District 1 Talk

North Penn

North Penn shocked the defending 4A State Champs Bethlehem Liberty by beating them 42-10. North Penn running back Craig Needhammer rushed for 219 yards on 20 carries.

Liberty, the 2^nd ranked team in Big School, took an early 7-0 lead on a 54-yard pass from Anthony Gonzales to Jim Wagner. After that it was all North Penn.

Needhammer scored the Knights’ first touchdown, a 19-yard run in the second quarter. His 81-yard run to the 5-yard line set up the Knights’ second score, a 1-yard run by Needhammer, and that made it 17-10 at halftime. Needhammer had a 99-yard run late in the fourth quarter.

Last year, North Penn opened the season with a 23-15 win over Liberty but fell to the same team, 21-14, in the state Class AAAA semifinals.

North Penn plays Lansdale Catholic next.

Neshaminy

The Redskins lost to the Indians last year and things didn’t look any better on the opening drive when the Redskins fumbled deep in its territory on the first snap of the game. But Souderton failed to gain a first down and missed a short field goal.

The Redskins scored on its next three possessions to take a 21-0 lead. Senior running back Bryan Dean rushed for 164 yards and two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving).

Coach Schmidt plans on using two quarterbacks this season. Charlie Marterella threw a 37-yard touchdown pass and Brian Titus threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Dean in the first quarter.

Neshaminy rushed for 283 yards and won the game 35-6 over Souderton.

Neshaminy plays Hatboro-Horsham next.

Abington

Quarterback Sam Kind was 15 of 26 passing for 195 yards and two touchdowns. Junior running back Juilen Ireland rushed 25 times for 109 yards and two touchdowns. He had 58 yards receiving.

Abington led 17-3 at halftime and cruised for a 31-10 win over Central Bucks East.

Abington plays Plymouth-Whitemarsh next.

Dowingtown West

Senior quarterback Bret Gillespie made it all possible, when he rolled out of the grasp of a Penncrest defender to hit Lewis Smith with a 54-yard touchdown pass with 4:11 left to play, giving Downingtown West a 40-37 lead.

But Penncrest drove back down the field and reached the Whippets’ 12 yard line, when Lions quarterback Matt Atkinson’s second and 5 play was intercepted by Mulville in the closing minutes of the game to help preserve the win.

Both teams combined for 1,007 yards of total offense (Downingtown West 503 and Penncrest had 504).

Gillespie completed 17 of 25 for 307 yards and three touchdowns. Kessan Christopher rushed for 117 yards

Next up for Downingtown West is Glen Mills.

Pennsbury

After Conwell Egan Catholic took a 3-0 lead on the opening drive of the game. Pennsbury scored 34 unanswered points to defeat Conwell Eagan 34-3.

Pennsbury rushed for 374 yards on 39 carries. Senior fullback Dante Devine rushed for 138 yards on 16 carries (two touchdowns), quarterback Brandon Pepper had 96 yards (three touchdowns) and Jeff fisher had seven carries for 106 yards.

Pennsbury next opponent is Frankford at home.

Week 1 Scores