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TIGERS TRAVEL TO PENN HILLS IN COACH WALKER’S NA DEBUT

By Don Vandergrift

Coach Art Walker will begin his tenure as the North Allegheny head mentor with a trip to Penn Hills on Friday night in the season opener.  The Tigers finished with a mark of 4-6 last year in Coach Jim Rankin’s last year before retirement.  NA lost to McKeesport, 48-0, in the first round of the WPIAL playoffs.  Penn Hills posted a 10-2 mark, losing to Gateway, 10-7, in the WPIAL semifinals.

Veteran Coach Neil Gordon will enter the season with just two starters returning on both offense and defense.  On offense, Gordon will look to replace his two top running backs --- Kenny Lewis and Ed Collington.  Stepping up this year will be three seniors who will compete for the job.  Ricardo Clark (5-10, 172), Jamar Warren (5-10, 180) and Troy Hill (5-10, 195) have been in the shadow of Lewis and Collington and will look to step up for the Indians.  Senior Chad Parker (6-4, 185) will move into the starting quarterback’s position replacing Bryan Moore.  Parker broke his leg last year and missed half the season.  Senior Barry Church (6-3, 209) will move from tight end to wide receiver.  On the line, senior center Carl Brueck (6-3, 273) returns and will be flanked by seniors Chris Wade (6-1, 246) and Kevin Carter (5-8, 217).

On defense, Coach Gordon will rely on the two returning starters at linebacker.  Senior Archie Donald (6-3, 222) and junior Aaron Williams (6-2, 190) will anchor the Indians defensively.  Wade and Carter will also see some time defensively, but Gordon will be replacing his entire secondary, outside linebackers and all of the down lineman.

Coach Walker will rely on a nucleus of seniors in his first season but will also be counting on a strong junior class to step up.  Senior Billy Knight (5-11, 185) returns to start at tailback and also at free safety.  The quarterback position will be shared by senior Steve Halvonik (6-0, 170) and junior Adam Neugebauer (6-0, 160).  Junior Marek Lapinski (6-1, 200) will get the nod at fullback for the Tigers.  Juniors Mike Griffith (5-11, 240) and T.J. Guthrie (6-3, 220) saw some time on the offensive line last year.  Junior Tom Keiser (6-4, 240) will be the tight end while senior Nick Henderson (6-4, 195) will see action at wide receiver.

On defense, senior Josh Landreneau returns, this time at defensive end.  At linebacker, senior Adam Hambrick (5-10, 185) and juniors Tim Lotz (5-11, 185), Lapinski, and Tyler DiMartino (5-9, 180), along with sophomore Corey Watts (5-11, 180) all saw action last season at linebacker.  In the secondary, Knight and Henderson return as defensive backs.

The all-time series is tied at 5-5 but Penn Hills has dominated in recent meetings, winning four of the last five.  Last year, the Indians downed NA, 28-7, in a lightning –shortened game in the season opener at Newman Stadium.  The last Tiger victory was a 21-14 win in the WPIAL quarterfinals at Mt. Lebanon in 2001.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm at Andrew Yuhas Stadium.  If you are not planning to attend, the North Allegheny Sports Network will broadcast the game live on the internet beginning with the pre-game show at 7:15 pm.

8/25/05 - Season Preview

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