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NORTH ALLEGHENY  FOOTBALL

2003 GAME SUMMARIES

SHALER ENDS TIGER STREAK, 17-0

by Don Vandergrift

To listen to a replay of the game, click here!

The Shaler Area Titans scored a pair of second half touchdowns to defeat the Tigers for the first time in 17 years by a score of 17-0 at Newman Stadium on Friday night.  NA could not take advantage of good field position in the first half and were not able to score as the Titans took a 3-0 lead at halftime. 

After Shaler returned the kickoff to the Titan 25, the Tiger defense stopped the vaunted Shaler passing attack cold.  On the first play, junior R.J. Parks broke through to sack three-year senior QB Lou Massimiani for a loss of five.  The NA rush forced two straight incomplete passes and Shaler was forced to punt.  After senior Mike Petrasek returned the punt four yards to the NA 47, the Tiger offense took over.  Immediately, the strong NA running game began to move the ball.  Senior halfback Tim Hreha ran for 10 yards and a first down to the Shaler 43.  After Bartos was stopped for no gain, junior halfback Andrew McMillen broke loose for 14 and another first down at the Shaler 29.  Bartos followed with another 14-yard gain, and the Tigers were in business at the Shaler 15.  At this point, the Titan defense stiffened.  Three running plays lost five yards.  On fourth down, Hreha broke loose in the end zone, but junior QB Andrew Krewatch’s pass was just out of his reach.

The Titans returned the kickoff to their 18.  A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 4.  Massimiani was stopped momentarily in the end zone, fumbled the ball, and Shaler recovered at the 1.  Two completed passes moved the ball out to the 18, but Massimiani had to punt again.  Petrasek returned this kick to the NA 49.  After Hreha gained 9 ½ yards on first down, McMillan bulled his way to a Tiger first down at the Shaler 39.  Three running plays netted only 5 yards, and Coach Jim Rankin elected to punt.  Krewatch kept the Titans in the hole when his punt was downed at the Shaler 12.  After three plays got only three yards, Massimiani punted to the NA 45.  An illegal block put the ball back ten yards.  NA dominated the first quarter, but the game remained scoreless.

Early in the second quarter, McMillen picked up eight and seven to give NA a first down at midfield.   Krewatch got five on a keeper but two incomplete passes forced another NA punt.  The Tiger punter again pushed a low kick that sophomore WR Tom Nieman grabbed at his six but could only return to the 10.  A penalty cost Shaler five yards, and the Titans could pick up only five more on two carries.  With a third and ten, senior DE Dan Bartos broke through to sack Massimiani at the 6 forcing the Shaler QB to punt from his end zone.  On the punt, Petrasek came up to make the catch at the Shaler 45, but the ball bounced away and was recovered by the Titans.

With a third and three at the NA 48, Massimiani lifted a long pass that to senior TE Jon Hoburg, who made a leaping catch at the NA 23, a gain of 25 yards.  It was Shaler’s only first down of the half.  Two running plays and incomplete pass forced the Titans to go for the field goal.  With just 3:24 left in the half, junior kicker Dante Cincotta connected on a 37-yard kick to give the Titans a 3-0 advantage.  Cincotta, a soccer player, had scored a goal against NA in the Titans 4-0 win at Newman Stadium just a week ago.  Neither team could move the ball for the remainder of the half.  Although completely outplayed by the Tigers, Shaler took a 3-0 lead to the dressing room.

On the kickoff, the Titans recovered the ball after Cincotta’s line drive kick bounced off one of the Tiger up men.  This play seemed to set the stage for the entire second half.  The Shaler running attack, which had gained only 7 yards in the first half, began to move the ball.  Senior Greg Pfeiffer gained 11 on his first carry of the game.  A pass to Nieman picked up 9 and Massimiani got three more for a first down at the Tiger 20.  At this point, the NA defense stiffened, the big play being a third-down sack by junior NG Wade Wolowiec.  Cincotta came in to try a field goal from 33 yards, but his kick was low.

After Bartos returned the kickoff to the NA 22, the Tigers picked up a first down on runs of 4 by senior running back Josh Zunic and six by McMillen.  Two running plays and an incomplete pass forced another Krewatch punt that rolled out of bounds at the NA 48.  After two incomplete passes, Massimiani found Hoberg again for a first down at the Tiger 34.  After a pair of runs by Massimiani picked up another first down at the 22, the junior QB dropped back to pass.  The long pass down the right side line appeared to be intercepted by junior FS Craig Howarth, but senior WR Adam Warner took the ball away and ran into the end zone.  Cincotta’s kick made it a 10-0 Titan advantage.

After the kickoff went into the end zone, McMillen picked up four and Bartos got a first down with a seven-yard gain to the 31.  After McMillen got three more, Krewatch found sophomore WR Brett Fields open down the middle for a gain of 24 yards to the Shaler 42.  After McMillen gained 8 on first down, the Tigers fumbled with Krewatch falling on the ball back at the 39.  The quarter ended with the Titans holding the 10-0 lead.

As the fourth quarter began, Krewatch again found Fields open down the middle, but the sophomore receiver could not hold onto the ball at the Shaler 10.  Krewatch was forced to punt again, and Shaler return man junior Brandon McNearney dropped the ball and fell on it at the Shaler 5.  The Titans used the passing game to get out of the hole, as Massimiani hit Nieman for 19, Pfeiffer for 4, and Nieman again for 8 as Shaler moved out to their own 36.  Massimiani ran for 19 yards to the Tiger 44, his best run of the game.  After two running plays gained five yards, Wolowiec broke through to sack Massimiani at the NA 46, a loss of seven.  Massimiani’s punt was downed at the NA 16.

Once again, the Tiger offense was unable to move the ball, and Krewatch punted it back to Shaler at the NA 45.  After Shaler picked up a first down at the Tiger 35, the NA defense and a penalty forced a third and 20 at the Tiger 45.  Senior Steve Brown broke through a hole in the right side for 28 yards and another Titan first down at the NA 17.  From here, Pfeiffer ran the left side to the NA 3, and then took it in on the next play.  Cincotta again added the point and Shaler was in control, 17-0, with only 1:31 remaining in the game.  Krewatch did complete a pass to senior WR Woody Fields for a first down, but his next pass was intercepted by senior Matthew Wiegand, who returned it to the NA 33.  Massimiani took a knee, and Shaler’s long years of losing to the Tigers had come to an end.

The game seemed to be decided in the first quarter when the Tigers had great field position but could never score to take the lead.  In spite of being badly outplayed in the first half, the Titans still were ahead at halftime.  In the second half, Shaler seemed to gain more confidence as their defense continued to stymie the Tigers.  Experienced quarterback Massimiani had a good second half, ending up with 13 completions in 18 attempts and a touchdown.  For the Tigers, the defense again played well, but it is impossible to win when you do not score.  For his efforts on the defensive side of the ball, the North Allegheny Sports Network named junior Wade Wolowiec as the Player of the Game.

The Tigers will return to Quad North action next Friday night when they visit Butler to meet the Golden Tornado.  Butler has been an up-and-down team this season.  Last night, North Hills crushed the Tornado, 42-2.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet.  Be sure to join Don Vandergrift, Bob Caldwell, and Jordan Dee for all the action, live or archived.  The pre-game show will begin at 7:15 pm with the opening kickoff at 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
SHALER – 17            NORTH ALLEGHENY – 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

10/4/03

Any questions or comments should be directed to Athletic Director Bob Bozzuto at:  bbozzuto@northallegheny.org