Just seven months after flag football became an officially sanctioned PIAA high school sport, North Penn is making their first PIAA playoff appearance after a dominating 11-0 season.
The Knight’s defense has proved to be the backbone of this team, only allowing their opponents to reach double digits on the scoreboard 4 times this year, and averaging 9.3 PPG allowed. Junior Amani Keys leads the team in flag pulls.
“Our biggest strength has been our defense. We have playmakers on offense that can score any time, but the consistency of our defense and the pressure it has put on other teams has really helped us out,” head coach Kevin Zebluim said.
On the other hand, sophomore Tessa Wieloch and senior Tori Cavanaugh have bolstered the offense to a strong 27.9 PPG. Wieloch, the team leader in TD’s, is a 2-time US U-17 Flag Football National Team player, and Cavanaugh has thrown for 28 passing TDs with only 5 interceptions this year.
“Amani Keys and Tessa Wieloch have been great for us over the past few years. The development and growth of Jane Hollowell, Bailee Charles, and Tori Cavanaugh this season has been phenomenal. The biggest growth has come from our quarterback, Tori Cavanaugh. Her commitment to training in the off-season has been second to none,” Zebluim said. “The success of this team stems from work they started doing back in December. They’ve put in a lot of time and effort to get to this point. I just hope it continues to pay off for them as we move into the playoffs.”
After an incredible season that finds the Knights at the top of the Continental League standings, the playoff plan won’t be too much of a change.
“The mindset going into the playoffs and really all year has been to focus on ourselves. We need to limit our mistakes. We need to stay focused. We need to worry about the things we can control,” Zebluim said. “We aren’t looking for anybody to really step up and do anything out of the ordinary in the playoffs. We just need everybody to do their job and then good things should happen in the long run.”
North Penn’s closest game of the year was a 19-18 win at home over Pennridge a month ago. Their first playoff matchup pits them against that same team that gave their undefeated season a run for their money.
“Parts of the game plan will remain the same, but we will also need to make some adjustments. In the first round, we will be playing an opponent (Pennridge) that we beat earlier this season but by only one score on the final drive of the game. I know they are going to make some adjustments as well,” Zebluim said.
Two years ago, North Penn lost in the pre-PIAA championship to Abington, and then finished the season 12-1 last year with the only loss being once again to Abington, this time in the Suburban One championship.
North Penn takes Pennridge on at home on Thursday 5/8 at 7 in a win-or-go-home game. The Rams won their first round matchup over Truman, 26-19. A win would have the Knights play at home again on 5/13, and the championship falls on 5/15. Come out to Crawford Stadium to support the Knights!
