Chronicle 2011 Game 1, September 3, 2011: La Salle 44 – North Penn 27
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La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 Game 1, September 3, 2011: La Salle 44 – North Penn 27 by Kev Hunter, The Reporter North Penn stumbles in loss to La Salle North Penn had two double-digit leads Saturday night against La Salle College High School, but the Knights could not hold on, falling 44-27 at Plymouth-Whitemarsh. The Knights had a 21-10 lead at halftime and a 27-16 lead in the third quarter, but La Salle dominated the fourth. Wide receiver Colin Buckley caught four touchdown passes from Matt Magarity, all in the second half, to make the difference for La Salle in this rematch of last year’s Eastern Final. La Salle has now defeated North Penn three times in the past two seasons. Kyle Mayfield had a 71-yard touchdown run for the Knights and also a 75-yard run to set up another score, but the North Penn secondary could not cover Buckley. His 1-yard touchdown reception put La Salle ahead for good 30-27 in the fourth, and his nine-yarder extended the margin to 37-27. Four fumbles proved costly for the Knights, including the last one, which set up Tim Wade’s clinching five-yard touchdown run for La Salle. North Penn also lost to La Salle to end last season in the state semifinals by a score of 38-35. The Knights were ranked second in the state entering the contest by The Harrisburg Patriot-News but figure to take a tumble this week. by Dennis C. Way, Times Herald Matt Magarity rallies La Salle past North Penn From the moment he was benched in the second quarter of Saturday night’s season opener against North Penn, all La Salle senior quarterback Matt Magarity wanted was a second chance. And when he got one, it was the Knights who didn’t have a chance. Magarity bounced off the bench to rally the Explorers from an 11-point halftime deficit, throwing for 174 second-half yards and four touchdowns – all to Colin Buckley – as La Salle defeated North Penn, 44-27, in a scholastic classic at Plymouth-Whitemarsh High School. North Penn appeared in command while leading, 21-10, at the half and 27-16 midway through the third quarter. But Magarity and Buckley put on a show to remember, connecting for scores of 9, 64, 1 and 9 yards in the second half to propel the Explorers to the comeback win. “I definitely made some bad calls in the first half,” said Magarity, who was intercepted twice before giving way to teammate Chris Kane. “I take full responsibility and it was just stupid. I guess I got caught up in the game a little bit. “But even after that, I knew we could come back. I have complete confidence in myself and my teammates. I was happy (coach Drew Gordon) let me back in the game.” Gordon said it was a “gut feeling” to put Magarity back in. But after he did, the Explorers took off. First came a Magarity fade pattern to Buckley in the third period to close the La Salle deficit to 21-16. North Penn answered with a 5-yard TD run by James Fielder on the heels of a 75-yard run by Kyle Mayfield. But La Salle did the rest of the game’s scoring, with Magarity finding Buckley on a slant for 64 yards and a touchdown with 5:44 left in the third quarter. 1 La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 Then after being set up at the North Penn 10-yard line by a 34-yard punt return by Casey Eidenshink, Magarity found Buckley in the end zone on third down from a yard away to give the home team a lead it would not lose. A pair of North Penn fumbles led to a pair of late scores that salted the game away. “That was great, a great thing for the kids,” Gordon said. “When we got down they didn’t get upset, they didn’t fold. And they came back.” And Gordon agreed the key was the combination of Magarity and Buckley that keyed the comeback. “I wasn’t mad at Matt, I was just disappointed,” the coach said, “and I just did what I thought was right when I put him back in the game. “North Penn double covered Sean (Coleman), who hurt them the last two times we played them (both La Salle wins). When we were talking about this season, we felt Colin could be one of our hidden secrets. He’s a player.” North Penn built its lead with 21 second-half points, scoring following Danny Wynne’s one-handed interception of a deflected Magarity pass late in the first quarter, and then on Mayfield’s 71-yard touchdown run on the Knights’ next possession. A 16-yard pass from quarterback Corey Ernst to Dan Gevirtz with 12 seconds left in the half pushed North Penn in front by double digits. But La Salle – along with its senior quarterback – came back off the canvas. “We ran out of gas,” said North Penn coach Dick Beck, “and I don’t understand why. We don’t have that many guys going both ways. “I really don’t understand why.” by Matt Breen, Inquirer La Salle triumphs with 28-point surge The sun had already set far in the distance beyond the north end zone and the stadium lights were bright as Matt Magarity emerged from the shadows and returned to the position from which he was so unceremoniously yanked just one quarter before. The quarterback threw for four touchdowns and 223 yards to complete a wild comeback and lead La Salle to a 44-27 victory over North Penn in a nonleague football game Saturday night at Plymouth Whitemarsh. Explorers coach Drew Gordon pulled Magarity in the second quarter after the senior completed just four passes and threw two interceptions. At that point, Magarity said, he wasn't sure if he'd be called back into action, as Gordon simply said, "Get on the bench." Upon his return, Magarity couldn't miss his targets as the Explorers scored the game's final 28 points. A deep fade to the right sideline. Caught. Another to the corner of the end zone. Caught. Magarity said his performance after being reinserted in the game surprised even himself. "Yeah. I didn't even expect that," Magarity said. "Just try to take it one play at a time and focus on my fundamentals. I feel like I got away from that in the first half." His favorite target? Bespectacled wide receiver Colin Buckley. The two have played together since seventh grade and said they know exactly where each other is on the field. "We can go a year without throwing and then we come back and it's right there," Magarity said. Magarity found Buckley for three straight scores in the second half. With more than eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Magarity and Buckley hooked up to give the Explorers their first lead, 30-27. On a 2 La Salle College High School Football: Chronicle 2011 third-and-goal, Magarity found Buckley to the right of the end zone. Senior Casey Eidenshink had set up the short drive with a fantastic, 40-yard punt return to inside the 10-yard line. A 6-foot-3, 190-pound senior, Buckley hauled in nine passes for 171 yards and three touchdowns. He wears prescription lenses under his helmet to help with his vision. Magarity said the Explorers had no concerns when trailing by 11 points at halftime. "Everyone got the first half over, and we were ready to play the second half," Buckley said. North Penn seemed to have a stranglehold on the game in the first half, as the Knights went into halftime with a 21-10 lead. Do-everything senior Ralph Reeves went into the break with a half-dozen tackles and a rushing touchdown in his first game at fullback. As soon as the grip was loosened in the second half, Reeves placed it back on just as tight with a crucial interception to stymie a La Salle scoring chance. The 6-0, 230-pound Reeves dropped back into coverage and perfectly read the Magarity pass, the lineman leaping up to haul in the pass while falling backward. Magarity threw three interceptions, but that was his lone one of the second half. Junior tailback Kyle Mayfield ripped off a few big runs for North Penn en route to rushing for more than 200 yards. In the second half, the Explorers defense contained him. by Kevin Cooney, Intelligencer Deja vu defeat When it was all said and done and his team hobbled away to the waiting buses, Dick Beck was still a coach searching for answers. "We ran out of gas," the North Penn coach said in a moment of remarkable frankness. "Guys stopped playing. The bottom line is that guys stopped playing. "I don't know what's going on, but guys stopped playing. We barely had anybody going both ways, so that can't be the excuse. I wish I knew and I wish I had the answer." Right now, North Penn seemingly has no answers on how to close the deal out against La Salle. For the third time in 366 calendar days, the Knights saw a second-half lead melt under the heat of the Explorers' passing attack, surrendering 28 unanswered points in the second half to fall, 44-27, Saturday night in an opening-weekend marquee matchup of potential PIAA title contenders at Plymouth- Whitemarsh.