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TIGERS BEAT BUTLER IN DOUBLE OVERTIME, 27-24

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by Don Vandergrift

Junior quarterback Adam Neugebauer hit senior halfback Billy Knight in the corner of the end zone in the second overtime period to give the Tigers a thrilling 27-24 victory at Butler on Friday night.  Neugebauer threw three touchdown passes, two to Knight and one to senior WR Nick Henderson, and senior RB Adam Hambrick ran for another as NA won their first Quad North contest to remain in the playoff hunt. 

After Brandon Irvin returned the opening kickoff to the Butler 23, the NA defense forced a Tornado punt.  Senior Andrew Goettler boomed a 66-yarder that rolled all the way to the NA 3.  After Knight ran for eleven yards to the 14 for a first down, the Tigers were forced to punt as sophomore Geoff Greco rolled the kick to the Butler 48.  After Irvin ran for nine, junior QB Nick Monteleone hit his junior WR Andy Strutt for a first down at the NA 35.  Three plays lost three yards and Butler went into punt formation.  Coach Gary Cathell tried a fake punt with an option play to punter Goettler, but the toss was wide and the Tigers took over at the NA 41.  The Tigers began a 59-yard drive that resulted in the first score of the game.  Hambrick got three, Knight five more, and sophomore RB Karl DiCiantis three for a first down at the Butler 46.  After Neugebauer ran for six to the Tornado 40, a holding call moved the Tigers back to midfield.  Hambrick then ran for 13 to the Tornado 37.  On second and ten, DiCiantis gained four up the middle, and Neugebauer ran around right end for eleven and a first down at the Butler 22 as the first quarter ended with the game scoreless.

On the first play of the second quarter, Hambrick broke through the line and raced to the Butler 5 as the Tigers had a first and goal.  Hambrick finished the job on the next play as he took it the final five yards.  Senior Justin Runkel added the point and NA took a 7-0 lead just 34 seconds into the second stanza.  After the ensuing kickoff was returned to the Butler 21, the NA defense held and forced another Goettler punt.  This time the Butler senior got off a 45-yard kick that Knight caught on a fair catch at the Tiger 29.  After two running plays got only two yards, the Tornado was called for pass interference that gave the Tigers a first down at the NA 46.  On the next play, Neugebauer hit Henderson on a slant pattern down the middle and the Tiger senior outran the defenders for a 54-yard pass and run play for the second NA touchdown.  Again, Runkel converted as the Tigers took a 14-0 lead with 8:14 left in the half.  The Butler offense took over at the Butler 21 and began a sustained drive mainly on the passing arm of Monteleone.  The Butler junior hit Strutt for 16 and junior Jordan Roycroft for 10 more as the Tornado moved to the NA 49.  After junior FB Ben Ashcraft ran for six, Monteleone scrambled for 17 more to the NA 28.  On second down, Monteleone found Roycroft open at the NA six where he was tackled after the catch.  With a first and goal, the snap went over Monteleone’s head, but he recovered to gain two to the four.  On second and goal, junior linebacker Jack Connolly broke through to sack Monteleone back at the 14 for a loss of ten yards.  A pass to Roycroft brought the ball back to the seven, but the Tornado had to settle for a 24-yard field by junior kicker Chris Haley.  With 3:15 remaining, Butler had cut the lead to 14-3.  After Haley’s kickoff went into the end zone, the Tigers began to move the football again.  A pass to Henderson got 12 and a first down at the NA 32.  Neugebauer hit Knight for nine and then picked up a first down on a quarterback sneak to the 43.  Knight ran the right side for 15 and another first down at the Butler 42.  After two plays gained five yards, DiCiantis raced through the middle for nine and a first down at the Butler 28 with 1:36 left on the clock.  Knight gained nine more around left end to the Tornado 19 where Head Coach Art Walker called a time out.  A pass to Henderson was caught out of bounds.  After DiCiantis was stopped short of a first down, the Tigers went for it on 4^th and less than a yard, but the Butler defense stopped DiCiantis and took over at their 19 with only 30.4 seconds left.  A run by Ashcraft gained 18, Monteleone picked up four, and a pass to Roycroft gained 25 to the NA 33 with eleven seconds left.  Monteleone then hit Strutt for 20 more to the Tiger 13 with just 4.8 seconds left.  After Haley came on to try a field goal, Coach Walker called a time out.  The ensuing snap was a little high and the field goal attempt drifted left.  The Tigers took a 14-3 lead to the intermission.

