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GRECO LEADS TIGERS OVER
SENECA VALLEY, 43-13

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Senior WR Geoff Greco returned the opening kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown, and the Tigers went on to defeat Seneca Valley, 43-13, in the Northern Five Conference opener at Newman Stadium on Friday night.  Greco also caught two scoring passes from junior QB Mike Locke, and senior tailback Karl DeCiantis added two more touchdowns  as the Tigers raced out to a 36-6 lead at halftime.

Greco set the tone for the game with his return of the game’s opening kickoff.  On the conversion, Locke took the snap and ran around left end for the two-point conversion to give NA an 8-0 lead just 12 seconds into the contest.  After holding the Raiders to a three-and-out, Greco returned Ryan Scheller’s punt 15 yards to the NA 42-yard line.  From there, the Tigers went on a six-play 58 yard drive to score again.  Freshman Alex Papson ran the left side for fourteen and a first down at the Seneca 44.  A 15-yard personal foul penalty moved the ball to the 29.  DeCiantis followed with runs of 11 and 6.  With second and 4 at the 17, Papson ran the right side for two more but was injured on the play and did not return.  DeCiantis scored on the next play, but the Tigers were called for holding.  After Locke threw to senior WR Curtis Belcastro for four yards, NA Head Coach Art Walker called a time out.  With fourth and nine, Locke rolled left and found Greco all alone in the end zone for the score.  Senior Justin Facer added the point as the NA lead went to 15-0 with 3:46 left in the quarter.  Once again, the Tiger defense held the Raiders with senior LB Corey Watts hitting Seneca RB James Daniels for a five yard loss on a screen pass the key play.  Scheller’s punt went out of bounds at the NA 43.  Once again, the Tigers started a drive with DeCiantis running the ball for 9 yards on three plays.  On fourth and one, Locke took it on a quarterback sneak and got a first down at the Seneca 46.  On third and ten, Locke threw to Belcastro for 13 yards and a first down at the 33.  After two plays gained nothing and a false start penalty moved the ball back to the 38, Locke ran for ten yards on fourth down but came up short.  The Raiders took over at the 25.  After Daniels got two n first down, the quarter ended with NA holding the 15-0 advantage.

After two incomplete passes, Scheller was forced to punt again with Greco falling on the ball at the NA 24.  The Tigers then went on a 76 yard drive in seven plays.  A first down pass from Locke to senior TE Mike Fuhrman got a first down at the 37.  On third and four, Locke hit Fuhrman again for 17 and another first down at the Raider 40.  On third down, Locke threw a middle screen to DeCiantis for seven to the SV 38.  On fourth down, Locke hit Greco on the left sideline for ten yards and a first down at the Raider 28.  On the next play, DeCiantis ran the left side and raced 28 yards into the end zone.  Facer again converted as the Tigers built a 22-0 lead with 8:12 remaining in the half.  After Evan Hetzel returned the kickoff to the SV 27, junior LB Jackson Boyd tackled Raider QB C.J. Brown for a yard loss.  On the next play, Brown threw to WR Matt Plautz for 19 yards and the first Raider first down of the game at the SV 45.  On second and nine, Daniels ran the left side for 13 and another first down to the Tiger 41.  A quarterback draw by Brown picked up another 16 and a first down at the NA 25.  After a first down pass was broken up by senior CB Christian Totera, the Raiders were called for holding.  On the next play, junior Wes Henderson broke through to hit Hetzel on a reverse for a loss of 10 back to the 45.  On third and longsenior CB Kyle Butson intercepted Brown’s pass at the NA 5 and returned it to the NA 36.   It took the Tigers only two plays to score again.  On first down, Locke threw to Belcastro over the middle where the senior wideout made a great move to avoid a tackle and raced all the way to the Raider three.  On first and goal, DeCiantis blasted into the end zone.  Facer was good on the point as the Tiger lead went to 29-0 with 4:15 on the first half clock.  Another three and out forced a Scheller punt that went out of bounds at the Tiger 35.  On a third and seven, Greco ran the right side, but the Raiders knocked the ball loose and recovered at the SV 43.  Once again the NA defense came out big as Boyd picked off a Brown pass and returned it to the Seneca 40.  On first down, Locke threw long to a wide open Greco who scored his third touchdown of the half.  Facer converted as the Tigers took a commanding 36-0 lead with only 1:32 remaining.  After the kickoff went out of bounds, the Raiders put together their first scoring drive of the game.  Daniels picked up 21 yards on three carries to give the Raiders a first down at the NA 40.  Brown then threw to Hetzel for 19 more to the Tiger 21.  With time running out, Plautz made a great one-handed catch in the end zone to put the Raiders on the board with just four seconds remaining.  The point was blocked, and Greco took a knee after returning the kickoff out to the 15.  The teams went to the intermission with the Tiger holding a commanding 36-6 advantage.

