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TIGERS RALLY TO DEFEAT
SENECA VALLEY, 21-13

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

by Don Vandergrift

Trailing 13-6 going into the fourth quarter, the Tigers rallied to score a pair of touchdowns and defeat the Seneca Valley Raiders, 21-13.  Senior halfback Billy Knight scored twice, once on a 65-yard run, while senior WR Nick Henderson added another on a 4-yard pass from junior QB Adam Neugebauer.  NA picked off two passes by Raider QB Kevan Smith to help insure the victory.

On a cool, rainy night, both teams started slowly.  After the Raiders picked up one first down, the NA defense forced a punt that Knight returned fourteen yards to the NA 22.  On first down, Neugebauer hit Knight for 19 yards and a first down at the Tiger 41.  Senior fullback Adam Hambrick then ran for three and added 12 more for another first down at the Raider 47.  After two plays lost one yard, Neugebauer was sacked by SV defensive tackle Mike Shipley, and NA was forced to punt.  Senior Justin Runkel, with his first punt of the season, dropped the ball out of bounds at the SV 16.  After sophomore second-team QB Aaron Palmeri picked up a first down at the SV 32, the NA defense forced another Seneca punt. That was downed at the Tiger 31.  On second and 8, Hambrick ripped off a run of 20 yards for a first down at the SV 47.  Two running plays gained only one yard before Neugebauer hooked up with Knight who made a diving catch for a first down at the Raider 31.  Two plays got four yards to the 27 as the quarter ended with the game still scoreless.

On the first play of the second quarter, Neugebauer find Henderson open for 11 yards and a first down at the SV 16.  On second and ten, Hambrick broke through and raced to the Raider 3 before being dragged down from behind.  After a running play lost a yard and an incomplete pass, Coach Art Walker called a time out.  When play resumed from the SV 4, Hambrick threw high into the right corner of the end zone where Henderson made a spectacular one-handed grab for the score.  Runkel added the point and the Tigers took a 7-0 lead with 10:21 left in the half.  After Runkel sent the ensuing kickoff into the end zone, the NA defense again forced a Seneca punt to Knight who was hit immediately at the NA 48.  After a holding penalty put the Tigers in a third and long, the Raiders returned the penalty favor with a pass interference call against Henderson that gave NA an automatic first down at Tiger 45.  Three plays gained 9 ½ yards bringing up a fourth and one at the SV 45.  After another NA time out, Neugebauer picked up the first down on a quarterback sneak.  On third and 7, Neugebauer found senior WR Sam McGill open for 10 yards and another first down at the Raider 32.  Three plays gained only one yard bringing up a fourth and nine.  Once again, Neugebauer came through, hitting Henderson along the right sideline for a first down at the SV 21.  Two plays lost a yard and a bad snap cost NA six more.  With fourth and long, Runkel attempted a 44-yard field goal, but his kick was short and wide to the left.  The Raiders took over at their 20 with 3:05 remaining.  Pitt recruit senior Kevan Smith returned at quarterback for SV and led the Raiders on an 80-yard drive to tie the score.  A reverse to junior RB Nate Bradley got 10 and a first down, and senior halfback Lee Layton got ten more on two carries to give the Raiders a first down at the SV 40.  After a pass from Smith to junior WR Kevin Mayberry gained nine, Smith moved the sticks on a QB sneak to the Tiger 49.  A pass interference call against the Tigers gave Seneca another first down at the NA 34.  On second and ten, Smith found senior WR Zach Duggan open in the right flat for a first down at the Tiger 10.  On the next play, Smith hit Duggan on the left side and the SV senior took it into the end zone.  Sophomore placekicker Ryan Scheller added the point as the Raiders tied the game at 7-7.  The 80-yard drive took only 1:59.  After the kickoff was returned by sophomore Mike Fuhrman to the NA 32, Hambrick got 8 and Neugebauer two more for a first down at the Tiger 43.  A sack by the Raiders and pressure on Neugebauer forced the NA quarterback to run for a yard as time ran out.  The teams went to the intermission tied at 7-7.

