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NORTH ALLEGHENY VARSITY FOOTBALL

TIGERS TRAVEL TO BETHEL PARK FOR SEASON OPENER

by Don Vandergrift

The Tigers will travel to Bethel Park tonight to open the 2006 season against the Blackhawks in a non-conference contest.  NA finished with a final mark of 5-5 last year after winning four in a row to clinch a playoff spot.  The Tigers dropped a tough 7-0 decision at WPIAL runnerup Woodland Hills in the first round of the playoffs.  Bethel Park is coming off a 6-4 season and a 37-16 first round loss to Gateway in the playoffs.

Blackhawk Head Coach Jeff Metheny, in his 21^st season overall, will count on several returning skill players to lead the way this season.  Senior quarterback  Jeff Stewart (6-3, 195) returns after completing 87 of 166 passes good for 1,311 yards and nine touchdowns last season.  Stewart also rushed for 455 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 100 carries.  The BP signal caller threw for one touchdown and ran for another against the Tigers last year.  The top receiver for Coach Metheny will be senior Tim Picard (6-3, 175).  Picard caught 20 passes good for 395 yards and three scores in the ’95 season.  The senior WR scored on a 10-yard pass from Stewart to give Bethel an early lead against NA last year.  Senior TE Alex Wojdowski (6-1, 230) gives Stewart another option in the passing game.

On the ground, the Blackhawks return senior running back Justin Pratt (6-0, 205) who gained 918 yards on 161 carries and eleven TDs.  Pratt scored three times against NA in last year’s game.  Bethel lost three starters on the offensive line from last season.  Three players that will play on the Bethel offensive line are Wojdowski, senior Chris Spegal (6-7, 285) and Tim O’Brien (6-4, 255).  On special teams, Pratt will return both kickoffs and punts.  Junior Ethan Talbot will handle the place kicking duties for Bethel Park.

Coach Art Walker enters his second season as the Tiger mentor with a much more experienced squad than last season.  NA returns six starters on offense and five on defense along with a number of players that saw game action last season.  The offense centers around senior quarterback Adam Neugebauer (6-1, 185) who completed 117 of 230 passes (50.9%) good for 1556 yards and 13 TDs.  Neugebauer threw for three scores against the Blackhawks in last year’s game.  Senior fullback Marek Lapinski (6-1, 215) returns after gaining 257 yards on 65 carries (4.0 ypc) and two TDs.  Junior halfback Carl DeCiantis (5-9, 185) ran for 153 yards (4.0 ypc) and will start for Coach Walker.  Look for senior Tim Lotz (5-11, 190) and juniors Corey (5-11, 205) and Zack Watts (6-0, 210) to see playing time in the NA backfield.  The two top receivers, Bill Knight and Nick Henderson, both graduated and their starting positions will be filled by junior Geoff Greco (6-3, 200) and sophomore Brian Austin (5-8, 160).  Senior Tom Keiser (6-5, 245) returns at tight end after missing much of last season due to injuries.

The Tigers return five offensive linemen who started last season.  Senior Chris Pottmeyer (6-1, 235) will start at center, with juniors Austin Fedell (6-1, 245) and Mike Passodelis (6-2, 205) at guards and seniors Mike Griffith (6-0, 245) and Ian Overbaugh (6-2, 240) at the tackles.  Senior Garrett Larkin (6-0, 270) will also see time at offensive tackle.  On special teams, Greco will handle the punting duties while senior Rich Doyle (5-11, 165) returns as the place kicker, a position he held as a sophomore.

On defense, the Tigers return five starters on a squad that got better as the season progressed last year, holding high scoring Woodland Hills to just seven points in the

WPIAL playoffs.  On the defensive line, senior Mark Lamping (6-2, 260) and Griffith will start at tackles with Fedell and Larkin also seeing playing time.  At defensive end, Keiser and Zack Watts will be the starters.  NA is deep at the linebacker position with junior Corey Watts and Lapinski, along with junior Alex Calder (5-10, 205), on the inside.  Lotz and seniors Jack Connolly (5-11, 195) and Darren LePere (6-0, 190) will man the outside.  In the secondary, look for junior Christian Totera (5-8, 170), senior Alex Carson (5-11, 175), senior Sean Gross (5-8, 155), and junior Kyle Butson (5-10, 170) to share time.

Bethel Park defeated the Tigers, 35-21, in last year’s Quad North contest.  The game was marked by rain and lightning that forced postponement of the majority of the contest until Saturday morning.  NA rallied from a 28-7 deficit to cut the margin to 28-21 but could not get closer.  It was the second consecutive 35-21 BP win in a series that the Blackhawks lead, 16-11.  Bethel has won the last three games with the last NA win coming in 2002, a 7-6 Tiger win at Blackhawk Stadium.  With the threat of rain, the newly installed field turf at Blackhawk Stadium should help both teams.  Don’t forget, if you cannot attend or do not want to sit in the rain, the North Allegheny Sports Network will broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 pm.  Join Don Vandergrift and Rick Meister for all the action with the opening kickoff set for 7:30.

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