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TIGER RALLY BEATS SHALER
IN OVERTIME, 28-21

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

by Don Vandergrift

Junior Marek Lapinski ran seven yards for the winning touchdown in overtime as the Tigers came from behind to defeat Shaler, 28-21, at Shaler on Friday night.  The Tigers were down by two touchdowns twice in the game before rallying to win.  Senior WR Nick Henderson scored a pair of touchdowns on passes from junior QB Adam Neugebauer with senior halfback Billy Knight adding another as NA beat the Titans for the 19^th time in 20 tries.

After junior Aric Young returned the opening kickoff to the NA 40, the Tigers started a drive.  Knight ran for 11 yards on two plays for a first down at the Shaler 49.  With second and eight, senior DE Dan Gigler broke through to sack Neugebauer for a loss of 10.  A third down pass to senior WR Sam McGill got 13, but the Tigers were forced to punt.  Senior punter Justin Runkel’s kick was downed at the Titan 21.  On their first possession, Shaler also moved the ball.  After senior running back Mack Stotts picked up a first down at the Titan 32, two plays and an NA penalty gained only two yards.  On third and 8, senior QB Matt Davis hit senior halfback Jon Fitzpatrick with a long pass to the NA 22, a gain of 44 yards.  After two plays gained two yards, Davis tried a middle screen to senior HB Kevin Hathaway, but the NA defense hit him in the backfield for a two-yard loss.  On fourth down, Davis ran the right side but was stopped short of a first down at the NA 14.  On second and three, Neugebauer found Knight open in the right flat for a gain of 17.  Knight then ran for 18 more and a first down at the Shaler 48.  After sophomore Karl DeCiantis broke through for a gain of nine, Neugebauer’s pass to Henderson in the end zone was just too long.  With third and inches, two quarterback sneaks did not gain the yardage and Shaler took over at the 38 with 2:41 left in the quarter.  On the first play, Stotts ran into the middle of the NA defense and then bounced outside for a gain of 38 to the Tiger 24.  After Knight broke up a pass inside the five, Stotts ran up the middle for 14 and a first down at the 7.  After junior LB Jack Connelly broke through to hit Davis for a loss of a yard, Fitzpatrick ran around right end into the end zone.  Sophomore Drew Stanny kicked the point, and Shaler had a 7-0 lead with just 59 seconds left in the quarter.  The Tigers had trouble fielding the kickoff and had to fall on the ball at the NA 11.  Two plays gained a yard as the quarter ended with Shaler holding the 7-0 lead.

Early in the second quarter, Runkel punted from his end zone to the NA 35.  After three plays gained nine yards, the Titans tried to run wide with a fourth and one, but Henderson came up to hit Hathaway for a five yard loss giving NA the ball at their own 31.  Two plays gained three yards, but Neugebauer was able to find Henderson open for a 10-yard gain and a first down at the 44.  On a third and five, Neugebauer threw down the middle to Knight, but junior DB Curtis McGriff intercepted the ball at the Shaler 40.  It took the Titans seven plays to extend the lead.  Runs by Stotz and sophomore Dan Wirkowski picked up 15 yards and a first down at the NA 45.  After Davis gained seven on a sneak, Davis hit McGriff for another first down at the Tiger 27.  After Wirkowski ran for nine, NA was hit with a personal foul that moved the ball to the NA 9.  Fitzpatrick gained one on first down, and Wirkowski ran the final eight.  Stanny again added the point and the Shaler lead went to 14-0 with 4:42 remaining in the half.  After senior RB Adam Hambrick returned the kickoff to the NA 33, the Tigers put together a scoring drive.  After finding his receivers covered, Neugebauer ran for 18 and first down to the Shaler 49.  A holding call and a sack moved the ball back to the Tiger 39.  After an incomplete pass, Neugebauer threw long to Henderson who made a good catch between two Shaler defenders at the Titan 26.  Neugebauer then threw to Knight for five and McGill for six more to the Shaler 15.  On the next play, Neugebauer found Henderson wide open in the right corner of the end zone for the score.  Runkel’s kick cut the Shaler lead to 14-7 with 1:22 left in the half.  After returning the kickoff to their own 21, the Titans were able to move the ball into NA territory on runs by Stotts, Davis and a pass to McGriff.  At the NA 47 with 12 seconds left, Davis threw to McGriff who lateraled the ball to Fitzpatrick with the Tigers finally making the tackle at the NA 23 with just 3 seconds left.  The Titans tried a field goal, but the kick was blocked.  Davis recovered the ball and completed a pass to senior Nolan Meister but the NA defense was able to stop the play at the NA 30 as time ran out.  Shaler took a 14-7 lead into the third quarter.

