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NORTH HILLS TOPS TIGERS, 28-14,
TO WIN CONFERENCE TITLE

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

The North Hills Indians held off the Tigers, 28-14, at Martorelli Stadium on Friday night to win the Northern Six Conference championship with a perfect 5-0 mark.  NH led, 14-7, at halftime and score twice in the third quarter to build the lead to 28-7 before the Tigers answered.  Junior tailback David Humphrey scored on a 17-yard run in the first half, and sophomore Matt Steinbeck raced 99 yards with a kickoff in the second half for the NA scores.

North Hills started quickly as they took the ball 72 yards in eight plays for a touchdown after Zach Gail returned the opening kickoff to the NH 28.  A pass from QB Justin Heinauer to WR Cody Patton in the right flat got eight on first down, and tailback Elijah David picked up five more on the next play for a first down at the 41.  On second and nine, Heinauer hit Patton again along the right sideline for eight yards to the 50.  After David got five and another first down at the NA 45, Heinauer threw long to a wide open Lloyd Phillips who was brought down at the Tiger one.  Two plays later, David went over the top and into the end zone.  Anthony Chiapetti added the point as the Indians took a 7-0 with 7:49 remaining in the quarter.  After the Indians were offside on the kickoff, senior Brian Austin took the second attempt back 24 yards to the NA 30.  Sophomore tailback Alex Papson ran the left side for six to the Tiger 36 on the first play.  On third and three, Papson got four more off the left side for a first down at the Tiger 41  It was Papson again up the middle for ten and another first down at the NH 49.  After the snap was fumbled and recovered, the Indians' Mike Hirt and Blase Nasiadka broke through to sack Locke back at the Tiger 41.  A screen pass to Papson got only a yard, and junior Justin Brozick punted to Patton who made a fair catch at the NH 30.  The Indians then committed a number of penalties to stop their next drive.  Two motion penalties moved the ball back to the 20 where Hirt was able to get five back on a run up the middle.  On the next play, the Indians completed a pass to Phillips that was close to a first down, but NH was called for holding that put the ball back at the 13.  David got four up the middle, but Zach Gail was forced to punt to Austin who returned the ball ten yards to the Indian 41.  After an incomplete pass, Hirt picked off a deflection and returned the ball for short yardage to the NH 43.  After two plays resulted in no gain, the quarter ended with North Hills holding a 7-0 lead.

On the first play of the second quarter, junior linebacker Allen Ayuninjam deflected a Heinauer pass into the air and came down with the ball at the NH 43.  After Papson got nine on first down, the snap was fumbled again for a loss of two.  After an NA time out, Locke threw over the middle to senior WR Mike Foglio and pass interference was called on the Indians.  The fifteen yard penalty gave the Tigers a first down at the NH 21.  After Humphrey ran for four on first down, the Tiger junior raced around left end for the remaining seventeen and an NA touchdown.  Junior Jackson Cox made it a 7-7 tie with the conversion with 9:34 still left in the half.  The Indians were called for an unsportsmanlike penalty on the extra point, and Cox kicked off from the NH 45.  Patton caught the kickoff on the one and returned it to the Indian 20.  North Hills then went on an 80 yard drive in 12 plays, aided by a big pass interference penalty, to take the lead.  After David got five on first down, the Indians were given a five-yard delay of game penalty.  Heinauer threw to Phillips for a gain of seven bringing up a third and three.  On the next play, a pass to Patton was knocked down, but a flag was thrown on the Tigers.  The fifteen-yard penalty gave NH a first down at the Indian 42.  On second and ten, WR Max Creighan ran for thirteen yards on a reverse to gain a first down at the NA 45.  After an incomplete pass, the Indians called a time out.  On second and ten, Heinauer completed a short look in pass to TE R.J. Miller who rambled to the Tiger 28 and another first down.  Heinauer completed a short pass in the right flat to Creighan who took the ball all the way to the NA 6.  The Tiger defense stiffened holding David to four yards in three plays.  On fourth and goal from the two, David was able to just get into the end zone for the score.  Chiapetta kept his perfect streak on extra points alive with a successful conversion as North Hills took a 14-7 lead with 3:18 remaining in the quarter.  Austin was able to return the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the Tiger 28.  On first down, Locke found Austin open down the middle for a big gain of 37 yards to the NH 38.  On second and eight, Locke was sacked for a loss of seven back at the Indian 41.  On the next play, Patton picked off his sixth interception of the season and returned it all the way to the Tiger 41, a return of 36 yards.  After two plays got nine yards, Heinauer tried to go to Phillips in the end zone, but Steinback made a leaping interception to get the ball back for the Tigers.  After one incomplete pass, senior FB Jorden Kraus ran for three yards as the half ended.  The Indians took a 14-7 lead to the intermission.

