Johns, Ostopowicz lead North Penn in rout of Bensalem

BENSALEM >> Two plays, two touchdowns.

A week before a crucial game with Pennsbury, the North Penn football team was not going to stumble against winless Bensalem Friday night.

The Knights scored on their first two offensive snaps and stormed out to a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter in cruising to a 55-20 Suburban One League National Conference victory over the host Owls.

“I thought we were pretty focused,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “I thought the kids were ready to play. The kids had a great attitude this week.”

#FOOTBALL: North Penn's Justin Ostopowicz goes down the sideline for a 60-yard TD run and a 14-0 NP lead 1Q. pic.twitter.com/iXs7EZnKoL

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) October 17, 2015

Ricky Johns caught a pair of touchdown passes from Reece Udinski and also scored on a fumble return while Justin Ostopowicz ran for two touchdowns as the Knights (5-2, 4-0 conference) scored a season high in winning their fourth straight.

“It felt good to get up early. And now it’s just another game,” North Penn’s Justin Ostopowicz said. “4-0 in the league, now we’ve got Pennsbury to focus on next week, it’s going to be a big matchup.”

The Knights are back in lower Bucks County again Friday to visit Pennsbury in a Week 8 matchup of the final two unbeatens in SOL National play.

“I can’t wait,” Johns said. “It’s going to be a good game, come down to the league (title). We got to prepare all this week.”

Ostopowicz ran just five times but finished with 121 yards while Tyler Gillett collected 92 yards and a touchdown on eight carries.

Junior quarterback Udinski did not have an incompletion, going 5-of-5 for 116 yards and two TD passes, both to Johns, who had three receptions for 80 yards.

“It was good to get off the jump, get out to a good start,” Beck said. “I didn’t think we tackled well defensively but I thought explosively offensively I felt pretty good.”

The 55 points were the most North Penn has scored since it defeated Bensalem 58-13 in Week 7 last season.

“I always feel like we can be better,” Beck said. “We got to peak at the right time and next Friday’s going to be the best time to peak. That’s what we’re trying to get to.”

Bensalem (0-7, 0-4) did rack up 309 yards on the ground, with Malcolm Carey (119) and Matt Haffner (129) both going over the century mark, but the Owls were hurt by turnovers. Bensalem lost fumbles on three of its first four drives, with North Penn converting those giveaways into 21 points.

The Owls fumbled on the game’s opening drive and the Knights took advantage on their first offensive snap, as Udinski hit Johns on a deep ball for a 54-yard score at 9:38 in the first quarter.

“One of our favorite plays,” Johns said. “Reece threw a good one, came down with it.”

North Penn forced a three-and-out and on its second snap made it 14-0 as Ostopowicz went around the right side then dashed down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown at 7:50.

“Tonight was great. The holes were wide open, couldn’t miss them at all,” Ostopowicz said. “I had lead blocks there, so made my job a lot easier. I’ve got to thank the line for that.”

#FOOTBALL: @ReeceUdinski connects with Ricky Johns for a 9-yard TD as North Penn goes up 35-0 on Bensalem 2Q. pic.twitter.com/m9jULwFRny

— Mike Cabrey (@mpcabrey) October 17, 2015

Another Bensalem fumble made it 21-0 a 1:15 later – this one Johns picked it up and returned 50 yards to the end zone.

“Justis Henley made a good play on the strip. You know, scoop and score after that,” Johns said.

Bensalem’s third lost fumble lead to NP’s fourth TD, but the Knights actually ran a few plays before crossing the goal line. A four-play, 71-yard drive was capped by Ostopowicz’s 35 yard touchdown run that made it 27-0 at 1:10 in the first.

Udinski found Johns for their second TD connection on North Penn’s next drive – a three-play, 37-yard series finished at 9:40 in the second by Johns hauling in a nine-yard pass in the end zone. After a bad snap, Henley found Korey Thompson for the two-point conversion and a 35-0 lead.

Bensalem got on the scoreboard with 5:30 left in the half on a Carey five-yard touchdown run. The Knights, however, went into intermission up 42-6 thanks to Gillett’s TD run from a yard out at 1:06.

It became 49-6 NP when Spencer Jones hit Jason Hoffman for a 19-yard touchdown pass at 8:02 in the third.

Haffner scored his first touchdown on a two-yard run that finished a 10-play, 59-yard Owls drive at 2:50.

Demetrius Hargust collected North Penn’s final TD with his 21-yard run at the 11:00 mark in the fourth. Haffner’s three-yard touchdown run with 6:01 left made it 55-20.