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TIGERS HOLD DOWN BUTLER, 24-7, ON SENIOR NIGHT

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The Tigers defeated the Butler Golden Tornado, 24-7, in an important Northern Six Conference contest on Senior Night on Friday night at Newman Stadium.  Sophomore tailback Alex Papson had another big night with 193 yards gained including a 21-yard touchdown run.  Senior TE Wes Henderson caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from senior QB Mike Locke, and senior linebacker Jon Lowery raced 30 yards after he stole the ball from a Butler receiver to secure the victory.  Junior Jackson Cox gave NA the lead for good with a 23-yard field goal as time ran out in the first half.

Butler got off to a good start when Eli Christy ran the opening kickoff back 40 yards to midfield.  The Tiger defense showed signs of what was to come holding the Tornado to just seven yards on three plays.  On a fourth and three, Butler QB Cole Harvey went back in punt formation, but the snap was off line and Harvey and to scramble to get the kick off.  The ball rolled out of bounds at the NA 45, a punt of -2 yards.  On the first play from scrimmage for the Tigers, Papson ran for a first down around left end, but NA was called for holding moving the ball back to the Tiger 35.  The Tornado sacked Locke on two consecutive plays for losses of 5 and 4 yards.  After a draw play to Papson lost four more, junior Justin Brozick punted to Nate Neff who returned it three yards to the Butler 48.  On the first play, Henderson broke through to sack Harvey causing a fumble that was recovered by senior Josh Patten at the Butler 39.  After senior Brian Austen picked up 18 yards and a first down at the 21 on a reverse, Papson raced the remaining distance on the next play to give the Tigers the lead.  Senior Kurt Devlin added the point as NA took a 7-0 lead with 6:57 remaining in the quarter.  On the ensuing kickoff, Neff broke free and ran for 33 yards to the Butler 43 before Cox made the tackle.  On a second and four, Harvey threw to Neff for a gain of 22 and a first down at the Tiger 31.  After Christy got five, Butler tried a halfback pass but Christy's pass fell in complete.  On a fourth and two, the Tiger defense broke through to tackle Tornado halfback Christos Klutinoty for a loss of two to stop the drive.  With Brozick at quarterback, two running plays got a yard.  An incomplete pass brought up a fourth and long forcing an NA punt.  Brozick dropped the snap and was unable to get off the kick as Butler made the tackle and took the ball at the NA 20.  After an incomplete pass, Butler tailback Anthony Fudoli ran for 19 to the Tiger one.  On the next play, Fudoli went over the top for the score.  Ryan Soule added the point as the Tornado had tied the game at 7-7 with 1:40 left in the quarter.  After junior David Humphrey ran back the short kickoff to the 35, Locke threw to Austin for a gain of six.  On a third and three, the Tornado jumped offside giving NA first down at the 47 as the quarter ended.  The teams went to the second quarter tied at 7-7.

After Papson got three to start second quarter action, Locke threw again to Austin for a gain of six.  On third an one, Locke picked up three on a quarterback sneak for a first down at the Butler 41.  After three incomplete passes, Brozick punted with the ball being downed at the Butler 10.  After three plays got seven yards, Harvey punted out of bounds at the Butler 42.  On first down, Papson ran the right side for eleven and a first down at the 31.  On the next play, senior FB Jorden Kraus ran up the middle for 10 more and another first down at the 21.  Papson again ran the right side for fourteen yards and a first down at the Tornado 7.  After a gain of two on first down, the ball was fumbled on a reverse but Papson fell on it at the Butler 10.  On third down, Locke was tripped by his lineman as he went back to pass.  With the loss of three, the Tigers went for a 30-yard field goal, but Devlin's kick was short and wide to the right as the game remained tied at 7-7 with 6:07 remaining in the half.  On first down, Tiger senior tackle Ryan Schlieper broke through to sack Harvey for a loss of seven to the Butler 13.  After a offside penalty, Henderson broke up an intended middle screen pass.  A reverse to Christy was stopped at the line of scrimmage, and Harvey punted with the Tigers getting a piece of the kick.  The ball rolled dead at the Butler 35.  A motion penalty and three plays brought up a fourth and nine with Brozick punting into the end zone.  Once again, the Tiger defense forced a three and out with Harvey punting and the ball rolling down the right sideline all the way to the NA 29.  The Tigers took over with just 1:45 remaining.  On a second and 8, Locke found senior WR Gabe Searles open for a gain of 12 and a first down at the 43.  Locke hit Searles again for a gain of seven to the Butler 49.  After an incomplete pass, Papson ran up the middle and broke free for a gain of 32 and a first down at the Tornado 17.  An incomplete pass stopped the clock with 30 seconds left.  Another pass to Searles was just overthrown in the end zone.  On third down, Butler's T.J. Lesniewski broke up a pass intended for Henderson.  On fourth down, Locke hit Austin for a gain of eleven and a first down at the six.  With just two seconds remaining, Cox came in to kick the 23-yard field goal.  The Tigers took a slim 10-7 advantage to halftime.