In the third quarter, Tigers senior Jordan Boris fell on a short kickoff to give NA good starting position at the NA 41.  After three plays gained eight yards, Runkel was forced to kick and the ball was returned 14 yards to the Seneca 25 by senior Nick Perri.  The NA defense again stopped the Raiders and forced a short punt.  The ball bounced off junior Tim Lotz, but he alertly fell on the ball at the NA 41.  After an incomplete pass, two consecutive sacks pushed the Tigers all the way back to the NA 23 where Runkel punted again, this time putting the ball out of bounds at the Raider 37.  It took Seneca only five plays to go the distance and take the lead.  After an incomplete pass, Smith lofted a long pass down the right sideline where Mayberry made a leaping one-handed catch to give the Raiders a first down at the Tiger 36.  After a loss of two, Smith found Duggan open for a first down at the Tiger 26.  After an offside penalty moved the ball to the 21, Layton gained two to the 19.  Smith then took off up the middle, bounced off tacklers, and raced around the left side and into the end zone for the go ahead score.  The extra point attempt was blocked when the snap was low.  Seneca led, 13-7, with 6:04 remaining in the quarter.  After the kickoff, the Tigers took over at their 35.  After a screen pass lost four, the Tigers were caught holding, wiping out a gain by Hambrick to the SV 46.  After a run by Neugebauer picked up 11, Hambrick got a first down at the 46.   Three plays and a procedure penalty gave NA a 4^th and eleven.  Runkel got off a long punt that took an NA bounce toward the Raider goal line.  The Seneca return man tried to pick up the ball, but dropped it where the Tigers recovered at the Raider nine.  A first-down run by Hambrick got seven right up the middle.  Runs by sophomore halfback Brian Austin and junior FB Marek Lapinski got only two yards bringing up a fourth and goal for NA from the one as the quarter ended.  Going into the final stanza, Seneca Valley held a 13-7 lead.

On the first play of the final period, Knight took off around left end and beat the Raider defenders to the end zone to tie the game at 13-13.  Runkel’s kick gave the Tigers a 14-13 lead just five seconds into the fourth quarter.  After the kickoff was returned to the SV 25, Smith threw to senior WR Josh Fusco for nineteen and a first down at the Raider 44.  The Tiger defense made two stops with sophomore DE Zach Watts stopping Layton for a loss of one, and junior DE Tom Keiser hitting the Seneca back for no gain.  On third and eleven, Smith hit Layton on a middle screen good for a gain of 45 yards and a first down at the NA 11.  After two plays moved the ball to the Tiger 4, an illegal substitution penalty put the Raiders back to the 9.  Smith then threw into the end zone but the ball deflected off the hands of Mayberry, and Henderson pulled it down to end the threat.  With a second and 8 at the NA 22, Hambrick broke through the middle again for ten to move the sticks.  After Hambrick got three to the 35, Knight ran the left side, broke free, and raced 65 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.  Runkel’s kick made it 21-13 with 6:06 remaining in the game.  The Raiders were not finished, however, and started another drive from their 31.  On second down, Smith hit Duggan for ten and then Mayberry for 13 more as the Raiders moved into Tiger territory at the NA 42. After Layton got eight, Smith picked up ten more on a quarterback draw to the Tiger 24.  On the next play, Smith tried to hit Duggan down the left sideline, but Knight made a leaping interception to give NA the ball at the Tiger seven with 4:06 left.  Three plays gained eight yards, and Runkel was forced to punt and rolled it to the SV 34.  A last second Seneca drive was stopped by the Tiger defense and a holding penalty, and the Tigers took over on downs at the Seneca 34.  Two runs by Hambrick got a first down at the Raider 23.  With time running out and Seneca out of time outs, Neugebauer took a knee twice as the Tigers picked up a big victory.  The final score – North Allegheny -21 Seneca Valley -13.

It was a tough win for the Tigers as Seneca played well.  In the end, the combination of a strong NA defense when it counted, along with good running by Knight and Hambrick, proved to be too much for the Raiders.  Smith completed 10 of 15 for 185 yards but the two NA interceptions proved to be the difference.  For his efforts when the game was on the line, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Adam Hambrick as the Player of the Game.

The win was the second straight by the Tigers in Quad North play and improved their conference record to 2-3, the overall mark to 3-4 on the season.  NA is currently in 6^th place in the standings, depending on the outcome of the Mt. Lebanon-Shaler contest to be played this afternoon.  On Friday night, the Tigers will travel to Shaler to meet the Titans in a conference showdown.  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 SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 21  SENECA VALLEY – 13

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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