Welcome to the
NORTH ALLEGHENY SPORTS NETWORK

The Official Source of North Allegheny Sports

TIGERS CRUSH BUTLER, 34-0, TO CLINCH CONFERENCE TITLE

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

Senior QB Geoff Greco scored three touchdowns and senior halfback Karl DeCiantis added another as the Tigers overwhelmed Butler, 34-0, at Art Bernardi Stadium in Butler on Friday night.  After leading 14-0 at halftime, the Tigers used their strong ground game to dominate the second half while holding the Tornado scoreless.  Greco finished with 116 yards rushing while DeCiantis recorded 113 as the Tigers won their eighth straight without a loss.

Greco drove the opening kickoff deep into the end zone with Butler starting their first drive from the 20.  On second and five, Eli Christy ran the right side for 12 yards and a first down at the 37.  On the next play, junior DE Wes Henderson came up with a Butler fumble at the Tornado 37.  After an incomplete pass just over the head of a wide open junior WR Brian Austin, Greco ran around right end and outraced the Butler secondary into the end zone.  Senior Justin Facer added the point as the Tiger took an early 7-0 lead just 1:05 into the contest.  After a second Greco kickoff went out of the end zone, Butler again started from their own 20.  On first down, senior DT Mike Passodelis broke through to sack Butler sophomore QB Cole Harvey for a loss of 8 back to the Tornado 12.  Two running plays gained nothing, and Harvey punted to Greco who returned it eleven yards to the Butler 37.  On the first play, Greco ran around left end to the Butler 15 but fumbled the ball with Travis Schuller recovering at the Tornado 9.  Butler FB Tony Fudoli gained eleven yards on two carries to pick up a first down at the 20.  Two plays gained a yard and a procedure call moved the ball back to the Tornado 16.  After an incomplete pass, Harvey again punted to Greco who returned it seven yards to the Butler 38.  After a false start cost the Tigers five, DeCiantis lost two yards on two runs.  On third and twelve, junior QB Mike Locke scrambled for fourteen and a first down at the Butler 26.  After senior FB Zach Watts gained 3 and Greco ran left for five more, Greco was stopped for no gain.  After an NA time out, Greco faked to DeCiantis and ran around left end for 17 yards and another Tiger touchdown.  Facer again converted and the Tiger lead went to 14-0 with 2:16 left in the quarter.  After Greco’s third consecutive kickoff into the end zone, the Tornado started a drive from their own 20.  After two plays gained eight yards, Harvey ran a keeper around the left side for three yards and a first down at the 31.  Butler wingback Cameron McDonald-Cahill got ten more and another first down to the 41 as the quarter ended.  After one period of play, the Tigers held a 14-0 lead.

As the second quarter began, three plays and an offside call against NA gave Butler a fourth and short at the Tiger 49.  On the next play, Harvey ran a QB sneak for the first down.  On a third and eight, Harvey completed a pass to McDonald-Cahill for nine and a first down at the Tiger 37.  Another quarterback sneak by Harvey on third and two gave the Tornado a first down at the NA 26.  After an incomplete pass, DE Zach Watts tackled Harvey for no gain.  After another incomplete pass, the Tornado fumbled and recovered at the Tiger 28, but NA took over on downs.  An NA fumble on the snap was recovered by DeCiantis in the backfield for a loss of three.  Greco then lost two and an incomplete pass brought up a fourth and long.  Greco’s punt into the wind was downed at the Butler 48.  After a procedure call against Butler, Harvey ran for eight to the NA 49.  After another procedure call, Harvey gained eight more to the Tiger 46.  A pass in the flat to McDonald-Cahill lost two.  On fourth and seven, Zach Watts tackled Harvey for a two-yard loss as the Tigers took over on downs.  After sophomore HB Grant Huckestein gained four, the Tigers fumbled and Mason McLaughlin recovered for the Tornado at the Butler 49.  On a fourth and four, Fudoli gained twenty for a first down at the NA 25.  After three incomplete passes, Watts sacked Harvey for a loss of twelve and the Tigers took over at the own 37 with 30 seconds left in the half.  On first down, DeCiantis broke through for a gain of 23 to the Butler 40 where the Tigers called a time out.  On the next play, Locke threw to Greco who got the the Butler 20 where NA called their final time out with 6.7 seconds on the clock.  Facer then attempted a 37-yard field goal into the wind that fell short.  After a tough second quarter, the Tigers took a 14-0 lead to the intermission.

