North Penn’s defense battles but can’t stop Coatesville in 2nd half

EAST ROCKHILL >> North Penn’s Julian White wasn’t going to deny what the final margin said about Friday night’s District 1-6A final.

Coatesville dominated the second half at Pennridge’s Helman Field, scoring four touchdowns to turn an eight-point game at halftime into a 42-13 victory for its second consecutive district title.

The senior linebacker also wasn’t going to deny the Knights defense put everything it had into trying to slow down the Red Raiders offense only to become the 14th side this season unable to curtail the dynamic attack.

“We stayed physical like we have all year and they just made plays,” White said. “We made mistakes, they made plays. And at the end of the day, the score’s the score, but I love these boys like I said. We stayed tough through it all, that’s what I love about them.”

The Knights played Coatesville even for most of the opening half — only coming up empty on an extra point left North Penn trailing 7-6. But late in the second quarter, quarterback Ricky Ortega began to shift the momentum as he dashed for 50 yards to put the Red Raiders at the NP six.

“I thought the defense played tough in the first half except the quarterback breaks that long one which is huge,” Knights coach Dick Beck said. “And they get down to the 10 and we get two stops, the run the trick play and we miss the quarterback coming out of the backfield.”

On third down, Ortega handed off to Aaron Young then turned into a receiver, hauling in a Young’s toss for an eight-yard score with 10 seconds before halftime.

“I thought it was going to work, cause our Dapree (Bryant), No. 2, brings a lot of traction,” Ortega said. “They were focused on him and Aaron handed off and I kind of faked and went and it was wide open. Aaron just gave me a chance to catch it.”

Young returned the second half’s opening kickoff 65 yards and on the next play, Bryant scored on a nine-yard run and from there the Red Raiders kept piling up the points – the 42 just the fifth time North Penn under Beck has given up more than 40 in a postseason game.

“I think they definitely came out and gave us a challenge,” Young said. “They played hard, got to give it to them but we came out second half and dominated.”

The Michigan State-bound Young paced all runners with 172 yards and three touchdowns — his first score from 57 yards made it 7-0 Red Raiders in the first quarter while his second TD from 53 yards out pushed the advantage to 28-6 with 1:42 left in the third.

“The first one I thought our linebacker probably ran himself out of the hole,” Beck said. “And the second one we were misaligned. We had a guy that was aligned incorrectly which they ran to the open side, the side where the guy’s line incorrectly.

“Of course, with him, you break a seam he’s just going to outrun you.”

Throughout this year’s district playoffs, the North Penn defense had found a way to make the play when it mattered.

The Knights held Ridley to 16 points in the first round, then allowing just six to Neshaminy in the quarterfinals – Evan Spann cementing the win over the ‘Skins with a 30-yard pick six. In the semifinals against Downingtown East, Kaleem Corbin’s interception in the end zone began North Penn’s rally for a 21-14 deficit.

But Ortega – who added another 129 yards and a score on the ground — Young and the Coatesville offense were not going to be contained Friday night, and moved on to a PIAA semifinal matchup with District 3 champ Harrisburg.

“It’s the district championship, it’s not going to be the opponents we play in the regular season, so every game going to get harder and harder,” Ortega said.

And while it was a tough end on a cold night, a season that included 13 wins and a spot in the district final had White leaving the field with positive memories of the season.

“I’m proud of these boys,” White said. “I wouldn’t trade them for the world, man, I love each and every one of them. This whole season we just proved that we fight, man we weren’t even expected to be here and the fact that we’re here and we stayed through the end and kept fighting, that’s what kept us and I love every second of it.”