Strong start, tough finish for North Penn in loss to Coatesville

North Penn controlled the ball in the first half Friday night against Coatesville, holding a 32-24 edge in plays from scrimmage and at one point, the Knights appeared to be on their way to to a go-ahead score.
“In the first half, we kept the intensity up. We knew we had to play right with them to have a chance to beat them. The offensive line was doing great. The defense was making great tackles,” said North Penn two-way standout, R.J. Macnamara. “We were making plays.”
The Knights reached the end zone on their first possession of the second quarter and marched into scoring range on their third. Mixing runs by Julian White (42 yds), Shamar Edwards (119 yds) and Macnamara (52 yds), North Penn’s ground game and timely passing by Solomon Robinson (74 yds) allowed the Knights to keep pace.
Ultimately, Coatesville would pull away in the second half, winning 42-13 to defend its District 1-6A Title. But it had been a tremendous run by North Penn (13-1), primarily in three tough postseason victories.
“If you said at the beginning of the year, you’re gonna be in the district title game but lose, I would have been extremely satisfied, but it’s tough to be satisfied after losing a game like this,” said Knights coach Dick Beck, who guided NP to its 12th district title game. “So that’s tough.”
The Knights recovered a muffed punt, intercepted a pass and also forced two Coatesville punts in the first half. North Penn was within 7-6 when it faced a 4th-and-3 at the Red Raider 33 with 2:30 to play in the second quarter.
But Coatesville got tremendous pressure, forcing a takeaway.
“They had great blocks. They had a great defensive line. They did everything they were supposed to do,” Macnamara said.
North Penn’s postseason included victories over Ridley (26-14), Neshaminy (13-6) and Downingtow West (35-21) before falling to Coatesville.
Macnamara, who also had a first-quarter sack Friday night as well as a TD reception, will be a returning senior for the Knights next fall.