Reeves' Hat Trick Sends Knights to Title Bout

PHILADELPHIA — Saturday’s PIAA class AAAA State Semi-Final between area football titans and LaSalle had all the trademarks of a heavyweight fight.

There was the fact that familiarity breeds contempt, as Saturday marked the fourth clash of the area's elite in the last 14 calendar months.

There was the almost obligatory trash talk and locker room fodder that accompanies such an epic battle that had been tossed back and forth all week.

In the end, North Penn dominated LaSalle 21-14 to propel them to the state championships in Hershey against Central Dauphin.

Of course, the hype leading up to kickoff was amplified by the media frenzy, as everyone in the state of Pennsylvania with a .com was in attendance, packing the already hectic sidelines at North East High School’s Charles Martin Memorial Stadium.

Throw in the fact that at stake were bragging rights and the biggest, most sought after football title in the land, and you have a recipe for a gridiron war that will be talked about for years to come.

Like many of the great championship bouts in history, sometimes the champ needs to take a punch to the jaw to awaken the inner beast that propels them to lofty heights.

On Saturday, the chin music that rang the bell for the Knights came one play after their first mistake of the game, as the Explorers took advantage of a fumble and blown coverage from the North Penn 28 yard line; Senior quarterback Matt Magarity found junior Jared Hermann wide open for the first score of the game.

The Knights (13-2) rose up off the canvas, dusted themselves off, and went to work, launching an offensive assault of the Explorers' defensive unit. It was one that had set the tone all season in an undefeated run through the Philadelphia Catholic League.

With a swirling win at his back on the ensuing kickoff, LaSalle placekicker Ryan Winslow launched the ball into the end zone for a touchback. The Knights would then march 80 yards, converting on three third downs.

The biggest play was a 23-yard keeper by senior signal caller Corey Ernst, setting up a two-yard Ralph Reeves plunge to even the tilt at seven apiece.

“We knew we needed to respond there,” said an exuberant Reeves. “They took advantage of one mistake and we knew we had to answer. The defense played unbelievable after the first quarter. This is the most amazing feeling. I can’t even begin to describe my emotions right now.”

Much has been made of North Penn’s offense all season long, but it was senior linebacker Josh Cook that made possibly the biggest play of the season. He came up with a recovery of Magarity’s fumble at midfield with the Explorers driving.

Under the siege of T.J. Smink, Ben Kaplan and company, Magarity coughed up the ball as he battled to break free. He looked down the field for senior wide out Colin Buckley, who racked up more than 175 yards in receptions in the early season 44-27 LaSalle win over the Knights. Cook was quick to pounce on the ball as it hit the turf.

“That was a huge play for us,” said Smink. “We had just scored and they came right back and were moving the ball. That’s the biggest play of the season for us so far. After that, we got the momentum back and were able to put the pressure back on them.”

It took the Knights just four minutes to cash in, as Ernst connected with Dan Gevirtz on a 10-yard hookup following a 20-yard dash by James Fielder. This paved the way for Reeves, who bulldozed in from 10 yards out to give North Penn a 14-7 lead after the PAT from the foot off Brandon Mandes.

The Explorers (13-2) responded with some dramatics of their own, as they drove the length of the field in the final two minutes. Knotting the contest was Magarity, when he tossed the ball up in the end zone, and the 6 foot 3 inch Buckley was able to fend off defensive back Steve Gozur (remember that name) and snare with one hand for the score.

The Explorers took the opening possession following the intermission and drove to the Knights' 17-yard line, with Magarity completing five of seven passes on the drive.

On fourth and six, the North Penn defense held as they pressured Magarity into releasing the ball to Buckley before he came out of his break at the Knight six-yard line.

Fueled by a 21-yard run by senior Matt Smith and a 37-yard strike to Gevirtz, North Penn took seven plays to drive the 83 yards of real estate. They took the lead for good when Reeves scored his third touchdown of the day, blasting his way home from the two-yard line with 3:55 left in the third quarter.

“Our line did such a great job on both sides of the ball today,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “The defense responding like that in the second half was unbelievable. They got that score right before the half, and it would have been easy for us to hang our heads but they never do that. These guys just continue to play hard on every snap. I could not be more proud of this team with everything we have battled through this year.”

The Knights continued to put the heat on LaSalle, as they drove into Explorers territory on three straight second half possessions. One drive was stopped at the Catholic League champs' 2–yard line with 9:10 left in regulation. Ernst was stuffed on a quarterback keeper that had been successful all day, giving LaSalle the ball in the shadow of their goal posts with the wind at their backs.

“We had given Corey the option there,” said Beck. “He can either hand off or take it himself and he kept it. I felt our chances were better with him running it than to try a field goal into that wind. It wasn’t even much of a thought.”

All week long, the locker wall postings were about how LaSalle was going to be able to run rough shot over the North Penn defensive backs and how the Knights had no shot of stopping the vaunted passing game of the Explorers.

But it was Gozur and his mates that had the final laugh.

LaSalle’s hopes of advancing to next week's state championship game versus Central Dauphin in Hershey were dashed when Gozur picked off Magarity, who was trying to connect on an out route with Buckley at the Knights' 12-yard line. With less than 45 seconds left in regulation, it signaled the commencement of a celebration three years in the making.

“We have such a great group of seniors that have given so much for this team,” said North Penn junior Gozur. “I saw him release the ball and just told myself I have to make this play and went up and got it. They are a great team, but all week we had to hear about how easy it was going to be for them to throw on us. We took that as a personal challenge and watched a ton of film this week to get ready. Now, we are going to Hershey.”

BOX SCORE

LaSalle         0            14            0            0         14

North Penn  0            14            7            0         21

Scoring

Second quarter

LS        11:46          Herrmann 29 yard pass from Magarity (Winslow kick)

NP       7:15            Reeves 2 yd run (Mandes kick)

NP       2:39            Reeves 10 yd run (Mandes kick)

LS        34.2            Buckley 12 yd pass from Magarity (Winslow kick)

Third quarter

NP       3:55            Reeves 2 yd run (Mandes kick)