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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY FOOTBALL

TIGERS EDGE LEBO, 7-6, ON LATE TOUCHDOWN

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

Junior quarterback Geoff Greco ran eleven yards for a touchdown with just 3:28 remaining, and senior Rich Doyle added the point to give the Tigers a 7-6 victory over Mt. Lebanon in a First Round WPIAL playoff game at Newman Stadium on Friday night.  The NA defense kept Lebo out of the end zone throughout the game to give the Tigers a chance to win.  Mt. Lebanon gained only 54 yards and had just two first downs in the second half.

Mt. Lebanon came out strong early in the game.  After Chip Young bobbled the opening kickoff out of bounds at the Lebo 8, Young took the ball on the first play from scrimmage and raced 70 yards before being pushed out of bounds by junior Christian Totera and senior Alex Carson.  Running back Joe Rodella gained sixteen yards on the next three plays moving the ball to the NA 6.  At this point, the Tiger defense stiffened stopping two running plays for only one yard.  Senior PK Steve Stombaugh stepped back and kicked a 23-yard field goal to give the Blue Devils a 3-0 advantage with 8:46 on the first quarter clock.  After the ensuing kickoff went into the end zone, Greco ran left for eight yards on first down.  Junior HB Carl DeCiantis picked up six more and a first down, and a face mask penalty moved the ball to the NA 48.  A pass from sophomore QB Mike Locke to Greco got five, and DeCiantis gained three more.  On third and short, DeCiantis got enough to move the sticks with the ball at the Lebo 41.  On second and eight, the Tigers were called for a false start.  Locke was forced to scramble on the next two plays and was sacked for a thirteen-yard loss back to the NA 43.  Greco punted to Young who was drilled by senior LB Jack Connolly and senior DB Sean Gross as soon as he caught the ball at the Lebo 25.  Three running plays picked up a first down at the Blue Devil 40.  On second at 10, junior DB Kyle Butson picked off a pass by Lebo QB Rob Marasti and returned it 47 yards to the Mt. Lebanon 3.  On first down, a motion penalty cost the Tigers five yards.  Two running plays lost another yard as the quarter ended with Mt. Lebanon holding a 3-0 lead.

After an incomplete pass intended for Greco in the end zone, Doyle attempted a 26-yard field goal that just missed.  After FB Patrick Dean gained four, Rodella ran for nine more and a first down at the Lebo 33.  Marasti followed with a gain of five on a keeper, and Rodella broke through for twenty yards to the NA 42.  After two running plays gained one yard, senior LB Marek Lapinski sacked Marasti for a loss of four forcing a Lebo punt.  Junior Brian Austin went back to catch the ball, dropped it and finally recovered at the NA 2.  On second and nine, junior RB Corey Watts gained seven.  A third down pass was incomplete forcing Greco to punt from the end zone.  This time, Young made a fair catch at the NA 38.  Three plays gained just under ten yards, and on fourth and short, Marasti got just enough for a first down at the 28.  Rodella then ran the right side for 17 yards and a first down at the NA 11.  Once again the NA defense rose to the occasion giving up just six yards in the next three plays.  On fourth down, Stombaugh kicked his second 23-yard field goal to give Lebo a 6-0 lead with just 53 seconds remaining.  After Corey Watts returned the kickoff to the NA 35, two plays gained two yards as the clock ran down.  On third down, Locke threw deep to Greco who made a leaping catch at the Mt. Lebanon 28, a gain of 35 yards.  After a time out stopped the clock with 5 seconds left, Locke's attempted pass to Greco in the end zone was just long as the half ended.  Mt. Lebanon took a 6-0 advantage to the intermission.  Lebo dominated the first half stats, outgaining the Tigers, 167-57, and possessing the football for 15:04 to just 8:56 for NA.

