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TIGERS TOP LEBO FOR SECOND
STRAIGHT WIN

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

The Tigers spotted Mt. Lebanon an early 7-0 lead but came roaring back to score 28 points on their way to a 28-7 victory over the Blue Devils at Mt. Lebanon Stadium on Friday night.  Senior HB Grant Huckestein scored a pair of first half TDs, one on a 15-yard run, the second on a 23-yard pass from senior QB Justin Brozick as the Tigers took a 14-7 halftime lead.  In the second half, junior halfback Alex Papson took over adding a pair of scores along with piling up 121 yards rushing.

Huckestein returned the opening kickoff 15 yards to the NA 39, but the offense gained only nine yards on three plays and Brozick had to punt.  It was the only NA punt of the game with Colin Dalessandro returning the ball to midfield.  The Blue Devils went on a 50-yard scoring drive in 10 plays to take the lead.  On a second and four, TB Luke Alberts gained three but a face mask penalty against the Tigers moved the ball to the NA 25.  On a third and 8, Lebo QB Pat Goff threw to WR Mike Martin for eleven yards and a first down at the Tiger 12.  Halfback Tyler Hagy gained nine yards on a pair of runs, but an incomplete pass and a delay of game penalty moved the ball to the 9.  On fourth down, Hagy ran the left side for the touchdown.  Christian Orfanopoulos added the extra point to give Lebo a 7-0 lead with 6:26 remaining in the quarter.  The points were the first scored against NA this season.  After Papson returned the kickoff fifteen yards, the Tigers started a drive from their own 30.  On second and 12, Lebo was called for defensive holding.  The 10-yard penalty moved the ball to the 38 and gave NA a second and 2.  ON third and one, Brozick picked up the first down on a quarterback sneak.  After Papson gained five, a motion penalty negated the gain.  A pass from Brozick to junior HB Matt Steinbeck picked up three.  On third and seven, Brozick found junior WR Steve Ferringer open for a gain of 13 and a first down at the Lebo 44.  After Papson got four on a draw, Huckestein ran for 11 more and another first down at the Mt. Lebanon 29.  Two plays and a false start against NA brought up a third and 15 from the 34.  Lebo’s Jordan Banky then stepped in front of a Brozick pass and returned it 15 yards to the Mt. Lebanon 40 to end the drive.  The NA defense held Lebo to just four yards on three plays as the first quarter ended with Mt. Lebanon holding a 7-0 lead.

Orfanopoulos punted to start the second quarter with the Tigers narrowly missing a block on the kick.  The low punt rolled dead at the NA 28.  Papson got six on first down and then ran left for five more and a first down at the 39.  After two incomplete passes, Devon Lauer picked off a third-down pass at the Lebo 34 and was downed at that point.  After Goff threw to WR Mike Miller for five on first down, the Tigers forced a fumble on the next play that was recovered by senior linebacker T.J. Idowu at the Lebo 36.  It took the Tigers only four plays to tie the game.  On first down, Papson gained 11 and a first down on an inside handoff.  On second and nine, Brozick hit Huckestein down the middle for a gain on nine and another first down at the 15.  On the next play, Huckestein took a handoff from Papson and raced up the middle and into the end zone for the first Tiger touchdown of the game.  Senior Jackson Cox added the point as NA tied the game at 7-7 with 8:46 still remaining in the half.  After Miller was able to return the kickoff to just the Lebo 18, the Tiger defense and a holding call forced a fourth down and one from the 27.  Orfanopoulos got off a long punt that rolled dead at the Tiger 23.  From this point, NA went on an 11-play 77-yard drive to take the lead.  On a third and seven, Brozick found Huckestein open for a gain of 14 and a first down at the NA 40.  On a second and 8, junior fullback Kevin Cope broke free up the middle for eleven and another first down at the Lebo 47.  On the next play, Steinbeck ran for nine more to the Blue Devil 38.  After Huckestein got three and a first down, it was Papson for four, Huckestein for three, and Huckestein for two more and a first down at the Lebo 23.  On the next play, Brozick fired a strike to a wide open Huckestein near the goal line and the Tiger senior walked into the end zone for his second score of the night.  Cox’s conversion gave the Tigers a 14-7 lead with 1:53 left in the half.  Cox’s kickoff was caught by Matt Boss on his knees at the Lebo 29.  The NA defense again held the Blue Devils to just one yard on three running plays and Orfanopoulos punted to the NA 36 with 40 seconds left.  On the first play, Brozick threw short to Steinbeck who gained nine but lost the ball as he was stretching for the first down.  Lebo recovered at the NA 49, but Goff turned the ball back over to the Tigers on the next play as senior DE Ian Brower put a strong hit on the Lebo QB.  After Brozick tried to his junior WR Dan Slivka long down the right sideline but overthrew, Papson ran a draw for no gain as time ran out.  The Tigers took a 14-7 advantage to the intermission.

