Late comeback propels CB West over North Penn in SOL National football

DOYLESTOWN — Trailing North Penn by 13 points, Central Bucks West head coach Rob Rowan challenged his football team at halftime Friday night.

“We were going to define who we were in that second half,” Rowan said. “We were going to come out and answer who we are with what we put on the field.”

And the Bucks scored 21 of the 27 points after intermission to outlast the Knights 28-26 at War Memorial Field, sealing the verdict with senior Louie Cipollo’s interception of North Penn’s two-point conversion pass with 55 seconds remaining.

“It was a great win,” said CB West senior fullback/linebacker Nick Miletto, who scored a pair of touchdowns on 11- and 14-yard runs. “The mentality just changed. The second half, we had our heads on fire and weren’t going to let anything go their way.”

A fumbled North Penn snap gave CB West the ball at the North Penn 19-yard line, resulting in a Miletto TD three plays later, and Bucks senior quarterback Josh George 1-yard run completed an eight-play, 64-yard drive and gave the hosts their first lead at 21-20 early in the fourth quarter.

CB West’s first two scoring drives covered 27 and 19 yards after the Bucks recovered a pair of North Penn fumbles.

“We can’t make it easy for the other team,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck.

Miletto made it an eight-point game with 2:44 left, only for the Knights to go 80 yards on eight plays to make it 28-26 on a 12-yard TD pass from senior quarterback London Evans to senior running back Rylei Gray. The conversion pass over the middle was intercepted by Cipollo.

“As a coach, with what you want to see from your guys in a response against a really good football team – it doesn’t get any better than that,” Rowan said.

North Penn downed Lower Dauphin 41-7, lost to Central York 42-33 and then topped Upper Dublin 35-0 and Pennsbury 35-7 in the first four weeks while CB West defeated Easton (36-7), Wilson West Lawn (35-23) and Souderton (35-14) to start the season before falling at unbeaten Pennridge 14-7 in Week 4.

What’s next for North Penn Football?

The Knights host Neshaminy on Oct. 2 (7 p.m.).

What’s next for CB West Football?

The Bucks visit Abington on Oct. 2 (7 p.m.).

Key play

A fumble recovery by CB West senior Ryan Zadroga at the North Penn 19 on a punt return midway through the third period set the stage for the Bucks’ second touchdown and made it a six-point game.

By the numbers: North Penn-CB West

20: Points for North Penn in the first half (six in the second).

21: Points for CB West in the second half (seven in the first).

Game balls

Central Bucks West senior Ryan Zadroga forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and blocked an extra point.

North Penn senior running back Rylei Gray scored three touchdowns – on 11- and 12-yard receptions and a 1-yard run.

They said it

“I loved what I saw (on the potential tying two-point conversion pass), except it wasn’t executed the way it was supposed to be,” said North Penn head coach Dick Beck. “That’s unfortunate.”

“As a football coach, these are the moments you live for,” said CB West head coach Rob Rowan. “You’ve got 15-, 16-, 17-year-old kids with their backs up against the wall (at halftime) against a really good team. For them to come out and put that level of resilience out there is monumental for their growth and development as young men. It’s just tremendous stuff, man.”

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Late comeback propels CB West over North Penn in SOL National football