On the second half kickoff, Butler’s Ryan Soule lined the ball off one of the Tiger lineman and the Tornado recovered at the Tiger 49.  At this point, the NA defense rose up to push the Tornado back.  On first down, Harvey was hit for a loss of six to the Butler 45.  After an incomplete pass, senior DT Austin Fedell and Watts broke through to sack Harvey for a loss of ten to the Butler 35 where Harvey was forced to punt.  With the wind at his back, Harvey rolled the punt to the NA 21 where it was downed.  The Tigers then went on a seven play 79-yard drive to take control of the contest.  On second and seven, Locke found Greco open for a gain of 19 to the NA 43.  After DeCiantis ran the left side for four,  Zach Watts ran up the middle for five more.  On third and one, DeCiantis ran around the right side for seventeen yards and a first down at the Tornado 31.  After Greco got first to the 26, DeCiantis ran the inside counter up the middle and beat the Butler defense to the end zone.  Facer again was perfect on the point after as the Tigers extended the lead to 21-0 with 7:15 left in the quarter.  After Greco’s kickoff was returned by Josh Reddick to the Butler 21, Harvey hit his TE T.J. Lesniewski for 19 yards and a first down at the Tornado 37.  On second and twelve, it was Harvey to Lesniewski again for a gain of ten to the 45.  Harvey tried the middle but was stopped for no gain.  On fourth and two, Harvey’s punt was downed at the NA 16.  The Tigers again went on a scoring drive that took nine plays and extended into the fourth quarter.  After a short pass from Locke to Austin got five, DeCiantis ran the right side for 16 and a first down at the NA 37.  On the next play, junior FB Jared Congedo ran up the middle for ten more and a first down at the 47.  On the next play, Greco took off around left end for another gain of sixteen yards and a first down at the Tornado 37.  After DeCiantis ran left for nine on first down, Greco got four more to the 23 and another NA first down.  After a Butler offside penalty cost the Tornado five, DeCiantis was stopped after a gain of one as the third quarter ended.  The Tigers took a commanding 21-0 lead into the final period.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, DeCiantis picked up nine to give the Tigers a first and goal at the nine.  On the next play, Greco ran for his third touchdown of the game.  Facer came in and added the point as the Tiger lead went to 28-0 with 11:20 still left in the game.  On the ensuing kickoff, Greco sent his fourth kickoff into the end zone as Butler had to start at the Tornado 20 once again.  After two plays gained only one yard, the Tornado fumbled and the Tigers recovered at the Butler 21.  DeCiantis picked up six on first down and Huckestein give on the next play as the Tigers had a first and goal at the Tornado 10.  Junior halfback Jorden Kraus ran up the middle for seven to the Tornado three.  After a Butler time out, Congedo ran for two to the one.  On the next play, Congedo took it into the end zone to extend the Tiger lead to 34-0.  Junior Nick Jovonovich’s extra point attempt was blocked.  Jovonovich’s kickoff was returned to the Butler 36 by McDonald-Cahill.  After the Butler reserves gained seven on two plays, the Tornado fumbled and sophomore Kyle Higgins picked up the loose ball and returned it to the Butler 33.  Two runs and two incomplete passes by sophomore QB Justin Brozick gave the ball back to the Tornado at their 33.  A holding  call moved the Tornado back to their 27.  Two running plays got ten yards, but Harvey punted with the ball downed at the NA 30.  After junior RB Jeff Litz was stopped for no gain, Brozick took a knee twice as time ran out.  The Tigers took home a 34-0 victory to keep their unbeaten streak alive.

After leading by only 14-0 at halftime with three lost fumbles, the Tigers turned up the pressure in the second half.  The NA running game came alive as the Tigers finished with 279 yards on the ground.  NA completed only three passes but did not need to go to the air.  The Tiger defense held the Tornado to just 40 yards rushing in 40 attempts and a total offense of 11 yards in 60 plays.  Butler was only 3 of 15 on third down conversions.  DeCiantis upped his touchdown total to 14 on the season while Greco added three more to his personal record.  For his efforts on the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Geoff Greco as the Player of the Game.

With the victory, the Tigers clinched the Northern Five Conference title as they improved their conference record to 4-0, the overall mark to 8-0.  NA will host archrival North Hills on Friday night at Newman Stadium on Senior 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 scheduled for 7:30 pm.

GAME STATISTICS

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 34  BUTLER – 0

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