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TIGERS STRONG SECOND HALF ENDS PENN HILLS’ SEASON, 24-7

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After leading by only a 10-7 score at halftime, the Tigers added a touchdown in each of the final two quarters to defeat Penn Hills, 24-7, in the WPIAL Quad A quarterfinals at Martorelli Stadium on Friday night.  Senior Geoff Greco scored a pair of touchdowns while senior HB Karl DeCiantis added another for the Tigers.  DeCiantis gained 104 yards in 21 carries to pace NA.  Senior Justin Facer kicked a 28-yard field goal and converted on all three NA scores.

Junior Dan Wentz returned the opening kickoff nine yards to the NA 29 as action got under way in the first quarter.  After DeCiantis picked up ten yards and a first down, the Tigers fumbled with Penn Hills recovering at the NA 38.  A short pass from QB Tom Fulton to WR Dontoe Brown gained three, but the Tiger defense stopped the next three running plays to take over on downs at the NA 38.  The Tigers then went on a 62-yard scoring drive in 9 plays to take the lead.  After DeCiantis got nine on first down, Greco ran the right side for five and a first down at the 48.  Senior fullback Zach Watts broke through the middle for a gain of 25 and another first down at the PH 27.  On second and 8, DeCiantis ran over left guard for six more.  Greco then went around right end for three and a first down at the Penn Hills 16.  On a second and seven, junior Brian Austin ran a reverse to the Penn Hills six.  With a third and short, DeCiantis broke through and went into the end zone untouched.  Facer added the point and the Tigers had a 7-0 lead with 5:44 left in the quarter.  After Chris Darby ran the kickoff back only to the Indian 16, Penn Hills went on a long drive and threatened to tie the game.  Fulton threw to Brown for 15 yards and a first down at the 31.  On a third and four, Fulton hit WR Brandon Ifill for eleven and another first down.  A second down pass from Fulton to D.J. Wilds gained another first down at the NA 40.  After senior LB Corey Watts dropped Darby for a loss of three, a short pass to Ifill gained only two.  On a third and long, junior LB Jackson Boyd picked off a wobbly Fulton pass only to have the ball knocked out of his hands and recovered by Wilds for a first down at the NA 15.  After three plays gained seven yards, Penn Hills picked up a first down on an NA offside penalty that put the ball at the NA 4.  Junior RB Teddy Blakeman was stopped for a one-yard loss as the quarter ended with the Tigers holding a 7-0 lead.

After Blakeman got a yard on the first play of the second quarter, Fulton fumbled the snap and senior CB Kyle Butson fell on the ball at the NA 2 to stop the drive.  Three plays got only nine yards and Greco punted to Darby who made a fair catch at the NA 46.  On the first play, Fulton tried a shovel pass that the NA defense batted up in the air.  After several Tigers got a hand on the ball, senior LB Alex Calder came down with it and ran it to the PH 46.  DeCiantis got six up the middle and added nine more on the right side to give the Tigers a first down at the PH 31.  Greco followed with a run around left end for nineteen yards and another first down at the Indian 12.  After two plays picked up four yards, a procedure call against NA moved the ball back to the PH 11.  After an incomplete pass, Facer dropped back and kicked a 28-yard field goal to give the Tigers a 10-0 lead with 5:04 remaining in the half.  The Indians were able to take the ensuing kickoff back four yards to the PH 24 after the ball bounced off Tom Pryor.  Penn Hills then went on a 72 yard drive in 10 plays.  After an incomplete pass, Brown took a pitchout, tried to pass, and then ran for 18 yards and a first down at the PH 46.  Blakeman followed with runs of 9 and 8 and another first down at the NA 37.  After two plays got four yards, Fulton found Brown open for a nine yard gain and a first down at the Tiger 21.  On the next play, Fulton hit Ifill for a gain of 16 to the NA 5.  Two plays later, Blakeman took it in for the score.  Brandon Bailey added the point as Penn Hills cut the lead to 10-7 with 1:36 remaining in the half.  After senior LB Ty Dixon returned the kickoff nine yards to the 33, a pass from junior QB Mike Locke to Greco got five with DeCiantis running for five more and a first down to the 43.  After an incomplete pass, Locke was sacked for a loss back to the NA 37.  DeCiantis then ran up the middle for 17 yards bringing up a fourth and inches at the PH 42.  After an NA time out, Greco picked up the first down at the 40 with time running out.  After Greco spiked the ball with eleven seconds left, the Penn Hills defense sacked Locke as time ran out.  The Tigers took a slim 10-7 advantage to the intermission.

