Archbishop Wood routs North Penn

Friday night's football matchup between Archbishop Wood and host North Penn began as big-time high school football and ended as something else.

For North Penn, the pregame sights and sounds were familiar. The band was loud, the student section was whited out, and the press box was full, along with the bleachers at the Knights' Crawford Stadium.

Last September, North Penn had taken down Wood, the Catholic League giant, at William Tennent in a 14-point, comeback win that Wood players said they could still taste in their mouths a year later.

Now, the two teams were meeting again.

"This is the kind of game you come out and get goose bumps," Archbishop Wood coach Steve Devlin said.

But by the end of Archbishop Wood's 49-3 blowout victory, things had turned ugly.

The stands emptied, and the student section quieted down. Some opted for blue sweatshirts to combat the steadily dropping temperature; others tucked their arms inside their white T-shirts.

Sometime in the fourth quarter, the band, which had been mostly silent as Wood piled on points in the second half, tried playing Sam and Dave's "Hold On, I'm Coming," but nobody was buying it.

The game turned nightmarish when, late in the third quarter, North Penn senior tight end Nick Muth went down after a play and remained motionless, face down on the ground, as the game stopped for close to 20 minutes. He was carted off the field by medical personnel.

North Penn coach Dick Beck would not comment on Muth's status after the game as he declined an interview request.

The Knights kept the game close in the first half, but Wood scored 42 unanswered points to close the game behind a dominant rushing attack. Vikings junior Jarrett McClenton rushed for 162 yards and two touchdowns. More than 150 of his yards came in the first half.

McClenton said that he was running through huge holes all game and that his line was "blocking great."

North Penn generated virtually no offense in the second half and fumbled twice, the second of which was returned by Wood sophomore Mack Schwartz for a 30-yard touchdown, the game's final score.

Wood senior running back Josh Messina had a rushing and receiving touchdown in the first half. Vikings sophomore quarterback Tom Garlick completed 6 of 7 passes for 79 yards and two touchdowns.

Wood improved to 2-0, and North Penn dropped to 0-2. For the Knights, the game against Wood was still only part of the beginning of what promises to be a treacherous nonleague schedule. North Penn will play St. Joseph's Prep next Saturday.

North Penn 0 3 0 0 – 3

Archbishop Wood 7 14 14 14 – 49

AW: Jarrett McClenton 80 run (Dan McDonald kick)

NP: FG Matt Ammendola 35

AW: Josh Messina 12 run (McDonald kick)

AW: Messina 3 pass from Tom Garlick (McDonald kick)

AW: McClenton 3 run (McDonald kick)

AW: Mark Webb 44 pass from Garlick (McDonald kick)

AW: Joe Dutkiewicz 2 run (McDonald kick)

AW: Mack Schwartz 30 with fumble (McDonald kick)