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TIGERS ROLL OVER MT. LEBANON, 37-0

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The Tigers scored on their first possession and never looked back on their way to a 37-0 rout of visiting Mt. Lebanon at Newman Stadium on Friday night.  Sophomore halfback Alex Papson led the way with 193 yards rushing including a 91-yard touchdown run.  Senior WR Brian Austin scored a pair of touchdowns, including an 89-yard kickoff return to start the second half.  Senior QB Mike Locke also ran for a pair of scores for the winning Tigers.

After the opening kickoff went out of bounds, Mt. Lebanon started at their own 35 but could pick up only two yards in three plays and had to punt.  Austin took the punt on a fair catch at the NA 29 where the Tigers began a 71-yard drive in eight plays to take the lead.  After Austin ran left end for 16 yards and a first down, Papson added four more to the NA 49.  After an NA early time out, Locke hit Austin for eight and a first down at the Lebo 43.  Senior FB Jorden Kraus moved the sticks again with a run of eleven yards up the middle.  Papson ran left for seven and Kraus picked up eight more and the first down with ball spotted at the Blue Devil 17.  Papson ripped off ten more to give the Tigers a first and goal at the seven.  After Kraus took it inside the one, Locke went in to put NA on top.  Senior Kurt Devlin added the point as the Tigers took a 7-0 lead with 6:29 left in the quarter.  Lance Dill returned the ensuing kickoff to the Lebo 24.  After a running play lost a yard, Mt. Lebanon QB Andrew Capucci tossed a pass to WR Mike Martin for a gain of 21 yards and a first down at the 44.  After another run was stopped by the middle of the NA line for no gain, Capucci completed two consecutive passes to Martin for another first down at the Tiger 44.  Two running plays and a short pass to Martin gained only four yards and Joe Vibonese punted with the ball downed at the NA 9.  After an incomplete pass, Papson ran the right side and sprinted 91 yards for the second score of the game.  Devlin’s kick was good again as the NA lead went to 14-0 with 1:17 left in the quarter.  Dill returned the kickoff to the Lebo 23.  On the first play, the Tigers sacked Capucci at the Lebo 19.  After an incomplete pass, the NA defense forced Capucci to scramble and he got back only to the line of scrimmage.  With fourth and long, the first quarter ended with the Tigers holding a 14-0 advantage.

Vibonese’s punt to start the second quarter was caught by Austin on a fair catch at the NA 49.  Once again, the Tigers went on a sustained drive of 51 yards on 8 plays to extend the lead.  Papson got eight on first down and added four more to pick up a first down at the Blue Devil of 40.  The Tigers stayed on the ground with Kraus grinding out six up the middle, and Papson racing for eleven more to the Lebo 23.  After Locke scrambled for seven, Kraus gave the Tigers a first and goal and the nine yard line with a five-yard gain.  After Papson took it to the six, Locke dropped back and found Austin open in the end zone for the score.  Devlin sent the point attempt through the uprights as the Tiger lead went to 21-0 with 7:38 left in the half..  Miller returned the ensuing kickoff 39 yards to the Tiger 47.  On the first play, senior LB Mike Zelik broke through to sack Capucci for a loss of nine back to the Lebo 44.  After a short pass to Sean Veights, an incomplete pass forced another Vibonese punt that went out of bounds at the Tiger 32.  NA again began to move the ball on the ground.  After two plays got six yards, Papson broke through on a quick hitter for 23 yards and a first down at the Lebo 39.  Locke dropped to pass but had to scramble for eleven yards and a first down at the 28.  After Kraus was stopped for no gain, Locke threw short to his senior TE Greg Piehler who made a nice catch but then fumbled the ball and Lebo recovered at their own 24.  After Capucci ran for six, the Lebo QB hit WR Julian Valdiserri for eleven more and a first down at the Mt. Lebanon 41.  On the next play, junior Jon Lowery picked off his third pass of the season to give the ball back to the Tigers at their own 48.  Papson then ran for successive gains of 12 and 17 yards to move the ball to the Lebo 23.  Kraus broke through for eleven more to the Mt. Lebanon 11.  After Papson was stopped at the ten, Locke had to scramble but found a wide open Austin in the end zone.  Unfortunately for the Tigers, a lineman was down field and the TD was nullified by the penalty that moved the ball back to the 15.  After an incomplete pass, only 30 seconds remained in the half.  Locke then hit Austin in the left flat and the speedy Tiger wideout tried to run it in but was stopped at the nine.  After an NA time out that stopped the clock with three seconds left, Devlin stepped back and drilled a 26-yard field goal.  The Tigers took a commanding 24-0 lead to the intermission.

