The North Penn Knights traveled to Bristol this evening to take on the Tigers of Truman. Coming off an impressive overtime victory against rival, Neshaminy, the Knights were looking to continue their winning streak.

North Penn came out strong and set a pace that Truman could not keep up with. The Knights opened up the scoring on a 5 yard run by junior Pete Stoll. This run was a product of North Penn’s early defensive pressure, forcing a fumble on the Tiger’s first offensive series. After the extra point by Jon Striefsky, the score with 8:34 left in the first quarter was 7-0. Stoll scored again in the quarter, with just under 15 seconds left, on another run inside the 5. At the end of the first quarter North Penn held a 14-0 lead.

The second quarter was much the same, however this time the Knights connected in the air. Quarterback Adam Hearns spotted Eric Halberstadt open down field with 7 minutes left. After a 73 yard play and the extra point North Penn increased their lead to 21. The Knights defense kept the pressure up, and a sack by Gerald Bell forced the Tigers to a 4th and 25 on their next drive. After a fake punt, the Tigers were just short of a first down, giving North Penn great field position. Once again Hearns found an open receiver, this time # 12, Peter Lee, made a great catch to put 6 more points on the board. The extra point by Striefsky was good, making the score 28-0 with 3:44 left in the first half. Truman could not muster an offensive threat, and after a few short plays punted back to the Knights. After a return to their own 25 yard line the Knights were looking to score once again before the half ended. Peter Stoll answered, and broke through the pack for an 85 yard touchdown run, his third of the night. Striefsky was perfect on the night, going 5/5, making the score 35-0 to end the half.

The Tigers kicked off to open up the second half, but after a few plays, regained possession after recovering a North Penn fumble. After running the clock down, as the mercy rule was enforced, the Tigers capitalized on a North Penn pass interference penalty. From 21 yards out the Tigers tallied their first touchdown of the night, making the score 35-7 with just under five minutes in the third quarter. The Knight’s Kyle Lynch had a 40 yard return on the kickoff; however the Knights could not produce a score, and turned the ball over on downs to end the third quarter.

The fourth quarter was more action for the North Penn defense, as tackles by Steve Whittmer, Joe Wagner, and Ray Alexander made it tough for the Tigers to produce much of an offense. With 8:13 left in the game however, Truman broke through the Knights defense, and once again cut the Knights lead, making the score 35-14. The Knights took over from that point on, and despite a big 34 yard run by Zach Cordora, North Penn could not produce another score. The game ended with a final frantic attempt by Truman to put more points on the board. They were unsuccessful as the Knights lead remained intact.

The North Penn Knights defeated the Truman tigers by a score of 35-14, increasing their lead to 7-2. The Knights take on Council Rock North next week, at Council Rock.

-Meghan Halberstadt, NP 2005