For North Penn star R.J. Macnamara, a ‘bittersweet’ season-opening victory
The senior two-way star, a Delaware recruit, scored two touchdowns and made a key defensive play in his first game since the death of his father in May.
It was a happy night for R.J. Macnamara and both his families — the blood one and the blue one.
It was a sad night, too.
“Bittersweet,” Macnamara said of North Penn’s 55-34 victory over Neshaminy on Friday night in the season opener for both teams.
Macnamara, a senior two-way standout, scored a pair of touchdowns and made a big defensive play as the Knights pulled away late to secure the victory before a large crowd in Crawford Stadium on the North Penn campus in Lansdale.
That was the good stuff.
But the clash of District 1 Class 6A rivals also marked the first football game in Macnamara’s life without his father, Ray, who died May 25 from cancer.
That was the hard stuff.
Ray Macnamara was a long-time supporter of North Penn sports and president of the football program’s 12th Knight parents’ organization.
A full page of the game program saluted Ray Macnamara for his “legacy of service, leadership and friendship,” and spectators were asked to observe a moment of silence in his honor before the national anthem.
“This is the first football game that my father has missed,” R.J. Macnamara said. “My whole life.
"I started flag [football] when I was five, and he was my coach until about middle school.
“He never missed a game. He was always there.”
Ray Macnamara and his wife, Jane, the co-vice president of the 12th Knight club, were enthusiastic supporters of North Penn sports for years, according to football coach Dick Beck.
The Macnamaras’ oldest daughter, Kelly, was a standout kicker for the Knights. R.J. is a four-year varsity player, and freshman Grace is a kicker who was in uniform on the sideline Friday night.
“When it all happened, it was very, very touching to see these kids wrap around them,” Beck said of the support for the Macnamara family. “I think their family is so thankful to have this secondary family.”
Beck said he invoked Ray Macnamara during his pregame speech to the players.
“He used to always talk about effort and attitude,” Beck said. “That was our speech today. It’s about effort and attitude.”
R.J. Macnamara, a 6-foot-3, 225-pound athlete who plays defensive end and fullback, is a University of Delaware recruit. He said he wasn’t at his best Friday night because of concerns about a lingering hamstring injury.
He still scored on runs of 2 and 6 yards in the second half and also made a heavy hit on Neshaminy quarterback Brody McAndrew that led to a first-half interception.
“I tried to play in his honor, but I didn’t do as well as I should have,” R.J Macnamara said of his father. “I felt like I was a little tentative because of my hamstring that I hurt in practice. I was trying to like not hurt it but still go as hard as I could.
“I just felt like I could have done a lot more things.”
R.J. Macnamara, who also is a top lacrosse player, said the support of teammates on both squads has been a source of great comfort to him.
“They did everything,” Macnamara said of his teammates. “The football and the lacrosse team, they were there the whole time. At the funeral, everyone was there.”
After the victory, Beck led R.J. Macnamara and his teammates to meet with Jane Macnamara on the field, presenting her with the game ball.
“I didn’t even know that was going to happen,” R.J. Macnamara said. “So it was really great.”