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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY FOOTBALL

WOODLAND HILLS HANDS TIGERS FIRST LOSS, 21-0

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The Woodland Hills Wolverines took advantage of five NA turnovers to defeat the Tigers, 21-0, before a huge crowd on Friday night at the Wolverena in Turtle Creek.  An 87-yard interception return for a score by Brandon Watters in the first quarter set the stage for the victory.  Woody High added a TD in the second quarter and added another late in the fourth.  Senior QB Adam Neugebauer was injured in the first quarter and did not return.

After sophomore Brian Austin returned the opening kickoff to the NA 24, senior RB Tim Lotz picked up seven on first down.  Two succeeding plays did not gain any yardage, and junior Geoff Greco punted to senior Vondre Griffin who was tackled immediately at the WH 29.  On the first play from scrimmage, senior TB Marcel Farrish took off around left end for 66 yards and only a great tackle by Lotz kept him out of the end zone.  The Tiger defense rose to the occasion, however.  Three runs by senior TB Larry Walker gained only one yard.  On fourth and goal, senior linebacker Jack Connolly broke through to hit Griffin back at the NA 15.  On first down, Neugebauer found junior TE Mike Fuhrmann open for a gain of 12 and a first down at the 27.  On second and 8, Neugebauer threw long to Austin who made a diving catch at the Wolverine 40. With second and ten, Neugebauer scrambled for four to the 36.  After an incomplete pass, Neugebauer threw long down the right sideline.  Watters made an over the shoulder catch, regained his footing, and raced untouched along the left sideline for the first score of the game.  Senior Mike Belsito kicked the point and Woody High had a 7-0 lead with 4:33 remaining in the first quarter.  Neugebauer came to the sideline after the interception and did not play again.  The Tigers took over at their 35 when the ensuing kickoff went out of bounds.  With Greco in at QB, the Tiger junior took off around left end on third and long to gain 10 and a first down at the 46.  On the next play, the Tigers fumbled and the Wolverines recovered at the NA 47.  On second and 10, Griffin was sacked by the NA defense back at the WH 39.  The Wolverines were forced to punt, and KR junior Christian Totera was hit before the ball got there forcing WH to punt again.  On the second punt, Austin replaced Totera who was injured and made a fair catch at the NA 30.  After a loss of one, the Tigers fumbled again with Watters falling on the fall at the NA 28.  Two plays gained five yards as the quarter ended with Woodland Hills holding a 7-0 lead.

After a Farrish was held to a gain of two, Belsito attempted a 38-yard field goal but was wide right.  The Tigers took over at the 20 and began a drive.  Greco ran around right end for 14 and a first down at the 34.  Junior FB Zack Watts broke through for 15 more and another first down at the 49.  After Lotz got 2 and Greco five, junior HB Carl DeCiantis was hit for a loss and the Tigers had to punt.  Greco punted to Griffin who was tackled immediately at the WH 19.   On first down, junior LB Alex Calder broke through to tackle Farrish for a three-yard loss.  A reverse to Rontez Miles got 14 and a first down at the 30.  On third down, Griffin gained five and a first down at the WH 44.  A second pass from Griffin to senior WR Lance Patterson picked up another first down at the NA 40.  On first down, Griffin scrambled for 12 to the Tiger 28.  After a running play lost a yard, a delay of game penalty pushed WH back another five.  On third and long, Griffin rolled to his left and found Patterson open at the goal line on a 34-yard scoring strike.  Belsito's point made it 14-0 with 4:07 left in the half.  Lotz returned the kickoff 21 yards to the NA 26.  After senior FB Marek Lapinski gained three, Greco gained six on a quarterback draw, but the Tigers were forced to punt.  Greco's punt was returned by Eric Oliver to the WH 40.  Three plays gained only six and WH punted back to the Tigers at the NA 27.  After a running play got two, Greco's long pass down the right sideline was picked off by Watters who returned the ball to the NA 45 as time ran out.  The Wolverines went to the intermission with a 14-0 advantage.

The Wolverines took the second half kickoff in good field position when a short kick was covered at the WH 45.  An offside penalty against NA gave the Wolverines a first down at the NA 42.  On fourth and inches at the 32, Farrish went off the left side for five and another first down at the Tiger 27.  On third and three, junior LB Corey Watts broke through to tackle Griffin for a loss.  Belsito then attempted a 44-yard field goal but his kick was short.   The drive took 6:06 off the clock.  Starting from the 20, Greco hit senior TE Tom Keiser for five on first down.  On third and six, Greco ran the QB draw again for six yards and a first down at the 30.  After Lapinski gained five on first down, Grecto threw to Austin for eight more and a first down at the 43.  Two runs gained only one yard, but Greco again hit Austin for 11 yards and another first down at the WH 45.  After Lapinski ran up the middle for five, Greco had Austin open deep but Watters got back in time to knock the ball down.  On third down, Greco faked to Lapinski and ran the right side for seven yards and a first down at the Wolverine 33.  Two runs lost a yard and two incompletions gave the ball back to Woodland Hills as the quarter ended.  The Wolverines still held a 14-0 lead after three quarters of play.

As the fourth quarter began, Farrish picked up ten yards on two carries to get a first down at the NA 49.  Corey Watts broke through to sack Griffin for a loss of eight back to the WH 43.  On third down, junior DB Dan Hoover batted down a pass to force a punt.  Senior WR Aric Young made a fair catch at the NA 35.  On first down, Greco scrambled for eight to the 42.  After a gain of two by Lapinski, Tiger head coach Art Walker called a time out.  On third and three, the WH defense stopped Lapinski for a loss forcing the Tigers to punt.  Oliver returned the kick seven yards to the WH 40.  The Wolverines then went on 60 yard drive in eight plays to secure the victory.  Farrish gained eighteen on two plays to move the ball to the NA 42.  Senior FB Joe Yezovich got eight and Farrish another five to the Tiger 30.  The Tiger defense stiffened, however, to hold WH to six yards on three plays.  On fourth and four, Griffin took off around left end, diving for the flag on the far side and scoring.  Belsito's conversion closed out the scoring.  After Young returned the kickoff to the NA 22, Greco used the QB draw again on third and long to pick up sixteen and a first down at the 36.  A long pass by Greco was intercepted by Miles who brought it back to the NA 20.  An illegal block put WH back to the Tiger 47.  Griffin then took two knees as the game ended with Woody High taking a 21-0 victory.

The score was worse than the game as the Tiger moved the ball at times but could score.  The statistics bear this out.  NA actually had three more offensive plays than WH.  Total yardage was in favor of the Wolverines, 243-174, but three big plays accounted for much of the yardage.  Greco led NA in rushing with 70 yards in 15 carries.  Farrish had 124 on18 rushes including the 66-yard scamper on his first carry of the game.  The key stat, however, was in the turnover category where NA lost it five times, Woodland Hills none.

For the Tigers, the important thing now is the health of Adam Neugebauer.  He sustained a shoulder injury and was going for X-rays after the game.  Coach Walker said, "It doesn't look good."  A number of Tigers played well in the loss, but the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Corey Watts as the Player of the Game.

The loss dropped the NA non-conference record to 2-1.  The Tigers will play undefeated Upper St. Clair on Friday at Newman Stadium.  The Panthers beat Connellsville, 45-13, last night.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:10 pm.  Game time is tentatively scheduled for 7:30 pm.

TEAM STATISTICS

GAME SUMMARY
WOODLAND HILLS - 21  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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