Kings of the Continental
North Penn wraps up conference title with rout of Tennent
Steve DePaul hit a streaking A.J. Catanzaro down the middle of the field for a 37-yard touchdown pass on the fourth play of the game, and the Knights went on from there, earning a 56-7 win over William Tennent at chilly Crawford Stadium.
With the victory, the Knights, No. 7 in this week’s Pa. Prep Live Top 20, locked up the Suburban One League Continental Conference title.
North Penn won its seventh straight and improved to 7-2, including a perfect 6-0 mark in the conference. Tennent dropped to 0-9, 0-6 in the conference.
The Knights scored on their first six possessions to quickly put this one out of reach.
K.J. Cartwright, who piled up 107 yards on 12 carries, scored on a two-yard plunge to double the Knights’ lead to 14-0. Justis Henley ran to the right for a 13-yard touchdown, further boosting the margin to 21-0.
And Catanzaro, who had three grabs for 97 yards, made a 22-yard reception along the sideline, setting up Cartwright’s second score, a threeyard run to make it 28-0 at the end of the first quarter.
Henley continued his heroics with a one-handed grab, bringing in DePaul’s 38-yard pass in stride for a 35-0 lead, and North Penn closed out the
first half with another DePaul-to-Henley connection, this one good for 10 yards and a 42-0 gap at the half, ensuring a running clock after the break.
R.J. Macnamara added a 17-yard touchdown run and for the Knights. Sean Bragen had 53 well-earned yards on 21 carries for the Panthers, who broke the shutout with a one-yard run by Dawson Pierson.
NP closes out the regular season next week at home against Abington. — Kev Hunter
Pennridge 21, CB South 7
EAST ROCKHILL » Pennridge’s defense had five interceptions — two by Cooper Chaikin — and the Rams won their fourth straight with a 21-7 Homecoming victory over Central Bucks South Friday night at Helman Field.
Ryan Garner and Kyle Schetter each ran for a touchdown while Zak Kantor found Joe Devine for a
score as Pennridge (7-2, 4-1 SOL Continental led 21-0 at halftime.
The lone score for CB South (6-3, 3-2) came on a turnover on a third straight play in the third quarter, as Sean Charpentier recovered a fumble in the end zone at 10:50.
Pennridge wouldn’t add another point to its total after halftime but did a good job chewing up clock while its secondary prevented South from big plays in the passing game.
After a Devine interception, the Rams took a 7-0 lead at 7:52 in the opening quarter on Garner’s 13-yard TD run.
Kantor made it 14-0 as he connected with Devine for a 19-yard touchdown at 11:20 in the second quarter.
It became 21-0 Rams with 4:06 left in the half as Schetter crossed the goal line on a 1-yard run. — Mike Cabrey
Upper Dublin 14, Hatboro-Horsham 7
FORT WASHINGTON » Upper Dublin made it as dramatic as possible.
Mike Slivka broke up a last second pass in the endzone to lock up a 14-7 win over visiting Hatboro-Horsham on the Cardinals’ Senior Night.
The first quarter saw both teams do the exact same thing, with Upper Dublin having a promising looking drive stall out on a penalty and end on a turnover on downs. Hatboro-Horsham likewise failed to convert a fourth-down try, leaving the teams stalemated after 12 minutes.
Neither team was able to do much offensively in the first half and UD only led at the break thanks to one great run by Malik Bootman. The senior broke off a 55-yard run, escaping several tackles as he flipped the field.
Upper Dublin this time managed to convert a 4th-and-8 and two plays later, quarterback Julian Gimbel found tight end Brody Balasa for a nineyard score with 3:54 left in the half.
Balasa had three grabs for 43 yards and Bootman gained 74 rushing yards at the break.
The Cards’ defense was strong all half, sacking HH quarterback Chris Edwards three times and keeping tailback Josh Smith in check.
Upper Dublin went up 14-0 when Gimbel hit Ryan Beshacio for a 17-yard score.
Hatboro-Horsham got on the board when Chris Edwards ran nearly 20 untouched yards for a touchdown with 2:24 left. The scoring drive followed a drive that ended with an Edwards pick, but he and the other HH seniors rallied.
With time winding down, the Hatters drove the field but saw their last chance broken up in the endzone with no time on the clock. — Andrew Robinson