Once again, the Tigers put together a strong second half to pull out the victory.  The second half started with a potential disaster for NA.  After Austin returned the kickoff to the 23, Greco ran the right end for five.  On the next play, a botched handoff was recovered by Lebo at the NA 26.  After a gain of two on first down, Rodella broke through for a good gain inside the 20 but fumbled the football.  Senior LB Tim Lotz picked it up and returned it to the NA 44.  DeCiantis followed with runs of 6 yards on two plays to give the Tigers a first down at the Lebo 44.  After two running plays got only two yards, Locke threw to senior TE Tom Keiser for a gain of four.  On fourth down, Coach Art Walker tried a fake punt with the snap going to Lotz, but the Tiger running back was stopped short of a first down at the Lebo 35.  Three plays got the Blue Devils a first down at the 46.  The NA defense and a delay of game penalty forced a Lebo punt that went out of bounds at the NA 29.  After Greco gained three, Austin picked up five on a reverse to the 37.  Lapinski ran off the right side for four more and a first down.  Locke hit Greco along the sideline for eleven and another NA first down at the Lebo 48.  Three plays picked up only six yards, and Coach Walker decided to punt.  Greco's punt bounced inside the ten where junior DE Zack Watts downed the ball at the Lebo 7.  Two plays lost two yards and the third quarter ended with the ball at the Mt. Lebanon five.  The battle for field position had turned in the Tigers' direction, but Lebo still held a 6-0 lead after three quarters.

After Young got only two on the first play of the final period, Stombaugh's punt rolled only to the Lebo 42 where the Tigers took over.  After a pass intended for Austin fell incomplete, Locke hit Greco along the left sideline for a gain of nine.  A quarterback sneak by Greco picked up the first down at the Lebo 31.  Greco went back to pass but ran for seven to the 24.  After Lapinski got two, Lotz took a reverse to the 15 for eight yards and another first down.  After three plays lost a yard, Locke threw to Lotz out of the NA backfield, but the Mt. Lebanon defense stopped him short of the first down at the Blue Devil 7.  Once again, the NA defense stopped Mt. Lebanon, allowing only six yards and forcing another Stombaugh punt.  This time, Austin took the punt at his 47 and returned it 22 yards to the Lebo 31 with 5:25 remaining.  Another inside reverse to Lotz got eleven and a first down at the 20.  After Lapinski gained two, Lotz ran two straight plays for gains of five and three, picking up a first down at the Lebo eleven.  This time, the Tigers would not be denied as Greco ran left, cut up field, avoided a tackle at the three, and danced into the end zone to tie the game.  Doyle's extra point gave NA their first lead, 7-6, with 3:28 remaining.  After the kickoff was returned to the Lebo 27, a second down pass from Marasti to Dean gained fifteen and a first down to the 44.  On the next play, Carson made his second key interception in two weeks with a leaping catch at the NA 38.  The Tigers took the ball back with 2:01 left.  With time running out, Greco got five and DeCiantis six more and a first down at midfield.  After Lotz gained two, Lebo called their second time out of the half.  On the next play, Lotz fumbled the ball but got it back in a scramble near the 50.  Mt. Lebanon coach Chris Haering then called his final time out.  A procedure call cost the Tigers five yards.  On the next play, Austin dropped the ball but fell on it as the Tigers continued to keep games interesting in the final seconds!  After an NA time out, the Tigers were faced with a fourth and long with just two seconds left.  Greco took the snap and ran back ten yards before falling to the turf as time ran out.  The Tigers were on their way to the quarterfinals with a heart-stopping 7-6 victory.

It was another great defensive effort in the second half by the Tigers.  With the shift in field position, NA was able to get a short field on two occasions and finally made it pay off with the winning score.  The stats evened out somewhat in the second half.  Lebo still ended up outgaining the Tigers, 221-178, but NA had 13 first downs to the Blue Devils' nine.  The time of possession finished almost even with Lebo holding the ball 24:44 to NA's 23:16.  Individually, Lotz gained 38 to lead the NA rushers with Greco adding 34.  In the air, Locke hit on 6 of thirteen for 68 yards.  Greco was the leading receiver with four catches for 60 yards.  In the end, the final score was the important stat as NA took the one-point victory.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Geoff Greco as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers improved their overall record to 8-2 as they advanced to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.  Next week, NA will meet Woodland Hills with the site and time not yet decided.  The game could be on either Friday or Saturday.  We will post the information as soon as we receive it.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 7  MT. LEBANON - 6

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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