Montco Native Will Again Represent Philly Region In Super Bowl 55

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, PA — For the second straight year, Montgomery County has a reason to cheer in the Super Bowl.

Wissahickon High School and Villanova University alum Tanoh Kpassagnon will lead the Kansas City Chiefs in their title defense against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Super Bowl 55 is coming up this Sunday, Feb. 8.

Kpassagnon, 26, played an even larger role in the Chiefs defense in 2020, starting at defensive end and landing 28 total tackles, four quarterback hits, three blocked passes, and a sack during the regular season. He was a key cog in a Chiefs defense which helped the team to an NFL-best 14-2 record.

Now, the Ambler native and 2012 graduate of Wissahickon High School is ready to chase his second straight Super Bowl ring, after helping the Chiefs to victory in Super Bowl 54.

To do so, he'll face an old nemesis. Brady's New England Patriots handed the Chiefs their only playoff loss under the Patrick Mahomes regime back in Jan. 2019.

Kpassagnon and the Chiefs saw Brady and the Bucs in week 12 this year, with the Chiefs holding off a late surge to win 27-24. They have a strategy.

said on defending Brady on Mad Dog Sports Radio last week. "Just getting in the pocket and kind of making him uncomfortable in there."

Kpassagnon was inducted into the 2018 Wissahickon School District Hall of Fame. His Hall profile recalls a "hard working student" who participated in numerous extracurricular activities outside of his football, basketball, and track stardom. He also was active in the National Honor Society, Future Business Leaders of America, CASA, and the Asian Studies Club.

At Villanova, Kpassagnon double-majored in accounting and finance and interned with PricewaterhouseCoopers, before being selected with the 59th overall pick in the 2nd round of the 2017 NFL Draft.

Kpassagnon isn't the only reason for Philly-area fans to pull for the Chiefs: Kansas City also boasts longtime Eagles star LeSean McCoy, and, of course, they're led by long time Eagles head coach Andy Reid.

As much as he's been noted for his tremendous athleticism and dedication on the field, he's received high praise off the field, too, such as from his former coach at Villanova, Andy Talley.

He's also stayed engaged in the Wissahickon community, donating backpacks to the school's football team and sending motivational messages. The school district is selling special shirts:

Super Bowl 55 begins at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.