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PAPSON'S FOUR TOUCHDOWNS LEAD TIGER ROUT OF SENECA VALLEY, 56-14

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Sophomore TB Alex Papson scored four times and gained 210 yards rushing to lead the Tigers to an easy 56-14 victory over Seneca Valley at NexTier Stadium on Friday night.  NA built a 35-14 halftime lead and controlled the ball throughout the second half on their way to victory in the conference opener.  Also scoring for the winning Tigers were senior TE Wes Henderson, senior WR Brian Austin, senior FB Jared Congedo, and junior HB David Humphrey.

Rain started falling just before the opening kickoff and continued through much of the first half.  After forcing a Seneca punt early in the quarter, the Tigers took over after a fair catch at the NA 47.  On the first play from scrimmage, Papson raced 53-yards off the left side to give the Tigers the lead for good.  Senior Kurt Devlin's conversion made it 7-0, just 1:16 into the contest.  After the ensuing kickoff, the Raiders were able to move the ball on the passing of C.J. Brown to receivers Matt Plautz and Evan Hetzel.  Once again, however, the NA defense stopped the Raider the at the NA 30.  The Tigers began a long 70 yard drive in 7 plays.  Papson picked up a first down on a 17-yard run to move the ball to the Tiger 47.  Papson followed with a pair of 7-yard runs and another first down at the SV 39.  After the Tigers scored an apparent touchdown, a holding call nullified the score and moved the ball back into NA territory.  Locke then hit Henderson for a gain to the SV 33.  On the next play, Locke found Henderson wide open near the goal line, and the senior tight end took it into the end zone.  Devlin converted again as the NA lead went to 14-0 with 3:50 remaining in the quarter.  After junior Jackson Cox drilled the kickoff deep, the ball was fumbled with Seneca Valley picking it up and the Tiger kickoff team making the tackle inside the Raider 10.  After three plays did not move the ball, the Raiders' Kyle Gorniak punted to senior RB Grant Huckestein who made a fair catch at the SV 43.  On the next play, Papson broke free again and raced into the end zone with his second touchdown of the game to give the Tigers a 20-0 lead.  Devlin again converted to make it 21-0 with 2:19 left in the quarter.  After the ensuing kickoff was returned to the 26, the Raiders went on their only sustained drive of the game taking the ball 74 yards in seven plays.  Once again, it was the arm of C.J. Brown who moved the Raiders into NA territory with passes to Plautz, Hetzel, and Dustin Anewalt.  The quarter ended with the Tigers holding a 21-0 advantage.

Early in the second quarter, the Raiders completed the drive on a two-yard  pass from Brown to Hetzel.  Will Hugo added the point as the Raiders cut the margin to 21-7 with 8:07 remaining in the quarter.  After the kickoff, the Tigers fumbled on a third and short play with Seneca recovering at the NA 32.  Five plays later, Brown ran around left end for 14 yards and a score.  Hugo's conversion cut the lead to 21-14 with 5:09 remaining in the half.  The Tigers wasted little time in answering.  Humphrey took the kickoff all the way to midfield to set up the NA offense.  It was Congedo who ran the ball two consecutive plays for the 50 yards, the touchdown coming on a run of 24 yards up the middle.  Devlin's kick was good and the Tigers were back in control, 28-14, with 4:16 left.  After the NA defense forced another Seneca punt, the Tigers started from their own 19.  It took just three plays and 52 seconds for NA to get on the board again.  The scoring play was a 45-yard pass to Austin who easily outran the defender into the end zone.  Devlin's kick was good to push the margin to 35-14.  The Raiders were unable to move the ball in the remaining 49 seconds as the Tigers took a commanding 35-14 lead to the intermission.

