The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
North Penn
play pretty well,” Steinmetz said. “You got (6-foot2, 230-pound Ryan) Savage there and with (6-1, 224-pound) Dillon Trainer, it’s a good night. They play well.” SAM, I AM >> Sam Brown said he never had a game like this.
“It felt really good,” the running back said of his five-touchdown performance, “but I couldn’t have done it without my offensive line. They had a really good game.
“And my receivers, getting the ball in the open field.”
Brown, a former offensive lineman himself, rumbled through holes and into the secondary all evening. He picked up 63 yards and scored twice on nine carries, but was also the Explorers’ leading receiver, with 164 yards and three touchdowns on eight receptions. “That was unbelievable,” quarterback Jack Machita said of Brown’s performance. “Obviously, he’s just a beast. That’s why he’s got those offers (from D-1 programs). If we get the ball in his hands, he’s gonna make a play.”
Brown capped a sevenplay drive with his fouryard run to open the scoring, and after a turnover on downs by the Knights, Machita hit Brown wide open down the seam for a 67-yard score and a 14-0, first-quarter advantage.
Brown scored on a oneyard plunge and got free for a nine-yard TD reception to double the lead to 28-0 by the break.
Another sustained drive by the visitors led to Brown’s 30-yard touchdown reception that made it 35-0 in the third.
“We just gotta take advantage — he’s a good running back and receiver so you get him the ball, he’s gonna make a play,” Machita said. “That’s the way we have to do it.”
“He can do a lot of things,” Steinmetz said of Brown, “and the good news with our offense is we have a lot of ways to get him the ball. Five touchdowns is a pretty good day for him.”
Kolby Barrow’s oneyard sneak for NP and Mao Howell’s 47-yard burst accounted for the other points on the evening. JACK IS BACK >> Machita got injured in last year’s 21-13 loss to North Penn, making Friday night’s victory that much sweeter.
He completed 15 of 18 passes for 261 yards and the three touchdowns to Brown.
The injury last year — a broken thumb suffered on the final play of the game — caused Machita to miss the remainder of the season.
“It was frustrating, but I knew I couldn’t do anything about it,” he said. “I just wanted to come back a better teammate for this year and learn more about the offense.”
Machita picked out five different receivers throughout the evening, consistently moving the offense.
His pinpoint pass to Liam Kennedy — good for nine yards on a 3rd-and-8 — helped set up La Salle’s game-clinching touchdown.
“He threw some good balls,” Steinmetz said. “He threw some good balls.”