North Penn Reece Udinski throws a pass over Garnet Valley defender Shane Donegan in the first half of the District 1-6A final at Crawford stadium on Friday, Nov. 25, 2016. (Pete Bannan/Digital First Media)
By Kev Hunter
Quarterback Reece Udinski threw North Penn to its seventh district title Friday night, as the senior’s 430 passing yards and four scores led the way to a 48-38 win over Garnet Valley in the Class 6A final on a cool night at Crawford Stadium.
The win sends the District 1-6A Champion Knights to a state semifinal showdown with the winner of the Parkland-St. Joe’s Prep contest, for the right to go to Hershey.
Udinski helped the Knights pull away in the second half in front of a crowd of 6,000 fans at Crawford, throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Nick Vasger to provide a 42-24 lead at the end of the third.
Second-half touchdown runs by Nick Dillon and Ricky Johns combined to stretch the margin to 48-31 with 8 minutes, 48 seconds left to play, before Garnet Valley defensive tackle Joe Thomas rumbled 46 yards for a touchdown on an interception return, tightening things to 48-38.
However top-seeded North Penn got the first downs it needed to run down the clock, capturing the district title and running its unbeaten mark to 14-0. No. 10 Garnet Valley finished a magical season at 11-3.
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