After sophomore Matt Steinbeck returned the second half kickoff to the NA 35, Locke threw to a wide open Henderson who ran all the way to the Butler 21 before being caught by the Tornado's Mason McLaughlin.  After a loss of one, a substitution infraction cost the Tigers five more.  Papson got five back with a run to the 21.  Two incomplete passes, however, turned the ball over to the Tornado on downs.  On a second and nine, Harvey fumbled but recovered at the Butler 24.  After a Tornado time out, Harvey threw to TE Brian Jendesky over the middle for a gain of 38 yards and a first down at the Tiger 38.  The Tiger defense stiffened and forced a Harvey punt that was downed at the NA 2.  On the first play, Locke fumbled the snap but recovered at the line of scrimmage.  On the next play, Papson found a hole and ran all the way to the Butler 44, a gain of 54 yards, before being forced out of bounds in front of the Tornado bench.  On first down, senior FB Jared Congedo got five up the middle.  On a fourth and one, Brozick picked up two on the sneak to give NA a first down at the Tornado 33.  After Papson ran left for eight to the 25, the Tornado defense stopped the sophomore running back for no gain.  On third and short, Locke faked a handoff and hit Henderson at the five with the Tiger senior taking it into the end zone.  Cox added the point to make it a 17-7 game with 1:12 left in the quarter.  The Tigers completed a 98-yard drive in just nine plays.  After Neff returned the kickoff for 19 yards to the Butler 24, Fudoli got three on first down.  On the next play, Harvey ran a keeper to the left, cut back to the right and gained sixteen and a first down to the 44 as the quarter ended.  The Tigers took a 17-7 lead into the final period.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, a pitchout to Christy was stopped for a loss of eight.  Butler was called for a personal foul on the play tht moved the ball back to the Tornado 24.  Two plays got 14, but Harvey had to punt.  Austin returned the ball to the Butler 41 but a holding call against the Tigers brought it back to the Tiger 31.  Papson got eight on first down and seven more on the next play to give the Tigers a first down at the NA 46.  On a third and ten, Locke was tripped up again backing up to pass forcing a Brozick punt that was caught on a fair catch by Neff at the Butler 2.  On a second and eleven, Harvey threw to Neff for a gain of 21 and a first down at the Tornado 47.  On a third and 13, Christy took a handoff and rolled right looking for a receiver.  When he was tackled, he tried to pass the ball but was called for intentional grounding.  The penalty was declined as the Tornado was also called for another personal foul that moved the ball back to the Butler 19.  With fourth and long, Harvey punted to Austin who returned the kick all the way to the Butler 15 but fumbled with the Tornado recovering.  On the first play, Harvey threw to Jendesky for a gain of eight.  On the next play, Harvey threw to Fudoli in the right flat.  Lowery came up and stole the ball from Fudoli and raced into the end zone from 30 yards out.  Cox's kick made it 24-7 with 4:42 left in the game.  The Tigers were called for an unsportsmanlike penalty that forced Cox to kick off from the NA 25.  After Butler returned the kickoff to the 48, three incomplete passes and a motion penalty forced another Harvey punt that went out of bounds at the Tiger 13.  Two running plays by Papson got ten yards and a first down at the 27.  Kraus then broke up the middle for a gain of 49 yards to the Butler 24 before being caught from behind.  Papson got three on first down, and Humphrey got eight more and a first down at the 17.  With time running out, Humphrey gained seven more to the 10.  The Tigers allowed the clock to run out as the collected the important 24-7 victory.

It was not pretty at times, but the Tigers were able to pick up the victory.  NA dominated the statistics gaining 386 yards to just 155 for the Tornado.  In addition to Papson's 193, Kraus totaled 59 yards on the night as NA rushed for 274 yards.  Locke was seven for 20 for 112 yards and a touchdown.  Austin caught three passes with Henderson grabbing two for 69 yards and a score.  Defensively, NA held the Tornado to just 65 yards on 26 runs including plays that lost 23 yards.  NA sacked Harvey twice for losses of 16.  Tiger mistakes held the score down, but in the second half, NA was able to control the ball and the clock as they wore down the Tornado.  For his efforts on both sides of the ball, the North Allegheny Sports Network named senior Wes Henderson as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers improved their conference record to 3-1, the overall mark to 5-3 on the season.  The victory set up a showdown with neighborhood rival North Hills with a share of the conference title at stake on Friday night at Martorelli Stadium.  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 time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Game Statistics
Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 24  BUTLER - 7

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* STATISTICS *
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 24  BUTLER - 7

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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