PENNSBURY- The North Penn Knights had a rough start to their 2017 season, and that’s putting it lightly. Not only did they lose their first two games, but they gave up over 100 points in both games combined. And if that wasn’t bad enough, they gave up 61 points against Downingtown East, which is the most points allowed by North Penn…ever. However, on Friday night against the Pennsbury Falcons (2-1), it looked like things finally started to click for the Knights (1-2). North Penn looked more comfortable with their new quarterback, Steve DePaul, and they executed on both offense and defense to clinch their first win of the season.

North Penn set the tone early in the game with a fired up offense led by DePaul. It was senior Dars Bowsky who punched in the first touchdown after three consecutive carries, gaining 20 yards total (7:51, 3 yards).

“Tonight I was running with a lot of confidence and a lot of passion,” said Bowsky.

After two penalties were called on Pennsbury during the extra point, North Penn attempted a two point conversion, but they were unsuccessful.

Trailing 6-0, Pennsbury looked to answer back quickly against the Knights. Senior quarterback Zach Demarchis immediately presented himself as a dual threat, passing and running the ball up the middle. However, that wasn’t enough for the Falcons to get in the endzone, so they attempted to get on the scoreboard with a field goal. In a lucky turn of events for the Knights, the field goal kick was blocked, and senior Justis Henley picked up the ball and ran for a 98 yard touchdown (1:45).

“The ball just landed in my hands. I froze for a second, but then I realized I could run because I didn’t hear a whistle. Then I just took off,” said Henley.

North Penn again attempted a conversion, but were unsuccessful, so they led 12-0 going into the second quarter.

DePaul got the second quarter started with a 23 yard pass to Henley, and then senior KJ Cartwright ran for a 46 yard touchdown on the next play (10:49).

“I think we played aggressively tonight; we never layed back on [our attack],” said Henley.

The Knights’ defense started to see some trouble with the Falcons’ offense whenever Demarchis decided to run. Demarchis would look for a pass, and if it wasn’t there, he took advantage of holes in North Penn’s coverage. After gaining much yardage from Demarchis, the Falcons got on the scoreboard after a pass to David Burke took him into the endzone (6:10, 15 yards). However, the Knights led 19-7 going into halftime.

In the third quarter, the Knights once again got off to an explosive start. North Penn recovered a Pennsbury fumble on the second play of the quarter, and they capitalized on it right away. DePaul connected with Henley and even ran the ball himself before Bowsky took it into the endzone (9:54, 16 yards).

Demarchis and the Falcons answered back with a long stretch of offensive play where they utilized their aerial and ground game. It was Demarchis himself who ran for a 34 yard touchdown that cut North Penn’s lead 26-14 (4:36).

In the final quarter, North Penn brought out senior Kelly Macnamara who kicked a 35 yard field goal (8:48). Pennsbury was eager to get on the scoreboard again, and they did with a run by Demarchis into the endzone (7:36, 14 yards). The Falcons could not complete their two point conversion attempt, and were never able to top North Penn’s 29-20 lead.

“Overall  we played a good game. We have some mistakes to clean up, but I think we will be fine,” said Henley.

“Nobody expects more out of us than ourselves, so we can never be satisfied,” said DePaul.

North Penn will travel to CB West this Friday to face the undefeated Bucks (3-0).