Zeltt-to-Carroll connection helps North Penn start fast, top Upper Dublin

TOWAMENCIN >> Ryan Zeltt has confidence that every pass he sends toward Levi Carroll, the North Penn senior wide receiver is going to find a way to haul it in.

“I trust him with everything,” said Zeltt, the Knights junior quarterback. “Fourth down and 10, game on the line I’ll throw it up to him. I’ll trust that he’ll catch it.”

Having already hooked up for a pair of touchdowns against visiting Upper Dublin Friday, Zeltt showed why he has that belief in on a 2^nd-and-9 from the Cardinals 29 in the second quarter.

Flushed to his right, Zeltt lofted a pass downfield to Carroll, who proceeded to make a highlight grab – leaping over a defending to make the catch at the five for a 22-yard gain.

 “Honestly, I don’t even know, I just jumped my highest,” Carroll said. “Put my hands up there.”

Khalani Eaton found the end zone a play later, putting the Knights up 28-3 with 5:21 remaining in the first half.

Upper Dublin did not let North Penn run away with the Suburban One League crossover matchup, but the Knights’ early offensive efficiency helped them hold off the Cards and stay undefeated with a 35-20 victory at Crawford Stadium.

“We had a good week of practice,” Zeltt said. “And we watched film, we knew what they were going to give us and I thought my receivers executed really well.”

Zeltt finished 11-of-18 for 202 yards, three touchdowns and an interception while Eaton ran for 167 yards and two TDs on 19 carries as the Knights (4-0, 2-0 SOL National) scored touchdowns on its first four possessions in reaching at least 35 points for the fourth time this season.

“They played a lot of man – I like a man defense,” Carroll said. “We could of ran the ball a lot better today cause you know how we are when we run the ball, we got Khalani back there.”

Carroll was one of six Knights to catch a pass from Zeltt, the senior making four receptions for 62 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also took a end around in the first quarter 27 yards to the UD 7 with Eaton scoring on the following play for a 14-0 lead.

Carroll said the rapport with Zeltt on the gridiron started at Penndale Middle School with the connection resuming last season after he transferred back to North Penn after spending 9^th and 10^th grade at Norristown.

 “We’ve been playing since middle school,” Carroll said. “I remember the first touchdown he threw to me, I was in eighth grade, he was in seventh grade and then even since then it’s been like he just knows how to throw it to me. That’s the only quarterback I have that actually knows how to throw it to me, like knows where to place it and put it.”

While North Penn got off to a fast start, Upper Dublin’s offense had 3-and-outs on its first two possessions and was quickly down 14-0.

An Owen Carl 37-yard field goal with 42.5 seconds left in the first quarter got the Cardinals (3-1, 2-0 SOL Continental) on the scoreboard but the Knights went on to score another two touchdowns to build a 25-point advantage in the second quarter.

“We just didn’t come out the gate the way you want,” UD coach Bret Stover said. “But once we figured it out I think my kids are going to learn from it. We made a lot of mistakes but it’s Week 4 so that’s one of the good things it’s not the end of the season, we’re not going home tonight for the rest of the year. We’ll learn from it, we’ll be back.”

UD quarterback Colin O’Sullivan was 14-of-22 passing for 127 yards, one touchdowns and one interception while also running six times for 97 yards. Noah Lee made six catches for 74 yards and a TD while Nyfise McIntrye adding 71 rushing yards on 15 carries.

O’Sullivan sparked UD offense with a 65-yard run down to the NP 4 and on the next snap Tawfiq Bartlett powered over the goal line at 4:16 remaining in the first half, cutting the Knights’ lead to 28-10.

“We run a lot of concepts and we just had to figure out which was the best one,” Stover said. “And that’s my fault, obviously the first two drives weren’t very good and they’re my fault but then after that then we figured it out.”

North Penn started the second half with a four-play, 56-yard drive capped by Zeltt hitting Luke Cody for a 15-yard TD at 10:00 in the third. Upper Dublin responded by going 69 yards on six plays – Noah Lee catching an O’Sullivan pass for a 32-yard TD to make it 35-17 at 7:08.

The Cardinals forced a turnover on downs at their own 12 with 3:58 left in the third but needed 8:47 to get more points – their 20-play drive ending with a Karl 33-yard field goal with 7:11 to go in the fourth.

On a 3^rd-and-10 at the NP 18, the Knights Rashad McNeill caught a pass from Zeltt over the middle, stiff-armed out a tackle and gained 15 yards for a first down. North Penn ran out the clock from there.

Both teams return to conference play Friday with North Penn hosting Pennridge while Upper Dublin visits Quakertown.

Two penalties had the Cardinals facing a 2-and-20 on their game’s first series and after their 3-and-out North Penn took over at the UD 34. The Knights needed just three plays to grab a 7-0 lead – Carroll sprinting for a 32-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Zeltt at 8:54.

Forcing another 3-and-out, North Penn started on its own 16 and used five plays to double their advantage on Eaton’s 7-yard touchdown run at 4:12.

The Cardinals started moving the ball the next series with Carl’s 37-yard field goal in the first quarter’s final minute capping a nine-play, 58-yard drive.

North Penn, however, went up 21-3 on Zeltt’s second TD pass to Carroll – this one from seven yards out at 9:57 in the second quarter. After a UD 3-and-out, the Knights made it 28-3 on a 5-yard Eaton touchdown run at 5:21.

Bartlett’s 4-yard TD run had Upper Dublin down 28-10 with the Cards forcing a NP punt after a 3-andout. UD had the ball at midfield before O’Sullivan was intercepted by Jalen Edwards. But two plays later, Zeltt was picked off by Chris Kohlbrenner and the margin stayed 18 at halftime.