Unheralded Unionville preps for North Penn

 

EAST MARLBOROUGH — For the fourth time in North Penn’s last four playoff openers, the Knights will travel to Chester County to face a member of the Ches-Mont League.

Unionville, which has less than a third of the boys in the school that North Penn does, is tasked with the always-daunting challenge of facing the Knights.

The Indians are 8-2 and the higher seed of the 8-9 match-up, but they’re hardly flashy about it. Not many talk about Unionville, and even less believe it can beat mighty North Penn, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing for the Indians.

“It reminds me of 2009, when we didn’t really have a superstar, but we had a group of kids who believed in each other and it was a senior-heavy team,” Unionville coach Pat Clark said. “Those are the keys to success.”

Unionville hopes to repeat its 2009 fortunes when, as the No. 16 seed, knocked off top-seeded Pennsbury.

Similarly to that squad, the Indians have used a team effort to overcome the lack of a big-name star. Unionville doesn’t have a 1,000-yard runner or passer, no receivers have more than 19 receptions and are minus-three in the turnover margin. Yet, the Indians knocked off fellow playoff teams, Garnet Valley and Great Valley, as well as West Chester Rustin. Their only two losses were to teams — Downingtown East and Exeter — that are 10-0 heading into the playoffs.

“It’s great to be really balanced,” Unionville senior Elan Nash said. “When you look back at some of the close games, whether it was Great Valley or Rustin or Garnet Valley, if someone is a little down, someone else stepped up for us. We’ve proved that everyone can step up and make plays.”

Nash is the most notable Indian as a commit to the United States Naval Academy. He has two interceptions and leads the team with 19 receptions, good for 301 yards and three scores.

Offensively the Indians are fueled by running back Brandon Boon, who has 938 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns, and quarterback Brendan Boyle, who has thrown for 862 yards and seven touchdowns, while running for 669 yards and six scores. Tyler Marmo leads the team with 314 receiving yards and four touchdowns, as well as three interceptions.

“All we know how to do is our part,” Boon said. “If we all do our 1/11th we should be fine. We have a lot of skill and everyone is comfortable with the ball.”

Unionville will have its chance to make a name for itself once again against North Penn. In the Philadelphia Inquirer Southeast football rankings, the Indians are No. 24, with 14 other Class AAAA teams ahead of them, including two non-playoff teams.

It will likely be the last time for awhile that Unionville has a postseason chance against one of the mega schools from the Suburban One League. With the PIAA moving to six classifications next year, Unionville is expected to be Class AAAAA. North Penn is the largest school in District 1 with 1,861 boys, according to piaa.org, and will be in 6A. Unionville is currently the second smallest 4A school with 513 boys.

“When you get in the playoffs you’re playing good teams, regardless, and we’ve played our share of good teams,” Clark said. “With the competitive balance the way it is, the 5A set-up in District 1 will be really good for football next year.”

The 5A class will be similar to the recent version of 3A, and the Ches-Mont has had some success at that level lately. In 2008, Rustin won the 3A district title, and Great Valley won it last season. West Chester Henderson was a runner-up in 2012.

The new classifications will be a welcomed concept for the smaller 4A schools, as Rustin and Henderson also hosted North Penn in the playoffs since 2011. If Unionville is to replicate Henderson’s win against the Knights from last fall, it will have to continue scratching and clawing its way to victory.

The Indians have returned four kickoffs for touchdowns and scored four more TDs with its punt block team, three via blocks recovered for scores and one on a high snap. The result was an American Division title and home playoff game, both firsts since 2012.

“This senior class really bought into the program the last couple years and all came together with harder workouts and practices over the summer,” Nash said. “It paid off when it came down to it and we believe in ourselves and each other and that helps against tough opponents.”

Clark is confident his team is not only ready for the challenge, but embraces it.

“It’s a chance to gauge yourself against one of the top programs in the state,” Clark said. “As an athlete and competitor you want to measure yourself against the best.”