarter with a 33 yard run to end the 3rd.

The Knights looked strong even until the last quarter, as Carpenter found his way into the end zone on the first play of the 4th quarter. The extra point by Jon Striefski gave the Knights a 25-8 lead that they would hold onto until the end of the game. Once again a fumbled kickoff reception by the Falcons gave the Knights possession of the ball. North Penn did not take advantage of their excellent field position and turned the ball over to the Falcons on their 25 yard line. A big sack by #53, Alex Johnson, shook up the Falcons’ QB, and Pennsbury suffered a loss of a few yards. A couple of plays later, senior John Kalis shook the Pennsbury quarterback even more with excellent defensive pressure and a big hit that unfortunately forced the Falcon out of the game. The new QB threw for a 31 yard completion, however it was not enough.

The North Penn Knights came out victorious, with a score of 25-8, snapping their two game slip up. The Knights take on the Owls of Bensalem next week at Bensalem.

- Meghan Halberstadt, NP 2005