A battle for top spot in Continental Division
North Penn takes on Pennridge at season’s midway point
Two top-20 teams will do battle Saturday night — with first place in the conference on the line — when North Penn travels to Helman Field to take on rival Pennridge. Kickoff is at 7 p.m. The Knights come into this one ranked eighth in this week’s Pa. Prep Live Top 20 while the Rams are currently at No. 12. Both squads are 1-0 in the Suburban One League Continental Conference, sharing first place with Central Bucks South.
North Penn and Pennridge were impressive and even dominant in their conference openers last week.
The Knights jumped out to a 28-0 lead over CB West, winning 28-14, while Pennridge was a 34-3 winner over Souderton Area. North Penn has won two in a row to get to 2-2 while Pennridge has also won two straight, coming into this one at 3-1.
Defensive tackle Austin Bishop was part of a smothering defensive effort last week by the Rams. In fact, Pennridge has not given up a touchdown since its Week Two loss (23-14) to Neshaminy.
The Rams’ offense has also shown some pretty nice balance in the opening weeks of the season.
Last week quarterback Zak Kantor completed 12 of 18 passes for 219 yards and a touchdown. Josh Pinkney had three catches for 53 yards, including a pivotal 27-yard touchdown.
North Penn had similar success in its Continental opener.
Khan Jamal (running), A.J. Catanzaro (receiving) and quarterback Justis Henley (running and throwing) all had big games for the Knights last week and should once again be key players to watch on the turf at Helman.
North Penn aims to continue its winning ways over Pennridge while the Rams look for a reversal of fortune. The Knights have won four in a row over the Rams, with Pennridge’s last victory (28-21) in the annual match-up coming in 2012.
In the 87-year history between the two programs, North Penn is 48-31-3. Formerly Lansdale and Sell-Perk High Schools, the first meeting between the two was on Oct. 11, 1930, with the game ending in a 0-0 tie.
Two proud and storied programs, the Knights and Rams went on to meet twice in the postseason, with North Penn winning both match-ups, including a 24-21 thriller in 2004.