After the second half kickoff went out of bounds, the Tigers methodically moved the ball 65 yards in 12 plays using six minutes and 14 seconds of the clock.  After Congedo ran for four to the 39, Locke threw to Austin for seven more and a first down at the 46.  Two runs by Papson and an offsides call against the Raiders gave NA another first down at the SV 38.  Mike Locke tossed an 8-yard pass to junior Matt Locke to move the ball to the Raider 30.  After Papson got seven and a first down at the 23, three plays gained nine yards.  On a fourth and one, Locke picked up the yardage for the first down at the 13.  On the next play, Papson ran around left end for the final 13 yards and the score.  Devlin again was perfect as the score went to 42-14.  The Raiders caught the kickoff and took a knee at their 24.  After Brown hit Plautz for a gain of 8, Tyler Mack ran up the middle for a first down at the Seneca 42.  On second and ten, the Raiders were called for holding.  After Brown tried to run but was caught for no gain, the Seneca QB threw a screen pass to Mack who ran to the SV 46.  On fourth and six, senior LB Jackson Boyd broke up a pass to give the ball back to the Tigers on downs at the Raider 46.  It took NA only six plays to score again.  On first down, Congedo rambled up the middle for 11 and a first down at the 35.  After Papson got five on first down, the Tiger sophomore raced around the left side for 12 more and another first down at the 23.  Locke then ran the right side on a keeper for a nine yard gain as the quarter ended.  The Tigers took a 42-14 advantage into the final period.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, it was Papson again running the left side and into the end zone for his fourth TD of the contest.  Devlin's extra point invoked the mercy rule as NA took a 35-point lead, 49-14, with 11:09 remaining in the game.  After Anewalt ran the kickoff back to the 29, an incomplete pass and an unsportsmanlike call against Seneca moved the ball back to the Raider 14.  Two incomplete passes brought up a fourth and long with the Raiders punting to Austin who made a fair catch at the SV 47.  Coach Art Walker sent in his second team, and they responded with a 47-yard scoring drive in 8 plays.  Sophomore running back Kevin Cope got five on first down, and junior QB Justin Brozick ran the keeper around the left side for 12 more and a first down at the Seneca 30.  After Cope got four more, Brozick kept the ball and gained another four yards to the 22.  A quarterback sneak got a first down at the Raider 20.  Humphrey then ran a reverse to the Raider six.  On first and goal, Cope ran the middle for four.  On the next play, Humphrey took it into the end zone.  Cox came in to add the point  and put the finishing touch on the victory.  The Seneca reserves could not move the ball after the kickoff and punted to the Tiger 7.  Brozick ran one play and then took a knee as the Tigers came home with the big 56-14 win in the conference opener.

It was an impressive win to get NA off and running in conference play.  The Tiger defense effectively controlled Brown and the Seneca offense allowing just one long scoring drive.  Brown ended up 16-31 for 164 yards with NA sacking him twice.  Most of the pass completions were for short yardage, and the Tiger defenders stopped the Raiders on third down conversions where they were only 3 of 11.  Offensively, the Tigers ground out 326 yards on the ground behind the offensive line of senior tackles Ryan Schlieper, Mike Vuono, and junior Ben Balzer, along with guard guard Mike Maxwell and junior guard Tom Ricketts, and senior center Pat Lynch. In addition, Locke completed 8 of 10 for 151 yards and two touchdowns as NA went to air sparingly and as a complement to the running attack.   For his efforts running the football, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Alex Papson as the Player of the Game.

The win gave the Tigers a 1-0 conference record, a 3-2 mark overall.  NA will host Shaler on Friday night in the annual Homecoming game at Newman Stadium.  The Titans beat Butler, 37-20, on Friday night and will enter the game with a perfect 5-0 record.  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 Statistics

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 56  SENECA VALLEY - 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

( It was impossible to take accurate notes during the first half because of the heavy rain.  My apologies for any shortcomings in the first half summary.  The rain stopped by halftime so the second half story should be accurate. - Don Vandergrift)

GAME STATISTICS
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 56  SENECA VALLEY - 14

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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