Mayhem’s Game of the Week: North Penn @ Downingtown West (Week 13)

Tagged under: District 1, News, pfn, Playoffs

Michael Pietrangelo | November 21, 2024

District 1-6A Final/PIAA Quarterfinal Round

#4 North Penn Knights @ #2 Downingtown West Whippets

Date: Friday, November 22, 2024

Location: Walter E. Kottmeyer Stadium

Kickoff: 7:00 PM

#4 North Penn (11-2, 5-2)

District Rank: 6A-4th

PFN State Ranking: 6A-10th

Head coach: Dick Beck (23rd Season)

About the Knights: During the semifinals, the Knights avenged an earlier regular season loss to the Titans and beat out previously unbeaten Central Bucks South 21-19. Matt Pownall was the difference maker on the offensive side of the ball after hauling in six catches for 133 yards and two scores. He also rushed for a team-high 76 yards on 16 attempts. Senior TE/DE Aidan Eves caught a three-yard touchdown and wreaked havoc on the defensive side of the ball. He caused a fumble, recovered a fumble, and intercepted a pass. In round one the knights took care of 13^th-seeded Ridley Green Raiders 24-14. Junior Matt Pownall handled the workload by carrying the ball 27 times for 207 yards. In the quarterfinals, the Knights etched out Haverford 29-21. Pownall again was the force behind the motion as he rushed 18 times for 138 yards and two scores. Pownall also caught three balls for 59 yards. On the defensive side of the ball, he also had an interception.  During the regular season, the fourth-seeded Knights out of SOL-National finished 8-2. Their two losses were to conference foes CB South (14-6) and CB West (17-14) to finish third. The Knights average 28.2 points per game while yielding a respectable 13.6 points per game to opposing offenses.  The Knights’ offensive attack is led by Junior quarterback Matt Bucksar, who has completed 58% of his passes for 1,620 yards. Bucksar also has 418 yards on the ground.  Bucksar’s favorite targets are senior TE Aiden Eves 24-390-5 TDs, Junior Mason Franek 20-308-4 TDs, and senior Jackson Schurmann 15-283-3 TDs.  Junior Matt Pownall has carried the rock 149 times for 829 yards and two scores. He hauled in an additional 563 yards on 30 catches and 5 TDs. Senior Josiah Coleman has carried the ball 98 times for a team-high 718 yards and seven touchdowns.  On the defensive side of the ball, senior Christian Johns-Wallace leads all defenders with 90 total tackles. Senior Cole D’Ambrosio is second on the team with 85 tackles, and junior Nate Schepian follows with 58.

Interview with featured student-athlete Matt Bucksar:

Mayhem: “How does it feel to be headed to the district championship after taking down the number-one seed and conference foe Central Bucks South?”

Matt: “It feels great the energy has been at an all time high since that game. We are just all very excited for Friday.”

Mayhem: What can the fans expect to see from you and your squad come Friday night?”

Matt: “The fans can expect a fun and entertaining game, it should be a good one.”

Matt: “My pregame routine is to pray. I pray before games to let God know how grateful I am to be in the spot I am today and to just have trust and belief in him and he will handle the rest.”

Mayhem: “Okay, thanks for your time my guy and I’ll see ya Friday night and good luck!”

Matt: “Thanks”

#2 Downingtown West (12-1, 2-1)

District Rank: 6A-2nd

PFN State Ranking: 6A-8th

Head coach: Tom Kline (1st Season)

About the Whippets: The Whippets return to the District 1 Championship game after dropping last year’s Championship game 27-7 to Central Bucks South, riding a five game winning streak and an overall record of 12-1. Number #2 seed Downingtown West reached the finals by defeating Central Bucks West last week, OJ Roberts in the second week of the playoffs, after an opening round victory over ChesMont rival Coatesville. First year coach Tom Kline was able to keep the Whippets rolling after the retirement of West’s only previous coach Michael Milano.

On the year West’s offense has been a powerful run game averaging over 200 yards a game, complimented by an efficient passing game that has produced 108 yards a contest. The defense has been stingy all year surrendering just 12.5 points per game, giving up only a paltry 200 yards of total offense a game.

Coach Kline has used a trio of running backs with Spencer Dunn leading the way with 701 yards on 136 carries, scoring four touchdowns, Tommy Miller has averaged 7 yards per carry toting the ball 76 times for 536 yards while scoring 6 touchdowns and fullback Mike Taraschi has 382 yards on 66 carries, good for 3 touchdowns. Signal caller, first year starter, Cole Bricker has been very impressive guiding the offense, he has thrown for over 1.400 yards hitting on 103 of 175 pass attempts for 22 touchdowns while allowing just 4 interceptions. Bricker’s main target is wideout JD Weller. Weller has scored 9 touchdowns hauling in 37 passes for a team high 9 scores.

Interview with featured student-athlete Cole Bricker:

Mayhem: “How does it feel to have another chance at chip after dropping a heartbreaker last season to CB South?”

Cole: “It Feels great to have another shot at a title. The team has had the goal of winning the district in mind from the end of last season and we’ve been working hard all year to lead us to this point. All 70 guys on our team really bought in this season and we all believe we can come out on top.”

Mayhem: “What can the fans expect out of you and your team this Friday night?”

Cole: “People can expect to watch us give 100 percent for a full 48 minutes. Our defense will fly around and our offense will execute our assignments. We’ve been practicing almost every day since may and we’re ready to show the whole district what west football is about.”

Mayhem: “Do you have a pregame routine, and if so what is it?

Cole: “I don’t really have one.”

Mayhem: “Alright well that’s it, thank you for your time and good luck this Friday night!”

Cole: “Thanks.”

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