DOYLESTOWN – With the score tied late in the first half, the North Penn Knights scored 24 consecutive points to break open the game. When it was all over, North Penn (5-1) defeated Central Bucks West 38-21 in a Suburban One League Continental Conference football game.
The Bucks had their chances in the first quarter. They went up 7-0 on a 27-yard touchdown pass from Ward Udinski to Bill Bell. The defense forced two North Penn turnovers but could not capitalize on the mistakes.
Central Bucks West head coach Brian Hensel said, “I’ve got to give North Penn a lot of credit. We had some opportunities early on that we didn’t capitalize on and to their credit they shut us down before we had a chance to do that.”
Late in the first quarter North Penn got the ball back and was on the move. Mercer’s late score tied the game up at 7. With less than three minutes to play in the half, Mercer’s big hit seemed to energize the Knights.
North Penn senior running back Craig Needhammer said, “Mercer’s hit totally fired us up. It really got everybody fired up.”
The Knights would take the lead when Dom Taggart went in for a three-yard run with 1:00 minute remaining.
On the Bucks next possession they went on a fourth-and-three from their own 47 and failed to convert. A completed pass by Corey Ernst setup a 43-yard field goal by Brandon Mandes as time expired. North Penn took a 17-7 lead into halftime.
The Knights would continue the scoring in the third quarter. Needhammer broke the game open on a 55-yard run. After an on-side kick, Ernst found Mercer for a 20-yard score making it 31-7. The two scores took only a minute off the clock.
With 11:50 remaining Gerard Wendowski had a 43-yard punt return to put them up 38-7.
The Bucks would get two scores in the fourth quarter after the game was already decided. Rashaad Williams scored on a 39-yard run and Udinski hit Bill Bell for a 22-yard strike. That would be the final score 38-21.
Craig Needhammer rushed for 109 yards and Dom Taggart added 136 yards rushing. Ernst finished with 134 yards passing.
Next up for North Penn is Quakertown. Central Bucks West will try and rebound next week against Central Bucks East.
