Zeltt, Haynes lead North Penn’s passing attack in win over Abington
ABINGTON >> For a moment, Yazeed Haynes thought Ryan Zeltt’s throw was out of his reach.
But the North Penn senior wide receiver opted to stick out his right arm and Haynes found a way to haul in the pass before strolling into the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown catch.
“I thought it was going to be too far, but honestly I didn’t really have to,” Haynes said. “But, hey, I caught it and it’s all that matter.”
Haynes’ one-armed grab was his second scoring connection with Zeltt as the Knights’ passing attack continued to fly high in Friday night’s regular-season finale with host Abington.
Rashad McNeill and Xavier Bryan added TD catches as Zeltt threw for 313 yards – 281 of those coming in the first half as North Penn built a 31-0 lead and secured a spot in the District 1-6A football playoffs with a 38-21 Suburban One League National Conference win over the Galloping Ghosts at Schwarzman Stadium.
“It was a good win, I was pretty happy,” Knights coach Dick Beck said. “I thought the quarterback and the receivers have really been peaking. I think our receivers have really been running crisp routes and getting great separation. I’ve been happy with that.”
Haynes made five catches for 160 yards while McNeill made four receptions for 58 yards for North Penn (5-5, 4-3 conference), which led 38-7 early in the fourth in earned their second straight victory. Zeltt completed 16-of-his 19 passes and was perfect on his first seven throws – the last two going for touchdowns.
“We practice a lot and we just had to get the chemistry going, that’s it – that’ really it,” Bryan said.
North Penn began Friday sitting 15th in the District 1-6A rankings with 16 teams make the tournament field. The Knights bumped up a spot to 14th and if seeding holding would have a rematch with SOL National champ Pennsbury in the first round. Pennsbury beat NP 44-34 at Crawford Stadium Oct. 14.
“I don’t think we’re satisfied,” Beck said. “We want to get into playoffs and do the best we can. Let the chips fall where they may, we don’t care who we play.”
Abington’s Jaime Rivera ran for a game-high 127 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries as the Galloping Ghosts (2-8, 0-7) ended their season with a seventh consecutive loss.
“We played hard, that’s all I ever ask the kids to do,” Abington coach Kevin Conlin said. “They didn’t back down from any challenge. They fought for every inch in the second half and that’s a tribute to them.”
North Penn running backs Michai Cuffie and Amir Major combined for 163 yards on the ground, Cuffie collecting 91 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries while Major had 72 yards on 10 carries.
“I’m hoping to be able to run the ball with a little more consistency,” Beck said. “But we got to be balanced going into playoffs, we can’t just line and do one thing or the other, we got to be able do it all.”
For Zeltt, it was his third straight game passing for more than 300 yards. Coming off posting season bests in both passing yards (341) and touchdowns (5) in last week’s 42-6 win over Pennridge, the senior QB was an efficient 14-of-16 in the first half, helping the Knights score on their first five possessions.
“Whoever’s pulling North Penn in the first round’s going to have some trouble cause they’re really amped up right now,” Colin said. “They’re really running like a machine on offense and defensively the past few weeks tremendously from what I saw in the first couple of weeks.”
Bryan opening the night’s scoring with his own stellar catch, getting his feet down in the back of the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown reception at 4:30 in the first quarter.
“Concentration,” Bryan said. “My coach told me it was coming so I just had to prepare myself and we just had to make something happen.”
The Knights doubled their lead one play after an Abington punt, Zeltt hitting an open Haynes down the right side for a 68-yard TD at 2:20.
Ryan Bocklet’s 23-yard field on North Penn’s third series made it 17-0 at 9:52 in the second quarter. After a Ghosts three-and-out, the Knights needed only four plays to go up 24-0 as Zeltt found McNeill for a 15-yard touchdown at 7:14.
“I think we really got the best receiving corps in the area,” Haynes said. “Shows that every guy can make a play and every guy gets opportunities.”
Another Abington three-and-out led to North Penn’s fourth first-half touchdown and a 31-0 advantage on Haynes one-armed snag as he streaked down the field for a 50-yard score with 3:42 left before halftime.
The Ghosts put their first points on the scoreboard with a nine-play, 67-yard drive in the third – Rivera starting the series with a 21-yard run and capping it by getting over the goal line from two yards out at 2:48.
“Jaime, been playing with us for four years, he’s been by far our best player,” Conlin said. “I’m hoping to get some league recognition for him but he’s been fantastic. Been a heart-and-soul kid this whole year, I mean he really turned everything around as far as coaches’ attitudes towards him. Just been an awesome player and just plays hard every single down.”
Cuffie put North Penn up 38-7 on the first play of the fourth quarter, getting down the right side for a 27-yard touchdown run at 11:50.
Rivera ran for his second TD from three yards out at 7:25. Abington recovered an onside kick and made it 38-21 when Antonio Ford hit Joshua Young for a 38-yard touchdown pass with 5:42 left.
North Penn 38, Abington 21
North Penn (5-5, 4-3) 14 17 0 7 – 38
Abington (2-8, 0-7) 0 0 7 14 – 14
First Quarter
NP – Ryan Zeltt 10 pass to Xavier Bryan (Ryan Bocklet kick), 4:30.
NP – Zeltt 68 pass to Yazeed Haynes (Bocklet kick), 2:20.
Second Quarter
NP – Bocklet 23 field goal, 9:52.
NP – Zeltt 15 pass to Rashad McNeill (Bocklet kick), 7:14.
NP – Zeltt 50 pass to Haynes (Bocklet kick), 3:42.
Third Quarter
A – Jaime Rivera 2 run (Anthony Richardson kick), 2:48.
Fourth Quarter
NP – Michai Cuffie 27 run (Grace Macnamara kick), 11:50.
A – Rivera 3 run (Richardson kick), 7:25.
A – Antonio Ford 38 pass to Joshua Young (Richardson kick), 5:42.
NP A
First Downs 23 14
Rushes-yards 25-177 31-170
Passing 16-19-0 8-15-1
Passing yards 312 107
Totals yards 489 277
Punts 0 5
Penalties-yards 3-15 4-25
Fumbles-lost 1-0 1-0
Rushing
North Penn: Michai Cuffie 11-91, TD; Amir Major 10-72; Yazeed Haynes 1-12; Ryan Zeltt 3-2.
Abington: Jaime Rivera 17-127, 2 TD; Anthony Pronsati 5-26; Alton Bullock 3-22; Brooklyn Browne 2-5; Joshua Brown 1-5 Antonio Ford 2-1; Ryan Smith 1-(-16).
Passing
North Penn: Ryan Zeltt 16-19-0, 312, 4 TD.
Abington: Antonio Ford 4-5-0, 76, TD; Michael Moynihan 2-3-0, 19; Anthony Pronsati 2-5-0, 12; Jaime Rivera 0-2-0, 0.
Receiving
North Penn: Yazeed Haynes 5-160, 2 TD; Rashad McNeill 4-58, TD; Luke Cody 3-44; Xavier Bryan 2-25, TD; Michai Cuffie 2-25.
Abington: Ryan Smith 5-62; Joshua Young 2-39, TD; Jaime Rivera 1-6.
Interceptions
North Penn: None.
Abington: None.
