WARRINGTON — The La Salle defensive line had a pair of senior linchpins coming back this season in Ryan Fandozzi and Jemel Williams.
Over the course of the season, a pair of sophomores, Kyree Mitchell and Kaleb Davidson, have made the transition from the freshman team a season ago to impact contributors.
The game wrecking crew played a huge part in the Explorers’ 49-14 win over North Penn in Saturday’s PIAA Class 6A semifinal at Central Bucks South High School.
“Me and Mel, seniors, returning starters, and Kyree and Kaleb, they came up with us and they kind of just followed our lead,” Fandozzi said. “They’re playing great football at the right time of the year and that’s what we need.”
La Salle quarterback and Missouri recruit Gavin Sidwar completed 14-of-19 passes for 242 yards and four touchdowns to spot the Explorers a 35-0 halftime lead before handing the reins of the offense over to sophomore Luke Gordon ( 4-for-5, 49 yards, TD) in the second half.
It was 21-0 La Salle after the end of the first quarter as Sidwar tossed touchdown passes to Joey O’Brien (13 yards) and Owen Johnson (40 yards) before Ahzir Nelson ran in a 19-yard score.
Jimmy Mahoney took Sidwar passes for a 72-yard touchdown and 24-yard touchdown in the second quarter. O’Brien caught six passes for 111 yards and two touchdowns, and Mahoney caught three balls for 109 yards and two scores.
“We talk about balance all the time offensively,” La Salle coach Brett Gordon said. “When I talk about balance, I don’t mean run-pass necessarily. It means we’re balanced in distributing the ball. I thought we did that well in the first half.”
As the La Salle offense exploded in the first half, the Explorers’ defense — led by its front — asserted its dominance as well. North Penn ran 19 times for 29 yards in the first half and completed 5-of-12 passes for 44 yards.
The Explorers first teamers didn’t allow a point before they exited the game with a 42-0 lead in the third quarter.
“We feel really good about our defensive front, and we talk all the time about regardless of what level of football it is, oftentimes the game starts and ends with how you handle the trenches,” Gordon said. “A lot was on them, especially the last two weeks with some very run heavy offenses, so it was important that we established the line of scrimmage. I thought we did that very well today.”
Mitchell had 1.5 sacks, Williams and JP Oates added a sack apiece, and Fandozzi chipped in 0.5 sacks as the Explorers front made things uncomfortable for North Penn quarterback Matt Bucksar throughout the game.
“It started with our preparation,” Fandozzi said. “We came in Monday ready to work. Easton was already in the rearview mirror. Coach (Neil) French, Coach (Keith) Caputo, Coach (Joe) Leitner, all the defensive coaches, they came with a plan, we watched film, we stuck to it and today we executed.”
“We’re led by great leaders, Gavin Muller, Fando and Jemel,” Mitchell added. “They continue to help us get better, growing our game and we continue to execute on the field because of them and what they’ve taught us and continue to do.”
Senior Navy recruit Matt Pownall led the Knights with 106 yards rushing. Bucksar connected with Mason Franek for a late touchdown pass.
The Knights rallied from a two-game losing streak in the middle of their season to rattle off nine straight wins and capture their first District 1 championship since 2016 last week against Pennridge.
North Penn forced a pair of fumbles in the first quarter that looked like they might give the Knights some life, but ultimately the Explorers proved too much to handle on Saturday.
“I told these guys, I don’t remember having more spirited practices during the playoffs than we had this year,” North Penn coach Dick Beck said. “The kids were excited to be at practice. Usually late in the year, late in the playoffs, it gets cold. It’s tough to get out here. These guys just took every practice like it was their last practice and I couldn’t be any more happy for these guys, winning a district championship and finishing as strong as they did.”
La Salle will make its first state championship appearance since 2010 when the Explorers face the winner of the Central Catholic and Harrisburg. La Salle has not won a PIAA title since its first and only championship in 2009.
“It’s gonna take everything,” Fandozzi said. “We need a great week of preparation and we’re not done yet.”
North Penn 0 0 7 7-14
La Salle 21 14 7 7-49
Individual Scoring
First Quarter
L: Joey O’Brien 13 pass from Gavin Sidward (Chris Heck kick) 7:40
L: Owen Johnson 40 pass from Gavin Sidwar (Chris Heck kick) 5:26
L: Ahzir Nelson 19 run (Chris Heck kick) 3:18
Second Quarter
L: Jimmy Mahoney 72 pass from Gavin Sidwar (Chris Heck kick) 10:27
L: Jimmy Mahoney 24 pass from Gavin Sidwar (Chris Heck kick) 0:30
Third Quarter
L: Joey O’Brien 51 pass from Luke Gordon (Chris Heck kick) 7:49
NP: Aiden Ashley 1 run (Matt Marrien kick) 5:31
Fourth Quarter
NP: Mason Franek 16 pass from Matt Bucksar (Matt Marrien kick) 6:51
L: Bryce Hanton 54 run (Chris Heck kick) 3:42
Team Statistics
…………………….NP………………LCHS
1st downs………..17…………………15
rush-yds……….40-167……….15-124
comp-att-int….7-16-1…………..18-24-0
pass yds………..87………………291
total yds…………254……………….415
fumb-lost……….1-1………………3-2
pen-yds…………4-20…………..11-91
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
North Penn: Matt Pownall 16-101; Rylei Gray 14-68; Ziyon Smith 5-25; Aiden Ashley 1-1, TD; Matt Bucksar 4-(-28).
La Salle: Bryce Hanton 3-62, TD; Ahzir Nelson 4-37 TD; Jarae Dial 3-13; Desmond Ortiz 4-10; Brayden Buist 1-2.
Passing:
North Penn: Matt Bucksar 7-16, 87 yards, TD, INT.
La Salle: Gavin Sidwar 14-19, 242 yards, 4 TDs; Luke Gordon 4-5, 49 yards, TD.
Receiving:
North Penn: Matt Pownall 2-40; Mason Franek 3-36, TD; Sal Colella 1-6; Rylei Gray 1-5.
La Salle: Joey O’Brien 6-111, 2 TDs; Jimmy Mahoney 3-109, 2 TDs; Owen Johnson 4-57, TD; JP Oates 1-19; Luca Ferriola 1-6; Danny Lawyer 1-(-3); Jarae Dial 2-(-8).
Interceptions- La Salle: Trey Hopkins.
Sacks- La Salle: Kyree Mitchell 1.5; Jemel Williams, JP Oates, Ryan Fandozzi 0.5.