Penn Hills took the opening kickoff of the second half and threatened to take the lead.  After the kickoff went out of bounds, the Indians started at their own 35.  After two running plays by Blakeman gained eight yards, Fulton found Ifell open down the middle for a gain of 26 to the NA 31.  Fulton then threw to Wilds for another first down at the Tiger 14.  After an incomplete pass, Fulton was forced to scramble around right end, but senior DT Mike Passodelis caught him at the sideline for no gain.  After a procedure call against Penn Hills, their only penalty of the game, an incomplete pass brought up a fourth and long.  Bailey attempted a 36-yard field goal that just fell short.  After three plays gained only five yards, Greco punted to Darby who returned it five yards to the PH 43.  On third and nine, Fulton threw a screen pass to Darby who was hit for a seven yard loss by Dixon.  Blakeman then punted to Austin who made a fair catch at the NA 30.  On first down, Austin gained 17 on a reverse, but an illegal block brought the ball back to the NA 24.  A procedure call pushed it back five more yards to the 19.  On the next play, Austin made a diving catch of a Locke pass at midfield and fell forward to the PH 48, a gain of 33 yards and a first down.  On second and ten, DeCiantis got four up the middle to the Indian 44.  Locke found senior WR Curtis Belcastro open on the right side for a gain of 16 and a first down at the PH 28.  After a loss of two on first down, Locke hit Greco on a crossing pattern and the Tiger senior outraced the Penn Hills defenders down the right sideline for a touchdown.  Facer’s conversion was good as NA took a 17-7 lead with 1:55 remaining in the quarter.  Darby was able to return Greco’s kickoff for twenty yards to the Penn Hills 25.  Indian coach Neil Gordon then sent in Dontoe Brown at quarterback.  On the first play, Brown ran left but was hit by junior DE Wes Henderson for a loss of two.  On the next play, Brown was sacked by the Tiger defense for a loss of 11 back to the PH 12.  Brown tried to run the right side but was hit for a loss of eight more back to the Indian 4.  The quarter ended with the Tigers holding the 17-7 advantage.

On the first play of the final period, Blakeman punted from his end zone to Greco who returned the ball eight yards to the PH 33.  On first down, Greco ran around left end for nine yards to the 24.  DeCiantis then ran right for eight more and a first down at the Indian 16.  On second and eight, Greco threw to DeCiantis for a first down at the PH 5.  On second and goal from the four, Greco dragged Penn Hills tacklers into the end zone as the Tigers increased the lead to 23-7.  Facer again added the point as NA took a 24-7 lead with 9:04 remaining.  Greco’s kickoff was bobbled by Kadeem Williams who was able to return the ball only to the PH 12.  Two runs by Blakeman got eight yards but a third down pass fell incomplete forcing another Blakeman punt that was downed at the NA 38 with 7:38 left in the game.  Three running plays got only nine yards, and Greco punted and the ball was downed at the Penn Hills 1.  On first down, Fulton threw from his end zone and hit Stefon Thompson down the middle for a gain of 36 and a first down.  On second and ten, Fulton found Thompson open again for a gain of eight.  On fourth and one, Blakeman gained two and a first down at the NA 48.  On second and ten, Fulton threw to Wilds for another first down at the Tiger 38.  On the next play, Boyd intercepted his second pass of the game to stop the threat and give NA the ball at their 32.  The Tigers reserves ran out the clock on three running plays as the Tigers captured the 24-7 victory.

It was another good effort by the Tigers on both sides of the ball.  After an even first half, NA dominated play in the second half.  The Tigers once again went to their running attack gaining a total of 206 yards rushing in the game behind DeCiantis’ 104, Greco’s 55, and Zach Watts’ 32.  Locke completed five of seven passes for 89 yards and a touchdown.  Defensively, NA picked off three passes, recovered a Penn Hills fumble and recorded a pair of sacks.  The Tigers held the Indians to just 43 yards rushing on 26 carries.  For his efforts on the defensive side of the ball, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior Ty Dixon as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers advanced to the WPIAL Quad A semifinals next Friday.  NA will meet Gateway, a 32-20 winner over Upper St. Clair at Newman Stadium on Friday night.  We will post the site and time of the game as soon as it is officially released.  The North Allegheny Sports Network will be there to broadcast the game LIVE on the internet beginning with the pre-game show featuring an interview with Head Coach Art Walker.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 24  PENN HILLS – 7

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

 GAME STATISTICS

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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