Lebo’s Hagy fumbled the opening kickoff of the second half but fell on the ball at the Lebo 18.  On the next play, Goff fumbled but recovered for a loss of three.  After an incomplete pass, Mike Duffy came in at quarterback and immediately was picked off by senior DB Zach Runzo at the 43.  A personal foul was called against Lebo and the ball was marched to the Blue Devil 28.  After Huckestein gained seven on first down, Papson ran left for five more and a first down at the lebo 17.  Huckestein then got four to the 13, five more to the 8, and six and a first down at the Lebo 2.  Papson then blasted into the end zone for the touchdown ending the six play drive.  Cox again was perfect on the point as the Tigers took a 21-7 lead with 8:15 remaining in the quarter.  On the ensuing kickoff, Miller raced out to the Lebo 42, a return of 37 yards.  Lebo started a drive aided by a defensive holding call against NA that gave the Blue Devils a first down at the NA 47.  Alberts then ran for 8 and 4 yards and a first down at the Tiger 35.  On the next play, the NA defense trapped Alberts for a loss of 12 back to the 47.  Alberts gained 15 on the next play to the Tiger 32.  On a third and two, Goff passed to WR Tom Sims on a down and out pattern for ten yards and a first down at the Tiger 21.  After two running plays got only two yards, an incomplete pass brought up a fourth and 8.  Goff’s pass down the middle fell incomplete and the Tigers took over at their 19.  Once again, NA began another drive keeping the ball on the ground.  After Papson got seven on an inside handoff, Huckestein gained two to the 28.  On third and one, Papson ran for the first down to the 29.  On the next play, Papson picked up four to the 33.  On second down, Papson ran the middle for eleven more and another first down to the 44.  Huckestein then got nine to the Lebo 46 as time ran out in the quarter.  After three quarters of play, the Tigers held a 21-7 lead.

On the first play of the final stanza, Huckestein picked up three and a first down to the 43.  Papson then took over.  The Tiger junior ran left for five and up themiddle for two more.  After an NA time out, the Blue Devils jumped off side to give the Tigers another first down at the Lebo 28.  The Tigers were called for holding on the next play moving the ball back to the 32.   On second and 14, Papson was stopped for no gain.  On third down, Brozick threw a screen pass to Steinbeck who gained 10 but was short of a first down.  On the next play, Cox attempted a 40-yard field goal that hit the right upright and bounced back.  Lebo took over at their own 20 and were able to pick up a first down on a third down completion from Goff to Miller that moved the ball to the Lebo 34.  After Goff hit Sims for six, he found Miller open again for a gain of 4 and another first down at the 45.  On the next play, the Tigers blitzed and deflected a Goff pass into the hands of NA junior lineman Vince Czerniewski who rambled with ball for ten yards to the Lebo 25.  It took just four runs by Papson to get the ball into the end zone again.  On first down, the Tiger junior got five to the 20.  On the next play, Papson ran left for eight more and a first down at the 12.  On the next play, it was Papson left again for six to the 6.  After a false start, Papson ran around right end for his second TD of the game and fifth of the season.  Cox was good with the point as the Tiger lead went to 28-7 with just 1:57 left in the game.  Hagy brought Cox’s kickoff back to the 28.  On first down Goff passed to Miller for six to the 34.  On third down, Goff hit Devon Lauer for 13 yards and a first down at the 47.  On a third and ten, the Tigers’ Seth Marx broke through to sack Goff for a loss of nine and the Tigers took over at the Lebo 40 with 25 seconds left.  Senior QB Greg Adams came in to take a knee as time ran out with the Tigers capturing an impressive 28-7 victory.

The Tigers dominated the statistics as they recorded 306 total yards including 224 rushing.  In addition to Papson’s 121, Huckestein added 83 on 16 carries as the NA ground attack controlled the game for most of the contest.  In the air, Brozick finished with 7 of 15 for 82 yards and a TD. NA rolled up 20 first downs to just 7 for the Blue Devils. NA forced four Lebo turnovers, intercepting two passes and recovering two fumbles.  Defensively, the Tigers held Lebo to just 112 total yards including 48 yards on 28 rushes, an average of 1.7 ypc.  For his efforts on the offensive end, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Grant Huckestein as the Player of the Game.

With the win, NA improved to 2-0 in the non-conference portion of the schedule.  The Tigers will host Upper St. Clair next week as non-conference play continues.  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 with an interview with NA Head Coach Art Walker.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm at Newman Stadium.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 28  MT. LEBANON – 7

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

 GAME STATISTICS

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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