As the ball spun end-over-end through the goal posts, it set off an explosion. Everyone in green and white threw up their hands, green helmets flew, and they all rejoiced, while everyone in dark blue collapsed collectively on the chilly turf.
Ridley pulled a stunner Friday night, beating No. 2 seed North Penn in the PIAA District 1 Class 6A quarterfinals in overtime, 56-55, advancing to play Coatesville next week in the district semifinals.
The loss was North Penn’s first and ended the Knights’ season. Ridley improves to 11-1, thanks to a blocked extra-point attempt by junior Stephen O’Donovan in overtime, an overtime extra-point by senior Nick Volpone and by senior tailback Tahir Mills, who did all of the rest.
Mills finished with five touchdowns, including the game-winning score in overtime, and 337 yards rushing on 44 carries.
“There is no doubt this was a hell of a football game on both sides; it was a heavyweight fight and we had the poise of coming back,” said Ridley coach Dave Wood, who’s done an amazing job this season with the Green Raiders. “It would have gone just to one overtime. If they made their extra-point, we would have gone for two. But Nick made it, and O’Donovan’s block was huge. This team is just relentless.”
Mills personified that.
He busted open for two 29-yard runs, a 33-yard run, a 42-yard run and what was most impressive was his 56-yard run late in the fourth quarter that almost ended the game in regulation.
It gave Volpone an opportunity to kick a 36-yard game-winner with :18 left, but that missed just left.
“When it came down to my kicker, there were no doubts, and we had each other’s backs,” Mills said. “I just went out there and executed, and we saw something on our left, and they adjusted to it, and we adjusted to that.”
Who knows where the game would have gone if not for O’Donovan coming off the edge after Knights’ star senior tailback Khalani scored in overtime.
“I saw something on their first couple of extra points, I saw an opening and I jumped a little bit,” O’Donovan said. “We were not losing this game.”
Finally, there was Volpone, who was kicking himself over the missed kick at the end of regulation.
“I was very upset and my teammates and coaches told me to keep my head up,” Volpone said. “I felt good on the 36-yarder, but it’s all right. I got my redemption back with that PAT. I had to take my boys home on the bus happy.”
North Penn, meanwhile, left devastated.
“We didn’t play smart defense and we had some mental breakdowns,” Knights’ coach Dick Beck said. “I thought we were moving the ball pretty well, and on the blocked extra point, we were a little tight there in the end and we gave him a short edge.”
Ridley blew two 14-point leads, 28-14 in the first half, and 49-35 in the third quarter.
Just when it looked like North Penn would take control in the third, Mills said no. He broke free for his second 29-yard run of the game, setting up his own 1-yard score, and then in a pivotal move, Ridley recovered an onside kick.
Ridley quarterback John Heller made it count, hitting a wide open Paul Jackson for a 37-yard touchdown.
North Penn’s first lead quickly evaporated into a 42-35 Ridley lead with 8:14 left in the third quarter, which Ridley’s Nahaj Saleem turned over to 49-35 on a 21-yard interception return with 1:20 left in the third.
Just when it looked like Ridley would run away, North Penn came back behind its power game. First, Eaton’s 9-yard run made it 49-42, then Ethan Spann bolted 82 yards to tie it at 49-49 with 6:44 left to play.
The teams went into halftime tied at 28-28.
The storylines, however, carried a vast difference how they got there.
Mills had carried the ball 15 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns—in the first quarter. He hurdled a North Penn defender and swept down the sideline for a 14-7 Ridley lead with :54 left in the quarter.
An interesting theme was each time Mills ran left, behind left tackle Anthony Berry, left guard Khalil Blagmon and center David Rainey, he made big plays.
By halftime, Mills had three touchdowns on 20 carries for 160 yards.
While North Penn couldn’t stop Mills, Ridley couldn’t stop North Penn. The Knights, however, mixed their attack using some variety. Eaton broke through for a 35-yard score with 6:22 left in the opening quarter, and Spann broke loose for a 31-yard score with just :05 left in the first.
Just when North Penn thought it was building some momentum, Ridley’s Khameen Powell stomped it out with an 82-yard kickoff return for a touchdown on the final play of the first quarter.
The only time the Green Raiders were able to stop North Penn, Ridley converted it into a 28-14 lead on Mills’ 42-yard score with 5:59.
But North Penn answered twice in the last 94 seconds of the half, first on Eaton’s 1-yard score and when Ryan Zeltt hit Levi Carroll for a 33-yard touchdown. The only flaw Mills made in the first half was a fumble at midfield, which led to the Zeltt-to-Carroll score.
Scoring Summary
No. 7 Ridley (11-1) 21 7 21 0-OT-7-56
No. 2 North Penn (11-1) 14 14 7 14-OT-6-55
1st Quarter
Rid – Tahir Mills 4 run (Nick Volpone kick), 9:21
NP – Khalani Eaton 35 run (Ryan Bocklet kick), 6:22
Rid – Mills 17 run (Volpone kick), :54
NP – Ethan Spann 31 run (Bocklet kick), :05
Rid – Khameen Powell 82 kickoff return (Volpone kick), :00
2nd Quarter
Rid – Mills 42 run (Volpone kick), 5:59
NP – Eaton 1 run (Bocklet kick), 1:34
NP – Levi Carroll 33 pass from Ryan Zeltt (Bocklet kick), :08
3rd Quarter
NP –Michal Cuffie 10 run (Bocklet kick), 11:12
Rid – Mills 1 run (Volpone kick), 8:24
Rid – Paul Jackson 37 pass from John Heller (Volpone kick), 8:14
Rid – Nahaj Saleem 21 INT return (Volpone kick), 1:20
4th Quarter
NP – Eaton 9 run (Bocklet kick), 10:48
NP – Spann 82 run (Bocklet kick), 6:44
OT
NP – Eaton 10 run (kick blocked)
Rid – Mills 9 pass from Heller (Volpone kick)
Joseph Santoliquito is an award-winning sportswriter who has been covering high school football since 1992 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be followed on Twitter @JSantoliquito. Follow EasternPAFootball.com on Twitter @EPAFootball.