On the opening kickoff of the second half, the Tigers fumbled and junior Dan D’Amore recovered for the Tornado.  After two incomplete passes, Monteleone was forced to scramble and picked up only four yards.  Goettler punted out of bounds at the NA 10 as the Tiger defense stood tall.  Three running plays gained nine yards and the Tigers were forced to punt to the NA 48.  Once again, the Tiger defense came up big, holding the Tornado to just two yards in three plays.  Goettler’s punt was downed at the NA 12.  Junior fullback Tim Lotz ran for 12 and first down to the Tiger 24.  After two running plays got two yards, the Tigers fumbled again and Butler recovered at the NA 27.  On the first play, Monteleone found Strutt open at the goal line for a touchdown.  The Tornado went for two, and Monteleone hit his junior TE Noah Hartung in the end zone as Butler cut the NA lead to 14-11 with 6:20 still left in the quarter.  Before the kickoff, the Butler coaches were called for an unsportsmanlike penalty and Haley had to kickoff from the Tornado 25.  Knight returned the kickoff 19 yards to the NA 48.  After Neugebauer got three around left end, Lotz ran up the middle for seven and first down at the Butler 42.  A holding call on the next play moved the Tigers back to the own 41.  NA was unable to move the ball and Greco punted to the Butler 40.  The Tornado moved the ball 40 yards to the NA 20 where Haley was forced to kick a 37-yard field goal that tied the game at 14-14.  After Knight returned the kickoff to the NA 25, Lotz got five to the 30.  On third and five, Neugebauer found his senior WR Sam McGill open for a gain of 8 and first down at the 38 as the quarter ended with the teams tied at 14.

After an incomplete pass and a gain of four by Lotz, a motion penalty to the Tigers brought up a third and long at the NA 38.  Neugebauer then went long to Knight down the right sideline and the NA senior made the catch in stride to race into the end zone.  The 62-yard pass and run play gave NA the lead as Runkel’s extra point made it 21-14 just 53 seconds into the final period.  After Runkel kicked off into the end zone, Butler went on a long drive to tie the score.  On first down, Monteleone hit Strutt for 20 and a first down at the Butler 40.  Ashcraft then ran up the middle for 23 more and another first down at the Tiger 37.  On second down, Monteleone threw to Strutt again for eleven and a first down at the NA 23.  Senior linebacker Darren LePere then broke through to sack Monteleone back at the 30 for a loss of seven.  After a Monteleone to Strutt pass got the seven yards back, the Tigers were called for pass interference.  The ball was moved half the distance to the NA goal, and Butler had a first down at the Tiger 12.  After Monteleone picked up his own fumble and gained two, LePere again broke through to sack the Butler QB back at the 20 for a loss of ten.  Monteleone was able to hit Roycroft at the NA 2 giving Butler a first and goal.  Two plays later, Monteleone took it in on a quarterback sneak.  Haley’s conversion tied the game at 21-21 with 4:17 remaining.  After junior Tyler DiMartino returned the kickoff to the NA 35, Neugebauer was sacked at the NA 20.  A third down pass fell incomplete and Greco punted to the NA 40.  After two running plays got six yards, Monteleone hit junior RB Cory Haley in the right flat.  Haley avoided a tackle and raced to the Tiger 13.  Two running plays moved the ball into field goal position and Butler called a time out with 16.7 on the clock.  Once again, Coach Walker opted to call not just one, but two time outs, hoping to ice the kicker.  Chris Haley never got a chance as the snap went over the holder’s head.  Butler recovered the rolling football, but time ran out and the game went into overtime tied at 21-21.

Butler won the toss and elected to play defense in the first overtime.  The strategy seemed to pay off as junior LB Eric Petanovich picked off a second down pass at the 4-yard line to end the Tiger possession.  With Butler starting at the ten-yard line and kicker Chris Haley waiting in the wings, things looked bleak for NA.  Butler coach Gary Cathell elected to run Irvin twice into the middle but the Tiger defense held him to just two yards.  On third down, Haley was sent in for the win.  Once again, Coach Walker called a time out.  This time, the snap was a little high, but Haley’s kick fell short and the game went into a second overtime.

Butler had the first possession in the second overtime.  After an incomplete pass, Monteleone ran for two yards to the NA 8.  On the next play, senior tackle T.J. Guthrie broke through to sack Monteleone back at the fifteen.  Haley came in and kicked a 32-yard field goal to give the Tornado a 3-0 lead as the Tiger offense came on the field for their possession.  After a pass intended for sophomore TE Mike Fuhrman fell incomplete in the end zone, Neugebauer rolled to his left and threw to Knight, who made the catch while falling backward just inside the end zone giving the Tigers the hard-earned victory.

It was a great night for football at Butler.  It was Homecoming with all the trimmings, including a fireworks show after the game that was thoroughly enjoyed by the NA fans as they were leaving the stadium.  The young Tiger team battled all night long and seemingly was in a position to lose the game on at least two occasions before the winning pass in the second overtime.  For his efforts on the night, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected senior Billy Knight as the Player of the Game.

The win gave the Tigers a record of 1-3 in Quad North play, 2-4 overall on the season.  NA will host Seneca Valley on Friday night at Newman Stadium in the annual Homecoming game as they continue to battle for a playoff spot.  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.  Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 27  BUTLER – 24

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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