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BETHEL PARK HOLDS OFF TIGERS, 42-21, IN WPIAL QUARTERFINALS

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The Tigers mounted a fourth quarter comeback that cut the lead to 28-21, with 5:55 remaining, but Bethel Park added two late touchdowns to take a 42-21 victory over NA in the WPIAL Quad A quarterfinals at Baldwin on Friday night.  Senior quarterback Mike Locke kept the Tigers in the game with 28 of 41 passing good for 394 yards and a touchdown with senior WR Brian Austin catching 18 passes for 247 yards.  NA touchdowns were scored by Locke, sophomore Matt Steinbeck, and sophomore Alex Papson.

After Austin returned the opening kickoff to the NA 18, the Tigers started a drive.  Locke threw to Austin for seven on the first play, and Papson got four more and a first down to the 29.  On the next play, Locke found senior TE Wes Henderson open over the middle for 15 yards and another first down to the NA 44.  On a second and 10, it was Locke to Henderson again for eleven as NA moved into BP territory at the 45.  Papson got only two yards on two running plays, and a third down pass to Austin gained five more.  On a fourth and three, junior Justin Brozick punted to John Schademan who made a fair catch at the Blackhawk 17.  On a third and one, Lyle Marsh picked up a BP first down at the 30.  A gain of two on a running play and two incomplete passes forced a punt by Erik Olson that Austin returned eight yards to the Tiger 45.  After senior FB Jorden Kraus gained two on first down, two incomplete passes sent Brozick back in punt formation.  The snap sailed over his head, and Brozick chased it down and took a knee at the NA 25.  It took Bethel only four plays to convert on the NA mistake.  On first down, Marsh raced all the way to the Tiger 4.  After the NA defense stopped Marsh for a loss of two yards on two plays, Olson threw to Schademan in the right flat, and the BP receiver took it into the end zone.  Patrick Lydon added the conversion and Bethel Park took a 7-0 lead with just 1:09 left in the quarter.  Austin returned the kickoff 13 yards to the NA 28.  On first down, Papson got five up the middle.  After Austin gained only one on a sweep, the quarter ended with Bethel Park holding a 7-0 advantage.

After an incomplete pass, Brozick punted to Schademan who made another fair catch at the BP 33.  On the first play, Marsh ripped up the middle for 15 and a first down at the 48.  On second and three, Bre' Ford ran for eight and a first down at the NA 34.  On the next play, senior LB Jackson Boyd made a good play to knock down a pass intended for Schademan.  After another incomplete pass, Olson's pass over the middle was deflected into the air and picked off by junior DB Blair Plivelic who returned it four yards to the NA 24.  The Tigers then went on a drive that would get all the way to the Blackhawk 2.  On first down, Locke threw long down the middle to Austin who was wide open at the BP 20, but the usually reliable NA receiver could not hold on to the ball.  On the next play, the Tigers fumbled but junior tailback David Humphrey was able to fall on the ball.  On a third and ten play, Locke found Austin open along the left sideline, and the NA senior made a great move at midfield to sprint down the field all the way to the BP 25, a gain of 45 yards.  On the next play, Steinbeck ran right for six with Papson adding five more and a first down to the Bethel 20.  A pass from Locke to Austin got 12 more and gave the Tigers a first and goal at the 8.  Steinbeck ran for five to the three and added another yard on the next play.  On third and goal, Brozick could not handle the snap.  Schademan came up with the loose ball and raced 98 yards to the end zone.  Lydon kicked the point and what looked like a Tiger scoring drive ended up in disaster as Bethel Park took a 14-0 lead with 5:55 remaining in the half.  Austin returned the ensuing kickoff for 15 yards to the NA 34.  A pass from Locke to senior WR Mike Foglio gained five, but a false start lost the five yards. Locke then hit Foglio over the middle and the Tiger wideout made a nice run to the BP 45, a gain of 21 yards and a first down.  On a second and seven, Bethel Park's Rock Vomer broke through to sack Locke back at the 49.  On third and 14, Locke found Austin open again for a gain of 24 to the BP 25 with 2:43 left in the half.  On a second and nine, Locke threw a middle screen to Austin who got to the BP 15 but fumbled the ball with Matthew Bliss recovering for the Blackhawks.  A holding call on the first play moved the ball back to the seven.  On second and long, Ford ran a draw for 18 and a first down to the 25 with 1:20 remaining.  A pass to Schademan and another draw play to Ford picked up a first down at the BP 38.  After Marsh got five, Olson hit Schademan along the right sideline for 17 and a first down at the NA 41.  After a BP time out, senior LB Mike Zelik knocked down a pass intended for Schademan.  Two more incomplete passes brought play to an end in the first half as Bethel Park took a 14-0 lead to the intermission.

