MIDDLETOWN – Michael Eckart was going to give everything he had.
Needing a yard late in the fourth quarter Friday night, the senior quarterback got that and more, helping the Neshaminy football team secure its first victory over North Penn since 2020.
“I knew where the first was, I was going to give my whole body to get that first,” Eckart said. “And that crease opened, it was just green grass from there.”
On a 4th-and-1 from Neshaminy’s own 28, Eckart cut through the line and found open space, dashing down the field for a 39-yard gain. With the clock down towards two minutes and the undefeated Knights out of timeouts, Neshaminy ran off the remaining time and celebrated an 18-14 victory at Harry E. Franks Stadium in the SOL National Conference opener for both sides.
“It was a really big thing for these guys, none of these guys have been able to experience a win against North Penn,” Eckart said. “So it just meant the most to us and when we were sitting there at halftime, you knew it was within reach.”
Eckart completed 11-of-17 passes for 150 yards and two touchdowns, ran for 107 and a score on 17 carries and got hoisted on his teammates’ shoulder postgame as Neshaminy (3-1, 1-0 conference) bounced back from last Friday’s 38-29 loss to Cheltenham and gave first-year coach Nick Felus his first win at Heartbreak Ridge.
“All the credit to the players tonight,” Felus said. “You know, we had a tough week last week, didn’t play our best game, didn’t play to the standard of what we expect to play. They had a great week of practice, they were locked in, shout out to the coaching staff for the gameplan that they put in but it was a total team win tonight.”
North Penn (3-1, 0-1) took a 14-12 lead into halftime after quarterback Matt Bucksar connected with Sal Colella for a 10-yard touchdown with 11.6 seconds left in the second quarter. But after the break, the Knights twice came up empty on drives deep into Neshaminy territory – missing a 23-yard field goal in the third then in losing a fumble the hosts recovered at their own eight at 10:03 in the fourth.
“Look, when they had to make a play, they made a play, when we had to make a play, we didn’t make a play,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “Too many mistakes, whether it’s us jumping offsides or holding or we’re fumbling the ball.
“We had the ball inside the 10-yard line twice in the second half and got zero points out of it. I mean, that’s not like us, that’s pretty bad. And they played a nice game and we couldn’t get any stops.”
Neshaminy proceeded to go up 18-14 on an eight-play, 92-yard drive capped by Eckart hitting Nick Sassano over the middle for a 41-yard touchdown strike with 8:08 to play.
“The post was there, ripped it,” Eckart said. “You know, he went out and made a play like I know we always can.”
The Knights – who denied the two-point conversion to stay within four – picked up a pair of first downs on the ensuing drive and had 1st-and-10 at the Neshaminy 40 but a holding penalty back North Penn to the 50. After three incompletions, NP opted to punt and Neshaminy took over at its four at 4:46.
On 2nd-and-3 from the 11, Carter Clee moved the chains with an eight-yard run. Eckart gained four on first down from the 19 while his short pass to Brock Williams on second down went for four. North Penn, however, held Clee for no gain on 3rd-and-1. After North Penn then Neshaminy called timeouts, the home side elected to go for it from the 28 and Eckart broke away for a run down to the Knights’ 33.
“Our first thought was we’re going to draw ‘em offsides,” Felus said. “That didn’t work, we’ll see how they lined up. So we went with a set that we didn’t run all game and we knew wanted to keep the ball in Mike’s hands. And the play we ran, our guys executed.”
Neshaminy collected one more first down – Clee gaining nine yards on 2nd-and-6 – before an Eckart kneel down cemented an end to a four-game losing streak to the Knights.
“Talk about the fourth quarter, winning games in the fourth quarter,” Felus said. “Two things happen, we stopped the run and we could run the ball. And that was the difference at the end of the game but the effort was outstanding. We played with physicality tonight but you know what, we played with a lot of energy, a lot of passion. You saw that tonight.”
Bucksar was 12-of-18 passing for 140 yards and a touchdown for North Penn. Matthew Pownall ran 19 times for 97 yards and a TD and also had two receptions for 39 yards.
“I feel like when we get rolling, we get down inside the 10 and all of a sudden we make a mistake,” Beck said. “Whether it’s we got the wrong way, we jump offsides, we got 12 on the field. You know, it’s like one mistake after another. I don’t know what our issue is.”
Clee added 72 rushing yards on 12 carries and caught three passes for 30 yards and a touchdown. Mike Sassano had three receptions for 53 yards with Nick Sassano making two catches for 53 yards and a score.
Both teams are on the road next week, Neshaminy visiting 1-3 Abington while North Penn is at Pennridge, which improved to 4-0 with a 14-0 win over Pennsbury.
“We got to bounce back next week,” Beck said. “We’re only thinking about next week. Pennridge, I’m sure they’re going to be undefeated. We got a big challenge next week.
Neshaminy took a 6-0 lead on Friday’s opening series, Clee finishing the 10-play, 74-yard drive by taking a screen pass from Eckart and reaching the end zone from 16 yards out at 7:43 in the first quarter.
North Penn responded with a 14-play, 75-yard series to go up 7-6 at 11:57 in the second quarter when Pownall powered in from a yard out on 3rd-and-Goal.
Neshaminy, however, went back ahead on the following possession. On 4th-and-4 from the North Penn 37, Eckart found Mike Sassano for a 34-yard completion and on the next play Eckart ran in it for a 3-yard TD at 9:10 in the second quarter. An incompletion on the two-point conversion kept Neshaminy up 12-7.
North Penn punted its next drive but got the ball back by forcing a fumble when Neshaminy tried to convert a 4th-and-2 from the Knights 45. North Penn took over at its 39 with six minutes left in the half and grabbed a 14-12 lead when Bucksar rolled left and hit Colella in the end zone for a 10-yard touchdown at 11.6 seconds.
On the first drive of the third quarter, the Knights had a 1st-and-10 from the 11 before a penalty back them up five. North Penn picked up 10 yards the next two plays but on 3rd-and-5 threw incomplete and a 23-yard field goal try was no good.
North Penn was inside the Neshaminy 20 again after Pownall took a pass from Bucksar 32 yards to the hosts’ 16. A penalty, however, pushed the Knights to the 21 and on 2nd-and-8 lost a fumble after a completion.
