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TIGERS TAKE CARE OF
NORTH HILLS, 28-3, TO WRAP UP CONFERENCE CROWN

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After a shaky start, the Tigers settled down to defeat rival North Hills, 28-3, in the Northern Six Conference finale at Newman Stadium on Senior Night on Friday night.  On the first play of the second quarter, junior tailback Alex Papson raced 72 yards to give NA the lead for good.  Papson added an 11-yard run late in the half as the Tigers took a 14-0 advantage to halftime.  After an NH field goal, senior halftime Grant Huckestein pulled in a 16-yard pass from senior QB Justin Brozick with Brozick adding a final score on a keeper late in the game.  Senior Jackson Cox remained perfect on the season with four successful extra point conversions.

After Josh Neurohr returned the opening kickoff to the NH 28, Indian tailback Elajah David got four around the right side.  On the next play, senior corner back Zach Runzo intercepted his sixth pass of the season and returned it 25 yards to the Indian 32 but fumbled the ball with John Wanner recovering for North Hills.  The Indians then went on a long drive.  David ran left for ten and a first down at the 33.  On a second and nine, wingback Max Creighan ran around the right side for 21 yards and a first down at the NA 45.  On a third and 6, QB Taylor Schmidt found WR Mark DeVita open down the middle for15 more and a first down at the Tiger 26.  After David gained four, a holding call moved the ball back to the NA 32.  A screen to David got five and Schmidt bounced off tacklers until the Tigers brought him down at the NA 24.  With fourth and long, Anthony Chiapetta attempted a 41-yard field but the kick was short and wide right with 6:07 left in the quarter.  After an incomplete pass on first down, junior RB Matt Steinbeck took a double handoff for sixteen and a first down at the NA 36.  After Huckestein gained five on first down, it was Papson on the double handoff for nine more and a first down at the Indian 49.  The drive stalled at this point and Brozick punted to Creighan who returned the ball eight yards to the NH 19.  On second and ten, Schmidt ran around right end for 16 yards and a NH first down at the Indian 35.  Two consecutive five-yard penalties moved the ball back ten yards to the 25.  After Creighan was stopped after a short gain, the Indians fumbled the snap but Matt Linden recovered for NH as time ran out in the quarter.  After one quarter, the game remained scoreless.

As the second quarter got under way, David gained nine yards on a draw play but was still short of the first down.  David Hollenberger then punted to Huckestein who made a fair catch at the NA 28.  On the next play, Papson broke through the left side and outraced the NH secondary to the end zone, a 72-yard run that gave the Tigers the lead.  Cox added the point to make it a 7-0 game just 58 seconds into the second stanza.  Mike Sivak returned the kickoff to the 32, but NH was called for holding that moved the ball back to the Indian 14.  On first down, Sivak ran a counter left for eleven and a first down at the NH 25.  On second and eight, senior LB Jon Lowery brought down Schmidt after a short gain.  On third and long, senior LB Gary Allen stopped Creighan short of a first down forcing another Hollenberger punt that Huckestein returned all the way to the Indian 41, a run of 37 yards.  After Papson got four on first down, Brozick scrambled for eight more and a first down at the NH 29.  An offside penalty pushed the ball to the 24.  After two running plays lost three yards, NH’s Max Sandherr picked off a third down pass at the Indian 19 to stop the drive.  Sivak ran left and fumbled out of bounds but still gained six.  On the next play, Schmidt tried to run after finding his receivers covered but junior DE Justin Haser and Allen brought him down after a gain of just two.  A third down pass was incomplete forcing another Hollenberger punt.  The snap was low and Hollenberger tried to run and then punted only to the Indian 25 where the Tigers took over.  After Steinbeck gained two on first down, Papson ran left for thirteen and a first down at the NH 11.  On the next play, Papson took it into the end zone for his second score of the night and his 14^th touchdown of the season.  Cox’s point made it 14-0 with 4:03 remaining in the half.  The Indians Sivak returned the kickoff to the NH 32.  North Hills then started a drive to try and cut into the NA lead before the half ended.  On third and two, Schmidt ran a quarterback draw for fourteen and a first down at the NA 46.  On the next play, Haser brought through to nail David for a loss of one.  On a reverse to Creighan, the Indians were called for holding, but the Tigers were flagged for a personal foul on a late hit out of bounds.  In a quirk of high school rules, both penalties were marked off with the ball being placed at the NA 39.  On the next play, the Tigers were off side giving the Indians a first down at the 34 with 1:59 left.  After Creighan got seven on first down, Sivak was hit by Haser for a loss of one at the 29.  After Schimdt ran the middle for two, the Indians called a time out with 31.4 left.  On the next play, David was stopped short of the first down as Haser and Allen met him at the 25.  The Tigers took over on downs and Brozick ran two plays as time ran out.  The Tigers took a 14-0 advantage to the intermission.