After the second half kickoff was returned to the Shaler 31, the Titans began a 12-play scoring drive.  Runs by Fitzpatrick, Davis and Stotz moved the ball to the Shaler 46.  Davis then picked up thirteen more yards on two runs to the NA 33.  On a third and seven, Davis hit Stotz for five and a first down at the NA 28.  On the next play, Davis threw to senior WR Matt Dunker who was pulled down at the Tiger 4.  Two running plays gained three yards, and Davis took it the final yard for the score.  Stanny again was perfect on the conversion as Shaler again took a two-touchdown lead, 21-7, midway through the quarter.  On the ensuing kickoff, sophomore TE Mike Fuhrman dropped back to catch a short kick and returned it to the NA 39.  After Hambrick gained four, Neugebauer hit Knight for 15 and a first down at the Shaler 42.  Knight then took an inside handoff for 15 more to give the Tigers another first down at the Titan 27.  With a third and 12, Neugebauer again found Henderson open for a gain of 12 and a first down at the 17.  A pass to McGill got nine, and Hambrick got five more and a first down at the Shaler 3.  After two plays gained two yards, Knight took it in the end zone standing up.  Runkel’s kick was good again as NA cut the lead back to seven at 21-14.  Shaler returned the kickoff to midfield, but an illegal block moved the ball back to the Titan 10.  The Tiger defense contained the Titans and forced Davis to punt with the ball rolling out to the Shaler 40 before it was downed.  After three plays gained six yards, Neugebauer hit Henderson for seven and a first down at the 27.  Two penalties against NA moved the ball back ten before Shaler returned the favor with a rarely called defensive delay of the game.  With a first and 15 at the 32, Neugebauer barely overthrew Knight who made a diving attempt in the end zone.  After Neugebauer was sacked for a loss of ten, the fourth quarter ended with Shaler holding a 21-14 advantage.

After an incomplete pass,  Runkel punted to Dunker who returned the ball from his 10 to the 12.  After two plays gained nine yards, Davis was hit for a two-yard loss forcing another Shaler punt that Knight took on a fair catch at the Shaler 44.  On first down, Hambrick gained a quick ten, and Knight picked up 14 more to the Shaler 20.  On the next play, the Tigers fumbled and Shaler fell on the ball at their own 16 to stop a promising drive.  With 8:26 remaining, the Tiger defense again came up big.  After two plays gained only three yards, Davis tried a middle screen to senior RB Tim Weidner but the play lost two yards as the Tigers were not fooled.  Davis punted to Knight who returned the ball to the Shaler 48.  With time running out, the Tigers looked to tie the game.  Lapinski entered the game and ran for four.  After Neugebauer picked up four more on a keeper around left end, Lapinski got a first down at the Titan 37.  After Knight got three on a fake reverse, Neugebauer threw to Henderson who made a diving catch at the Shaler 25.  Lapinski ran the middle for eight more, and DeCiantis got three and a first down at the 14.  After Knight gained six to the Shaler 8, a procedure penalty pushed the ball back to the 13.  Lapinski got four back, but an incomplete pass brought up a fourth and goal just inside the 10.  After a Shaler time out, Neugebauer hit Henderson at the goal line for the touchdown. Runkel hit the all-important extra point to tie the game at 21-21 with 1:44 remaining.  After Shaler returned the kickoff to the 35, a running play got only one.  On second down, the Titans tried a halfback pass with Hathaway throwing a long toss down the left sideline that Dunker barely missed catching.  Another incomplete pass forced a Titan punt that went out of bounds at the NA 36.  Coach Art Walker decided to run out the clock and take his chances in overtime.

The Tigers won the toss and elected to defend on the first possession of the extra period.  After an incomplete pass, Davis ran for three to the NA 7.  On the next play, junior DE Tom Keiser and senior LB Shawn Simon broke through to sack Davis for a loss of ten.  With fourth and long, Shaler sent in Stanny for an apparent 34-yard field goal attempt.  Coach Walker then employed his time out strategy.  During the time out, Coach Jacques DeMatteo changed his mind and went for broke.  Davis lofted a pass down the left sideline that was caught by Hathaway, but the Tiger defense tripped him up just short of the goal line.  The Tigers took over needing just to score to win the game.  After Knight ran the right side for a short gain, Lapinski broke through the middle and fell into end zone for the winning touchdown.  NA was forced to kick the point and Runkel drilled it through the uprights.  According to the press box gang, this was done for Gardner points in the playoff scenario.  Two weeks ago, the Tigers were not asked to try to convert after scoring the winning touchdown at Butler.

It was a big win for the Tigers who twice came from two TDs down to tie the game.  Neugebauer had a big night completing 13 of 24 for 157 yards and two touchdowns to Henderson.  For his night receiving the football, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Nick Henderson as the Player of the Game.  The Tigers took control of the game after they fell behind 21-7, with four drives into Shaler territory before finally tying the game.  The NA defense did not allow a Titan first down for the final quarter and a half and the overtime.

The win was the third straight for the Tigers and improved their conference mark to 3-3, their overall record to 4-4 on the season.  NA now leads the all-time series, 30-19-1.  The Tigers will conclude their regular season at home on Friday when they host rival North Hills.  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.  It will be Senior Night with game time set for 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 28  SHALER – 21

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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