TOWAMENCIN — Matt Pownall was everywhere during fourth-seeded North Penn’s 29-21 victory over No. 5 Haverford in the Class 6A District 1 quarterfinals Friday night.

But it was his performance in the final minutes, when his team needed it most, that made the biggest difference.

With 1:45 left, Haverford faced a third-and-4 at the North Penn 45-yard line. Pownall intercepted a pass from Adam Kilpatrick at the 20-yard line. Two plays later, Pownall sprinted 79 yards to the end zone, sealing the Knights’ victory and their spot in the semifinals. North Penn will travel to No. 1 Central Bucks South, which posted a 35-0 victory over No. 8 Plymouth Whitemarsh.

Although it wasn’t a mistake on his part, Pownall had a little regret about his touchdown.

“I was talking to coach (Dick) Beck about it. I probably should have stood up to run out of time,” Pownall said. “But I was pretty happy with the touchdown, too.”

The North Penn junior ran for 138 yards on 18 carries and caught three passes from quarterback Matt Bucksar, totaling 59 yards, including a 12-yard touchdown reception in the second quarter.

Defensively, the Knights had to find a way to contain Ford junior Liam Taylor…and they didn’t necessarily slow him down. Taylor carried the ball 40 times for 255 yards, including a 53-yard touchdown run in the first quarter that helped give Haverford an 8-0 lead.

“We planned all week to just try to slow down their running game. We knew they were good,” Pownall said. “They’ve been fighting against other teams for weeks. They put up 42-plus points against other teams. I thought we had the right plan and we stayed there. Props to the defensive line and linebackers They killed it today.

The turnovers proved costly for the Fords (10-2). On the drive before Pownall’s interception, Haverford advanced to the North Penn 14-yard line, only for the Knights to force a Taylor fumble and recover it. Earlier in the fourth quarter, North Penn’s defense pushed Taylor on a fourth down at the line of scrimmage.

“We turned the ball over in key spots and made some mistakes that are unlike us,” Haverford coach Luke Dougherty said. “When you play against a good team, that’s the kind of thing that happens sometimes. And we didn’t take advantage of certain opportunities. We’re up 8-0 and we start to find some rhythm, then we get a heavy penalty on a block (cut) and that puts us back 15 yards. So we had to regroup. It just wasn’t supposed to happen.

“The kids played really hard and I’m really proud of them. I’m happy to see them a little hurt because I know it means so much to them. They really wanted it and they worked hard to get there.

Trailing 8-0 in the first quarter, North Penn got its first break when Aidan Eves recovered a Jimmy Fusaro fumble six yards behind the line of scrimmage. Bucksar then ran 12 yards, and three plays later connected with Eves in the back of the end zone for the Knights’ first touchdown.

North Penn’s special teams made an impact in the second quarter when Christian Johns-Wallace blocked a punt, which Cole D’Ambrosio returned to the Haverford 12-yard line. Moments later, Bucksar and Pownall connected for a 12-yard touchdown, and Bucksar’s two-score run gave the Knights a 15-8 lead.

Haverford answered in the third quarter, with Kilpatrick sneaking in from a yard out to cap a 10-play, 51-yard drive. Vince Cunningham’s extra point tied the score at 15. The Knights (9-2) regained the lead in the fourth when Josiah Coleman, on a fourth-and-3, avoided potential tackles at the line and sprinted 41 yards on the sideline. for a touchdown.

Haverford, which saw its 10-game winning streak end, didn’t go down quietly after Pownall’s touchdown late in the fourth. Kilpatrick threw a 52-yard pass to Fusaro, cutting North Penn’s lead to 29-21 with a minute to play, but the ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Knights’ Mason Franek.

“We never give up and we’re always going to play until the clock hits zero,” Fusaro said. “We just made too many mistakes. We missed a few blocks and had a few penalties. But we kept fighting no matter what.

Haverford’s season will end Thanksgiving morning against Upper Darby. A victory would give the Fords a share of the Central League championship.