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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY FOOTBALL

* 2004 GAME SUMMARIES *

BETHEL PARK - 35  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 21

BETHEL PARK RALLY DOWNS TIGERS, 35-21

By Don Vandergrift

After taking a 21-20 lead in the third quarter on a 9-yard run by sophomore Marek Lapinski, the Tigers saw Bethel Park come back to score a pair of touchdowns on their way to a 35-21 victory at Bethel Park on Monday night.  Senior WR Brett Fields and  RB Josh Cipkala-Gaffin scored touchdowns for NA.  Junior wide receiver Bill Knight caught six passes for 82 yards to lead the Tigers.  Senior halfback/linebacker  Andrew McMillen, playing in his first game of the season, was injured in the second quarter and did not return.

In the first quarter, after Fields ran the opening kickoff back to the NA 34, senior QB Andrew Krewatch found Knight open for a 27-yard gain to the Bethel Park 36.  After two running plays gained only two yards, Krewatch’s pass was intercepted by Jeff Stewart who returned the ball to the BP 33.  The Tiger defense forced Bethel Park into a three and out, the key play coming from McMillen who sacked Bethel quarterback L.J. Michalski for a nine yard loss.  The Tigers broke through to block the punt and NA recovered on the Bethel Park 12.  After a holding call moved the ball back to the Bethel 20, Krewatch hit a wide open Fields in the end zone as the Tigers took a 6-0 lead.  Sophomore Rich Doyle added the point and NA led, 7-0, at the 6:17 mark.  Bethel Park took the kickoff and marched 74 yards for the tying score.  The key play in the drive came on a flea flicker.  After Boris took the handoff, he lateraled back to Michalski who threw to wide receiver Scott Bronder.  Tiger DB John Woodruff caught Bronder from behind at the NA 21.  Three plays later, Boris raced around left end for 11 yards and the score.  Andrew Wawrzkowicz kicked the point to tie the score at 7-7 with 2:14 remaining in the quarter.  The quarter ended with the teams tied at 7-7.

Early in the second quarter, Bethel Park blocked Krewatch’s punt and took over at the NA 21.  The Tiger defense allowed only two yards in three plays, and Wawrzkowicz kicked a 38-yard field goal to put the Blackhawks ahead, 10-7, at the 10:53 mark.  The Tigers came right back with a 77-yard drive to regain the lead.  After Cipkala-Gaffin gained four, Krewatch hit senior RB Craig Howarth for a gain of 19 and a first down at the NA 46.  After Cipkala-Gaffin gained four more, it was Krewatch to Fields for twelve and a first down at the BP 38.  Howarth gained seven on a reverse, and McMillen got five on the next two plays for a first down at the Bethel 28.  McMillan was injured, however, and did not return.  After a pass to Howarth picked up a first down at the Blackhawk 11, Cipkala-Gaffin ran the reverse for 11 yards and a touchdown.  Once again, Doyle kicked the point and the Tigers had a 14-10 lead with 5:34 remaining in the half.  After a short kickoff was returned to the BP 41, B.J. Bytner broke through the middle for 53 yards and a first down at the NA 6.  The Tiger defense held, allowing only three yards on three plays, and Wawrzkowicz was forced to kick a 20-yard field goal to cut the NA lead to 14-13 at the 4:20 mark.  After Fields returned the ensuing kickoff to the NA 14, the Tigers were forced to punt.  Bronder returned Krewatch’s kick all the way to the NA 28.  A pass to TE Scott Brucker gave Bethel a first down at the NA 1.  Boris took it in to put Bethel ahead, 19-14.  After a delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the 8 on the two-point conversion attempt, Wawrzkowicz kicked the point to give the Blackhawks a 20-14 halftime advantage.

The Tigers came out strong after the intermission.  After Bethel took over at their own 32, Boris and Bytner combined to give the Blackhawks a first down at the 43.  After a first yard procedure penalty against Bethel, the Tigers sacked Michalski for a six yard loss.  An incomplete pass and a loss of two by Boris set up another Bethel punt.  Junior Sam McGill broke through to block the punt and recover the ball at the Bethel Park 19.  On first down, Cipkala-Gaffin picked up 5, and an off sides penalty moved the ball to the Bethel 9.  Lipinski then ran off the left side for nine yards and the touchdown.  Doyle’s third conversion of the night put the Tigers ahead, 21-20, at the 8:16 mark.  Once again, Bethel Park came back, this time on a 64-yard drive to regain the lead.  A key play in the drive was a third down pass from Michalski to Jon Guiliani for 21 yards and a first down at the NA 28.  Two plays later, Michalski hit Brucker at the goal line for the touchdown.  Bethel went for two and Boris took it in around the right end.  Bethel led, 28-21, with 5:29 remaining in the third quarter.  After NA went three and out, Krewatch’s punt was downed at the Bethel Park 36.  The Blackhawks then took control of the game.  Keeping the ball on the ground, Boris and Bytner moved the ball to the NA 17 as the quarter ended.

Early in the fourth quarter, Boris took it to the one on three plays.  Bytner went the final yard as the Blackhawks extended the lead to 34-21.  Wawrzkowicz added the point giving Bethel Park a 14-point advantage with 10:25 remaining.  The Tiger offense started a drive at their 33 after Knight returned the kickoff 28 yards.  Three penalties against NA halted the drive, and the Tigers were forced to punt.  Bethel Park took over at the Blackhawk 49.  After two plays, Boris ran for 9 nines but fumbled the ball with NA recovering.  After the Tiger offense and Blackhawk defense were on the field ready for the next play, the officials decided that it was not a fumble after all.  The officials huddled for almost five minutes, and  Bethel Park was given the ball and a first down!  After three plays picked up five yards, Wawrzkowicz lined up to kick a 57-yard field goal.  Instead, the Bethel Park kicker put the ball out of bounds at the NA 12.  After Cipkala-Gaffin gained eleven for a first down, Bethel was called for pass interference.  The 15-yard penalty gave NA another first down at the Tiger 43.  On first down, Krewatch tried to go deep to senior WR Kyle Alllis but Giuliani picked off the pass and returned it to the Bethel 32.  Bethel ran four plays and turned the ball over to the Tigers with just 3 seconds remaining.  A long pass fell incomplete, and Bethel Park won a 35-21 contest.

Statistically, Bethel Park had the advantage because of their strong second half.  The Blackhawks gained 384 total yards to 230 for NA.  Individually, Boris gained 152 yards on 32 carries good for a pair of TDs.  Bytner added 89 yards on 11 carries.  In the air, Michalski was 7 for 11 for 153 yards and a touchdown.  For the Tigers, Howarth gained 41 yards on seven rushes while Cipkala-Gaffin had 37 on 7 runs as the Tigers gained 101 yards on the ground.  Krewatch completed 10 of 23 for 129 yards but had three passes intercepted.  As mentioned earlier, Knight caught six passes for 82 yards.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Bill Knight as the Player of the Game.  Bethel Park picked up 18 first downs to 12 by the Tigers.  Seven penalties were called against NA for 50 yards while Bethel was flagged for 45 yards on 6 penalties.

The loss dropped the NA conference record to 0-2, the overall mark to 1-3.  The Tigers will travel to Upper St. Clair on Friday night to meet the undefeated Panthers in a Quad North Conference contest.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:30 pm.  Game time is scheduled for 7:45 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
BETHEL PARK – 35  NORTH ALLEGHENY – 21

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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