Austin wasted no time in increasing the lead as he took the second half kickoff all the way racing 89 yards to the end zone.  Devlin’s kick was good again as NA took a 31-0 lead only eleven seconds into the half.  Lebo was called for holding on the kickoff and had to start from their own 16.  Three plays got exactly ten yards as the Blue Devils picked up a first down at the 26.  After two incomplete passes, the Tiger defense broke through to sack Capucci all the way back at the 15.  Vibonese had to punt again with Austin taking the ball on a fair catch at the Lebo 45.  Junior HB David Humphrey ran for thirteen and a first down at the Lebo 42.  After an incomplete pass, Humphrey ran left for six more to the Lebo 26.  On third down, Locke threw to Piehler for nine yards and a first down at the Mt. Lebanon 17.  After Humphrey got a yard, Locke went back to pass, found no one open, and then raced 16 yards into the end zone.  Although Devlin’s conversion attempt was wide, the Tigers had forced the mercy rule with the 37-0 advantage.  After Dill returned the kickoff to the Lebo 27, three plays gained only three yards forcing another Vibonese punt that was downed at the Tiger 34.  After an NA time out, Coach Art Walker sent in the second team with junior Justin Brozick at quarterback.  Senior FB Jared Congedo got two on first down and Brozick ran for six more on two plays, but the Tigers were forced to punt.  Senior Jackson Boyd punted for the first time with 1:35 left on the running clock with his kick taken on a fair catch at the Lebo 26.  On first down, Capucci threw long to Colin Dalessandro who made a tough catch at the NA 35.  After a gain of two on first down, the quarter ended with the Tigers holding the 37-0 lead.

Lebo coach Chris Haering sent his second team in to start the final period.  The Blue Devils fumbled the first two snaps and then had quarterback Quinn Difenderfer sacked by the Tiger defense on fourth and long.  NA took over at their own 42.  Humphrey got good yardage on first down but the play was nullified by an illegal block that brought the ball back to the NA 32.  After a loss of four on the next play, Humphrey broke free on a draw play and raced 46 yards all the way to the Lebo 26.  After Congedo got two, Humphrey picked up five more to the 19.  Brozick then ran for three on a quarterback sneak to give NA a first down at the Lebo 16 with 6:36 left.  After Humphrey gained two, Congedo picked up 8 more and a first down at the Mt. Lebanon six.  After Congedo ran for four to the 2, Coach Walker instructed quarterback Brozick to take a knee for two plays.  With the ball at the five, sophomore QB Mike Buchert came in to also take a knee back at the eight.  With time running out, Difenderfer ran straight ahead for three in the last play of the game.  The Tigers prevailed, 37-0, for their first win of the season.

It was a dominating performance for the Tigers over a team that has controlled the series.  It was only the eighth NA win in 23 tries.  Statistically, NA gained 385 yards rushing led by Papson’s 193.  Humphrey came off the bench to add 73 in the second half while Kraus totaled 53 in eight carries.  The Tigers passed sparingly with Locke hitting on five of eight for 33 yards and a score.  Austin caught three passes for 20 yards and a touchdown.  The Tiger defense was just as dominant holding Lebo to a minus fifteen yards in eighteen rushes.  For the game, the Blue Devils managed only a total of 88 net yards.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network selected Alex Papson as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers evened their non-conference record at 1-1.  The Tigers will travel to Upper St. Clair on Friday night to meet the Panthers in another non-conference contest.  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

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 37  MT. LEBANON - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

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