After junior Lucas Hook returned the second half kickoff to the 37, two plays gained only three yards.  On third and seven, Creighan intercepted a pass that was deflected into the air and returned it all the way to the NA 32.  After two plays gained nine yards, the Indians were called on a motion penalty setting up a third and six.  Schmidt then lost two and NH was called for another pre-snap motion penalty setting the ball back to the NA 33.  On third and eleven, Schmidt threw down the middle to DeVita who made a leaping catch for a first down at the Tiger 13.  Sivak then ran three straight plays but could get only to the Tiger 6.  On fourth and three, Chiapetta came in to kick a 23-yard field goal that cut the NA lead to 14-3 with 6:32 remaining in the quarter.  Huckestein returned the kickoff for 21 yards to the NA 25, but the Tigers were unable to move the ball and Brozick punted to Brody Zangaro who brought it back to the NH 47.  On first down, Haser again broke through to sack Schmidt for a loss of six.  After an incomplete pass, David fumbled and junior DL Vince Czerniewski recovered at the Indian 43.  Huckestein ran right for ten and a first down at the NH 33.  On the next play, Huckestein raced all the way to the NH 8, but a holding call against the Tigers moved the ball back to the 18.  After Papson was held to a gain of two, Brozick dropped back and hit Huckestein in the end zone, a 16-yard scoring play, to increase the NA lead to 20-3.  Cox again was perfect on the point as the Tigers took a 21-3 lead with 2:46 left in the period.  After Creighan brought the kickoff back 19 yards to the 20, Schmidt was forced to scramble but Haser caught him for a loss of one.  Two plays gained only seven yards and Hollenberger was called on again to punt with Huckestein making a fair catch at the NA 43.  After a motion call against the Tigers, Papson got the five back with a run off the left side.  On the next play, Brozick was hit attempting to pass and fumbled with NH recovering at the NA 30.  A motion called moved it back five yards.  On the next play, Schmidt hit Creighan in the end zone for an apparent touchdown, but the Indians were flagged for illegal procedure nullifying the score.  After two incomplete passes, Schmidt scrambled but slipped and went down a the NA 36 as time ran out in the quarter.

As the fourth quarter began, the Indians had a fourth and 15.  Schmidt was forced out of the pocket by the NA defense and was able to get only to the NA 30 where the Tigers took over on downs.  Three running plays gained only four yards and Brozick punted to Zangaro who returned it four yards to the NH 25.  The Indians then went three and out with Hollenberger punting with the ball rolling dead at the NA 20.  The Tigers then went on a 13-play 80-yard drive to secure the victory.  It was a steady dose of Huckestein and Papson.  After Papson gained eleven on first down, the Indians were called for a chop block below the knees giving NA fifteen more yards and a first down at the Tiger 46.  Papson then raced right and cut up field for nine yards to the Indian 45.  Papson got seven more on the next two plays and another first down at the Indian 39.  After Huckestein gained nine on two plays, Papson ran the middle for two and a first down at the NH 25.  A double handoff with Steinbeck carrying gained eight more to the 15.  After Brozick was stopped for no gain, the Indians jumped off side giving NA a first and goal at the NH 10.  On the next play, Huckestein broke several tackles to get into the end zone, but the Tigers were called for holding with the ball moved back to the 20.  Two runs by Papson moved the ball to the Indian seven.  On the next play, Brozick ran the left side on a keeper and fought his way into the end zone for the touchdown.  Cox’s kick made it a 28-3 NA lead with just 1:23 remaining in the game.  The 13-play drive took 6:51 off the clock and put the finishing touches on a big NA victory.  The Indians tried to salvage a late score after the kickoff.  A screen pass from Schmidt to TE Coleman Mazur got a first down at the NH 36.  After an NH time out with 1:02 left, Creighan ran for 14 and another first down at midfield.  After an incomplete pass, Schmidt ran for eight to the Tiger 42.  On the next play, junior DB Joe Marshalek intercepted a Schmidt pass and returned it to the NA 35, but a penalty against the Tigers negated the pick.  With the ball at the Tiger 27, a Schmidt pass fell incomplete.  On the next play, junior DB Michael Buchert intercepted a pass deep in the end zone to stop the last second NH attempt.  Buchert stayed in the game at quarterback and took a knee as time ran out.  The Tigers came away with a 28-3 victory over their next door rivals to extend their winning streak to six.

It was a good team victory for the Tigers in a game of mistakes by both teams.  With a total of seven turnovers, it was the team that took advantage of the errors that won the game.  Two NA scores came directly after NH mistakes to give the Tigers the edge.  Total yardage showed NA with a slim 262-243 advantage, but the Tiger ground game was again dominant.  NA picked up 262 yards on the ground with Papson leading the way with 156 net yards, a average  of 7.8 ypc.  Huckestein added 53, Steinbeck 28 and Brozick 20 for the winning Tigers.  Brozick completed only two passes but one was for a touchdown, his ninth scoring toss of the season.  Defensively, the Tigers stood tall particularly after turning the ball over as they limited the Indians to just three points in the game.  Lowery led the way with eight solo and two unassisted tackles with Allen adding seven solo and four assists.  For his efforts that put him in the North Hills backfield all night long, the North Allegheny Sports Network named junior Justin Haser as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.  Haser had six solo tackles including his fourth sack of the season.  The 72-yard run by Papson that gave NA the lead they never relinquished was the Wright Play of the Game, brought to you by Wright Hyundai.

With the win, the Tigers complete conference play with an 5-0 league record and the conference title.  The overall mark improved to 8-1 as the Tigers won their sixth straight game.  The win also evened the all-time series with North Hills at 25 each.  NA will host a First Round playoff game next Friday night at Newman Stadium.  Pairings will be announced on Monday night.  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
Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY – 28  NORTH HILLS – 3

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