Knights capture share of Patriot Division
By: Bob Nuse
ALLENTOWN Most football teams that head into their final game of the season with a six-game losing streak have little to play for.
But that wasn’t the case for West Windsor-Plainsboro North, which found itself playing for a share of the Colonial Valley Conference Patriot Division championship Monday night at Allentown.
After a 2-1 start, the Knights had dropped six straight games to fall to 2-7. But with a win over Allentown, they would finish in a 3-1 tie for the Patriot title. And after a sluggish start on Monday, the Knights put together a solid second half to end the season with a 35-0 win and the program’s first division title.
"It wasn’t pretty, but we got it done," said North coach Art Stubbs, whose team led, 7-0, at halftime and then added four touchdowns in the second half. "It’s important for us. Midway through the season we realized we had to take it to the next level in the weight room. We went 110 percent in the weight room. We’re starting that up again tomorrow.
"We knew we had to finish this season on a good note to go into the off-season with some pride and that’s where we are right now heading into the weight room."
North finished with a 3-1 mark in the Patriot Division, sharing the title with Ewing and Hopewell Valley. The Knights’ only loss in the division was in their season opener to Ewing. But they posted wins over Hopewell Valley, Robbinsville and Allentown to earn a share of the crown.
"We won the division," Stubbs said. "We won our last game. We got it done and we’re going into the weight room season on a good note. That’s what is most important. We could have packed it in a long time ago. But this team, no one ever packed it in during the season.
"Our last four weeks of practice have been our best practices. And at that time, you would think a team would fold. But we didn’t fold. We upped the ante in the weight room. We watched film for three hours instead of two hours. The guys never put their heads down. They just came back stronger and stronger. They never gave up."
It looked like the first half Monday night would end in a scoreless tie, but a late touchdown pass from Chris Petrone to Jerome Leslie put the Knights on the scoreboard right before halftime.
After a turnover on their first possession of the second half, the Knights then scored on their next two possessions. Petrone scored on a one-yard keeper after his 30-yard pass to Alex Ruggiero put the ball inside the 10-yard line. After an Allentown punt, Petrone connected with John Blassingame for a 43-yard touchdown pass.
While the offense was kicking into gear, the defense was holding Allentown without a serious scoring threat. The Redbirds had just two first downs in the second half. It was a solid way for North to end the season.
"Everybody put their hearts into this program the whole year," said senior linebacker Brandon Rudolph, who was playing in his first game after injuries had sidelined him most of the season. "Everyone recommitted themselves in the second half of the year and we came back around. All the juniors really stepped up. They played like seniors tonight. And the other guys stepped up. We never packed our bags. We stuck with it the whole time.
"The division was the biggest thing we were shooting for the whole year. We knew tonight that we couldn’t have it any other way. We had to come home with a banner. This is something the guys coming back will build from. They’ll know they had a shutout in the last game the year before and that will just motivate everybody all year long."
The players who will be back next year now have something to build on. And those who played in their final game will leave with a good feeling and a banner in the gym.
"We had a great group of seniors," said Stubbs, whose team improved from 1-9 last year to 3-7 this year. "They gave us everything they’ve got on and off the field. I’m going to miss those guys.
"And we have guys coming back that we’re real excited about. We have an experienced offensive line. We have Darren Parrot back in the backfield. We have a whole wealth of kids coming up to me in the hallway at school and saying they want to play football. That doesn’t normally happen with a 2-7 team. But I have kids coming up to me that say they want to play. So I am excited about that."
Stubbs had an excited group overall after Monday’s win had secured a Patriot Division crown. And for a player like Rudolph, who was finally able to get back onto the field after being sidelined the entire season, the win was a great way to end the season.
"This was my first game all season and I wanted to make the best of it," Rudolph said. "I know all the seniors wanted to make the best of it. I acted like I played all year. I always suited up for the coin toss. I tried to motivate everybody as much as I could. It was a nice game for us to finish the season with. We played well, especially in the second half."
Parrot capped off the scoring for the Knights with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown runs. The junior tailback finished the game with 195 yards rushing on 23 carries. Petrone completed seven of his 10 passes for 135 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The senior quarterback completed the season with three solid games, completing 32 of 58 passes for 530 yards and five touchdowns over the final three weeks.