Steinbeck returned the second half kickoff for 22 yards to the Tiger 27.  Kraus ran the middle twice for ten yards and a first down at the NA 37.  After an incomplete pass intended for Austin, Locke was sacked again as Brendon Bosijlevac broke threw to force a loss of nine.  On the next play, Bosijlevac got his second consecutive sack pushing the ball all the way back to the NA 20.  On fourth and long, Brozick punted to Patton who made a fair catch at the NA 47.  On second and ten, David ran for seven to the Tiger 40.  On the next play, Heinauer hit Philllips for a gain of six to the 34.  Creighan then broke free around the right side and ran all the way for a score.  Chiapetta's point gave NH a 21-7 lead with 5:33 remaining in the quarter.  After the kickoff went into the end zone, Papson got four on two plays, and NA Coach Art Walker called a time out.  On third and four, an incomplete pass forced a Brozick punt that Patton returned for two yards to the NH 49.  On second and three, Heinauer hit Phillips on a long throw at the Tiger five and the senior wide receiver took it into the end zone.  Chiapetta's point made it a 28-7 NH lead, and it looked like the rout was on.  On the kickoff, however, Steinbeck took the ball at his one, raced up the middle, cut to the right at midfield and outraced the North Hills' defenders for a 99-yard return.  Cox added the point as the Tigers cut the lead to 28-14 with 5:19 left in the quarter.  North Hills was called for running into the kicker on the extra point, and Cox kicked off again from the NH 45.  The Tigers tried an onside kick, but it was recovered by the Indians at their 32.  Two runs by David got a first down at the NH 45.  On the next play, a holding call moved the ball back to the Indian 40.  Three plays lost two yards, and Zach Gail punted to Austin who lost five yards trying to beat the coverage to the right sideline.  The Tigers started at their own 29 where Papson got three on first down.  On the next play, Locke found Austin open for a gain of six.  On third and one, Papson took a misdirection pitchout around right end for a gain of ten and a first down at the NA 49.  On the next play, the Tigers fumbled but it was recovered by sophomore guard Vince Czerniewski for a loss of three.  Locke then hit senior TE Wes Henderson down the middle for a gain of seventeen and a first down at the Indian 37.  After Papson got seven to the NH 30, the quarter ended with North Hills holding a 28-14 advantage.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Locke threw to Henderson for a gain of three to the Indian 27.  North Hills was then called for offside giving the Tigers a first down at the 22.  Locke hit Austin along the left sideline for a gain of four to the 18.  After Papson ran up the middle for two more, the NH defense broke through to tackle Papson for a five yard loss on an attempted draw play.  On fourth and long, Bosiljevac sacked Locke back at the 33 as the Tigers gave up the ball on downs.  On first down, Creighan ran the right side for a gain of 16 to the NH 49.  Hirt ran the middle for seven more to the NA 44.  On the next play, David got five off the left side for a first down at the Tiger 39.  On second and eleven, David ran the left side again for a gain of 13 to the Tiger 27.  After a delay of game penalty, Creighan ran around right end for ten to the NA 22.  After a gain of two by David, junior linebacker T.J. Idowu hit Creighan for a loss of nine at the 29.  Another delay of game penalty moved the ball back to the 34.  A pass to Creighan in the right flat was stopped by the NA defense for a loss of five, and the Tigers took over at their 39.  On first down, Locke hit Austin for a gain of eight to the NA 47.  On the next play, Humphrey ran for eight more and a first down at the 45.  Locke found Foglio open down the middle for a gain of fourteen and a first down at the Indian 31.  Two incomplete passes brought up a third and ten, but Humphrey got the first down on a draw play as he ran to the NH 20.  On second and ten, the snap went over Locke's head and the NA quarterback had to fall on the ball all the way back at the NH 38.  After an NA time out, Locke tried twice to throw to sophomore WR Steven Ferringer but the NH defense was able to knock down the passes in the end zone.  The Indians took over at their 38 and got one first down on three running plays as time ran out.  The Indians could claim their first outright conference championship since 2002 with the 28-14 victory.

The North Hills defense was the difference in the game as they held NA to just 144 net yards in the game.  The Indians were able to pick up five sacks for a total of 42 yards lost.  Papson led the NA rushers with 53 yards on 12 carries while Humphrey got 40 in just four runs.  Locke was 8 for 19 for 88 yards but threw two interceptions.  Austin caught five passes for 55 yards.  The Indians were able to gain 326 yards with 166 on the ground and 160 in the air.   All in all, it was a tough night for the Tigers in the rain and cold of Martorelli Stadium.  For his efforts with a kickoff return for a score and an interception in the end zone, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Matt Steinbeck as the Player of the Game.

With the loss, the Tigers finished conference play with a 3-2 mark that was good for a second-place tie with Shaler and Pine-Richland.  NA holds the advantage with Gardner points with 16 to seven for Shaler and six for Pine-Richland.  Because the Tigers finished second in the conference, NA will open play in the WPIAL Quad A playoffs on Friday night at Newman Stadium.  The WPIAL Football Committee meeting will be held on Monday night and will be broadcast live on the MSA Sports Network beginning at 7:00 pm..

Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH HILLS - 28  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* STATISTICS *
NORTH HILLS - 28  NORTH ALLEGHENY - 14

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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