After Andrew Fossick returned the second half kickoff to the BP 27, a penalty against Bethel moved the ball back to the 17.  The Blackhawks then went on a sustained drive of 83 yards in 11 plays to increase the lead to 21-0.  It was a steady diet of Marsh as he ran the ball for eight of the 11 plays including the touchdown run of three yards around right end.  With Lydon adding the point, BP looked like they had control of the game.  The Tigers would not quit, however.  Austin brought the kickoff back to the NA 29, and the Tigers went on a long drive of their own.  Locke scrambled for seven to the 36 on first down.  On third and three, it was Locke to Austin again for a first down at the 46.  After an incomplete pass, Locke found Austin open on the right side for a gain of 18 to the BP 36.  After two incomplete passes, Locke threw to Foglio who got to the Bethel 24, a gain of 12 and another first down.  After Papson got four to the 20, an incomplete pass brought up a third and six.  Locke then found Steinbeck open at the goal line with the NA sophomore making a great catch and falling into the end zone.  Junior Jackson Cox kicked the point and NA cut the lead to 21-7 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.  Bethel Park came right back with another long drive to answer the NA score.  Shane Gilchrest returned the kickoff to the 37, and it took only five plays for the Blackhawks to score again.  Marsh found a big hole off the left side and ran for 31 yards to the NA 32.  After Ford got eight on the next play, FB Jim Karam got eight more and a first down at the Tiger 24.  After Ford ran the ball to the NA 9, Marsh ran around right end for the final nine yards.  Lydon's conversion made it 28-7 with 2:04 left in the period.  Austin returned the kickoff for eight yards to the NA 31.  After Papson got six on a second and ten play, Locke hit Austin for eight and a first down at the 45.  On second and ten, Locke was sacked for a loss of three to the 42.  On third and long, Locke threw to Henderson for a gain of 18 and a first down at the BP 40.  Locke then found Austin open for ten more and another first down at the Bethel 30 as the third quarter ended.  Bethel Park took the 28-7 lead into the final quarter.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Locke hit a wide open Humphrey over the middle for a gain of 11 to the BP 19.  After a pass to Austin gained six, Locke was stopped for no gain.  On third and four, it was the Locke to Austin combo again that took the ball to the Bethel Park 2.  On the next play, Locke ran a quarterback sneak into the end zone.  Cox added the point as the Tigers cut the lead to 28-14.  Cox's attempted onside kick was touched by the Blackhawks and went out of bounds at the BP 38.  Two running plays got ten yards and a first down at the 48.  Marsh was stopped for a gain of only a yard on two running plays bringing up a third and nine.  Olson's pass over the middle was picked off by senior LB Greg Piehler who ran it back to the Bethel 44.  On first down, Foglio took a handoff and threw a pass to a wide open Austin for a gain of 30 to the Blackhawk 14.  A face mask call tacked on seven more yards to the BP 7.  Locke then scrambled for six yards around the right side to the one.  After a quarterback sneak was stopped short of the goal line, Papson took it in and suddenly the Tigers were back in the game.  Cox kicked the point to cut the BP lead to 28-21 with 5:55 remaining in the game.  After Cox's kickoff went out of bounds, Bethel started a drive from their 35.  On a second and nine, Olson threw to Schademan who got to the Tiger 45.  A face mask call against NA moved the ball all the way to the NA 30.  Marsh ran the right side for twelve to the Tiger 18.  On the next play, Marsh took it the final 18 for his third TD of the second half.  Lydon's extra point restored the 14-point lead at 35-21 with 4:06 left.  After Austin returned the kickoff to the 31, an incomplete pass and a holding call moved the ball back to the Tiger 17.  On third and long, Locke threw to Austin who ran to the NA 37 but fumbled the ball with Bethel recovering.  A personal foul against the Tigers brought the ball to the Tiger 22.  On first down, Marsh ran the left side for 13 to the Tiger nine.  After three plays got only five yards to the NA 4, Bethel Park coach Jeff Metheny called a time out with 1:19 left.  On a fourth down play, it was Marsh again getting into the end zone around the right end.  Lydon again converted as the Blackhawks took a 42-21 lead with just 1:11 on the clock.  Once again, the Tigers would not quit as they moved the ball all the way to the Bethel 2.  After senior Jon Lowery brought the kickoff back to the NA 33, Locke hit Austin for nine to the 42.  Locke then scrambled for six and a first down at the 48.  On the next play, Locke found senior WR Gabe Searles for a gain of 27 to the BP 25.  It was Locke to Searles again for nine more to the 16.  After an NA time out and on second and ten, a pass to Austin to the ball to the BP eight.  After another time out, Locke hit Austin yet again but the Blackhawks made the tackle at the two-yard line as time ran out.  Bethel Park was able to take the 42-21 victory, a score that was not indicative of the play on the field.

It was a tough loss for the Tigers with mistakes giving Bethel Park opportunities for three touchdowns.  NA outgained the Blackhawks, 423-353, but when the game was on the line in the second half, the Tigers could not stop Bethel running back Lyle Marsh who ended up with 219 yards gained on 29 carries.  Marsh finished with four second half TDs.  Locke was terrific for the Tigers in his final game passing for almost 400 yards.  Austin had a career high with the 18 catches as Bethel was unable to stop the Tiger duo.  For his performance, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Mike Locke as the Player of the Game.  The key stat, however, came with NA fumbling four times and losing three.  That coupled with the bad snap in the first quarter set up Bethel Park in good position to score.  The Tiger defense came back with a pair of interceptions but it was not enough.  With the loss, the Tiger season came to an end with a final record of 6-5.  Bethel Park will go on to the WPIAL semifinals next week where they will meet the McKeesport Tigers.  The site and time are to be announced.

Game Statistics
Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
BETHEL PARK - 42  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 21

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* STATISTICS *
BETHEL PARK - 42  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 21

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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