Neither team scored in the third quarter with turnovers and penalties highlighting the action.  After the Dustin Anewalt returned the kickoff to the SV 27, Brown threw to Plautz for eleven and a first down at the 39.  An unsportsmanlike penalty against NA moved the ball to the 49 after Seneca was penalized five for illegal motion.  On second and three, Daniels picked up another first down at the NA 40.  After a personal foul against the Raiders, Brown hit Hetzel on a crossing pattern on third down as Seneca picked up a first down at the Tiger 28.  On third an 11, the Raiders were called for offensive interference forcing a fourth and long.  An incomplete pass gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 39.  On first down, senior FB Zach Watts broke through the middle for 24 yards and a first down at the Seneca 37.  After Locke ran for 8, junior RB Jorden Kraus got four and a first down at the25.  DeCiantis took an inside handoff and ran for 13 and another first down to the 12.  On the next play, the Tigers were called for holding that moved the ball back to the 38.  After an incomplete pass, Locke had the ball knocked loose and it rolled out of bounds at the Tiger 48.  On the next play, Seneca DB Shaine Patsilevas made a diving interception at the Raider 33.  On second and ten, a pass interference call against the Tigers gave SV a first down at the 48.  On fourth and long, Brown ran the left side for a first down to the Tiger 39.  On third and four, Henderson broke through and sacked Brown for an 11-yard loss.  On fourth down, Brown found Plautz open for a first down at the Tiger 26 as the quarter ended.  After three quarters, the Tigers still held the 36-6 advantage.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Boyd made his second interception of the game in the end zone to stop the Seneca drive.  The Tigers then went on a long 14-play 80-yard drive that took 6:58.  On third and seven, Locke threw to Greco for 15 and a first down at the 36.  DeCiantis followed with 13 more on a draw play.  After two plays got nine yards, Locke picked up the first down at the SV 40 on a quarterback sneak.  A draw by Kraus got six, and sophomore Grant Huckestein ran for 12 more and a first down at the Seneca 24.  On second and 8, sophomore QB Justin Brozick ran around left end on a keeper for 12 and a first down at the 12.  On a third and ten, Brozick found RB Jared Congedo open near the goal line, and the Tiger junior fell into the end zone for another Tiger touchdown.  Facer added his fifth straight conversion as NA had the mercy rule invoked with a 43-6 lead with 4:53 remaining.  The Raider first team was able to get another scor3 against the Tiger reserves as time was running out.  A 53- yard pass play from Brown to Plautz put the Raiders in the end zone.  Ryan Zipf added the point, but the game belonged the Tigers.  After the kickoff went out of bounds, the mercy rule let the clock run out as NA took a 43-13 victory in the conference opener.

It was an impressive first half by the Tigers as they piled up 303 total yards with Locke completing 9 of 14 for 193 yards and two scores.  The second half got ugly with a lot of penalties and four turnovers.  Seneca Valley was penalized 11 times for 168 yards while the Tigers were called seven times for 74 yards.  DeCiantis led all rushers with 79 yards on 13 carries.  Locke finished with 11 for 18 good for 213 yards.  The Tiger defense was tough when the game was on the line with Seneca piling up yardage late in both halves.  For his efforts on the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Geoff Greco as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers went to 1-0 in conference play, 5-0 on the season.  NA will travel to Erie next Friday night to meet the McDowell Trojans in another Northern Five Conference battle.  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 scheduled for 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 43  SENECA VALLEY – 13

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

 TEAM STATISTICS

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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