Penn-Trafford wins rivalry home-opener against Norwin 34-31

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, pfn

Annabelle Aquino | August 23, 2025

In the 40th clash between the Penn-Trafford Warriors and Norwin Knights, P-T came out as champions, winning 34-31 following a controversial fumble call. The Warriors narrowly avoided a comeback by Norwin when P-T senior Lucah Butler fell on Norwin’s fumble in the endzone with under two minutes remaining.

“I didn’t even know what to do. I was literally shaking,” Butler said, remembering his emotions.

Led by senior quarterback Nate Desmond and junior running back Ben Grabowski, P-T sought revenge for last year’s loss to the Knights. Less than a 20-minute bus ride separates the two schools, making the rivalry fierce despite being a non-conference matchup between 6A Norwin (0-1) and 5A P-T (1-0)

First-year quarterback Nate Desmond throws the ball for Penn-Trafford in the first quarter while Norwin rushes him. P-T beat Norwin 34-31 in the first game of the season.

“Over the whole summer, we put in work; we were just preparing for this. It’s personal this year, so it was a good win,” Grabowski said.

Warrior Stadium was filled with fans wearing t-shirts created in honor of former P-T coach, TJ Detruf. Following a moment of silence, the Knights kicked off.

The Warriors quickly made their way down the field, until Grabowski broke away to the endzone with 10:33 left in the first quarter. Grabowski missed the majority of last season due to an injury, but is primed this season to fill the gap this year of graduated star running back Tasso Whipple.

After a short drive by the Knights, the Warriors worked the ball into the hands of senior Reese Radocay. Radocay ran the ball 33 yards down the sideline and into the endzone with 6:48 remaining in the first quarter. Sophomore Jack Miller made the extra point, boosting the Warriors lead to 13-0.

The Knights responded soon after when Tristan Josephic made a field goal to put Norwin on the board, still down 13-3.

Norwin added a few more points in the first quarter, featuring a long pass from senior quarterback Tristyn Tavares to senior Jake Knight before Tavares rushed it into the endzone. With a successful extra point and only 20 seconds remaining in the first quarter, the Knights kept their deficit small at 13-10.

Norwin quarterback Tristyn Tavares throws a pass in the first quarter against Penn-Trafford. Tavares had three touchdowns in Norwin’s 34-31 loss against P-T.

On their first drive of the next quarter, the Warriors scored a touchdown after almost 7 minutes of working down the field. Landyn Stikkel’s 7-yard rush paired with another successful extra point by Miller boosted P-T’s lead to 20-10 with 5:39 remaining in the first half.

P-T played without senior captain Jamison Yurt, who became injured only a few days before season play began. Junior lineman Marlo Robinson was also out due to a recent injury.

Despite recovering a Norwin fumble by P-T’s Jake Briggs and an interception by P-T’s Ben Lenart, nothing translated to the scoreboard for the rest of the first half.

After exchanging drives, the Warriors kicked off to the Knights. Two Norwin players ran into each other after tipping the ball, allowing Radocay to jump on the football at the 25-yard line with just under 10 minutes remaining.

Stikkel caught a short pass before running the ball further into Norwin territory. Dual penalties pushed the Warriors to the 4-yard line, where Grabowski ran in his second touchdown of the night. Up 27-10 with 8:19 left, the Warriors had the momentum on their side.

Norwin was not ready to give up yet; with just 35 seconds left in the third quarter, Tavares rushed seven yards to put the Knights in striking distance again, 27-17.

The Knights continued to fight. Xavier Holtzman caught an 11-yard pass from Tavares with 10:11 left in the fourth, shortening the deficit to three.

Penn-Trafford responded quickly. Grabowski took two short rushes, before breaking through for a 62-yard touchdown. With 7:38 remaining in the game, P-T led 34-24.

Norwin, looking for a late-game comeback, answered with another touchdown of their own. Tavares earned his third score of the night with 5:27 left. P-T led 34-31.

P-T ended their next drive quickly on fourth down, punting the ball with 3:39 remaining.

The Knights moved with urgency, bringing the ball to the 2-yard line with 1:30 remaining, first down. Tavares rushed the ball into the endzone, before the ball was stripped by Radocay and recovered by senior Lucah Butler.

The controversial call resulted in the Warrior ball, and a narrow 34-31 victory for P-T.