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HUCKESTEIN'S THREE TOUCHDOWNS LEAD TIGERS OVER PENN HILLS, 24-7

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The Tigers won their third game in four starts with a 24-7 victory at Penn Hills on Friday night.  Senior halfback Grant Huckestein led the way with three touchdowns with senior PK Jackson Cox adding a 26-yard field goal and three extra points.

After junior HB Matt Steinbeck ran the opening kickoff back 22 yards to the NA 30, the Tigers started a drive.  After an incomplete pass, senior QB Justin Brozick hit junior WR Steve Ferringer for eleven and a first down at the NA 41.  A roughing the passer penalty against the Indians moved the ball to the PH 44.  The Penn Hills defense held the Tigers to eight yards on the next three plays forcing a Brozick punt that was downed at the Indian 5.  On first down, PH quarterback Chaz Whittaker scrambled eleven yards for a first down at the PH 16.  After a pass was complete from Whittaker to WR Brandon Ifill for seven yards, an incomplete pass, a motion penalty and a good defensive stop by the Tigers forced a punt by Mike Ferraco that Steinbeck caught but was tackled immediately at the 50 yard line.  It took the Tigers just three plays to take the lead.  After Huckestein gained three on first down, the senior halfback rambled for 14 more and a first down at the PH 32.  On the next play, Huckestein broke through the middle and raced the final 32 yards for the score.  Cox added the point to give NA a 7-0 lead with 6:54 still left in the quarter.  Penn Hills' running back Terrell Roberson returned Cox's kickoff for 26 yards to the Indian 41.  Penn Hills then went on a 59-yard drive in thirteen plays to tie the game.  On a third and three, Roberson ran for twelve yards and a first down at the NA 40.  After two plays got three yards, senior linebacker Jon Lowery broke up an intended screen pass, but the Tigers were called for a personal foul.  Penn Hills got a first down at the NA 22 after the penalty.  On first down, senior defensive tackle Justin Haser broke through to tackle Whittaker for a loss of five.  Whittaker followed with a gain of six to the NA 21.  On third down, Whittaker found Ifill open for a first down at the Tiger 10.  Three runs by Roberson gained eight yards.  On fourth and goal, Whittaker was able to get into the end zone for the touchdown.  Ferraco kicked the point and the game was tied at 7-7 with 35 seconds left in the quarter.  Steinbeck was able to return the kickoff just 13 yards to the 18.  After Huckestein ran left for eight yards on first down, the PH defense hit the Tiger running back for a loss of two as the quarter ended with the game tied at 7-7. 

A third down incomplete pass forced a Brozick punt as second quarter play began.  The Indians took over at their 36 after the punt was downed.  On first down, senior tackle Vince Czerniewski hit Roberson for a three-yard loss to the 33.  Two more running plays gained nothing and Ferraco punted to Ferringer who made a fair catch at the NA 35.  On first down, Brozick threw long down the left sideline where Lowery made a nice catch and shook off tacklers before being pushed out of bounds at the Penn Hills 13, a gain of 52 yards.  After a motion penalty, Huckestein ran for thirteen and a first down to the PH 5.  After Huckestein gained two to the one, the Indians called a time out.  It didn't slow the Tigers as Huckestein took it into the end zone on the next play to put NA ahead again.  Cox booted the point to make it a 14-7 Tiger lead with 8:16 remaining in the half.  After Roberson returned the kickoff to the PH 28, Whittaker passed to Roberson for a gain of twelve and a first down at the 40.  On a third and four, Whittaker found WR Walter Moultrie open for a gain of 11 and a first down at the NA 43.  On first down, senior CB Blair Plivelic made a good defensive play to break up a pass.  On a fourth and five, another incomplete pass gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 25.  After Huckestein got seven on first down, the Tiger running back picked up ten more and a first down at the 48.  After Huckestein gained eight more on first down, junior running back Alex Papson made his first appearance in the game and quickly gained 18 around the left side.  NA was called for holding, however, that moved the ball back to midfield.  After two incomplete passes, Brozick was forced to punt and sent a long kick to Nick Cyphers who brought it back six yards to the 18.  The Indians then went on a long drive to try and tie the game before halftime.  After an incomplete pass, the Tigers were called for holding giving PH a first down at the 28.  After Whittaker scrambled for eleven and another first down, the PH sophomore quarterback threw to Roberson for a gain of eight.  Another scramble by Whittaker got a first down at the 50 before the Penn Hills QB found Cullen Christian open for a first down at the NA 32.  On a third a long, Whittaker hit Christian again for another first down at the Tiger 17.  Whittaker threw again to Moultrie for a gain of 9 to the Tiger 8.  After an incomplete pass, Whittaker tried to hit Ifill but senior CB Zach Runzo knocked it down.  On fourth and short, the Tiger defense stopped Roberson short of the marker and NA took over.  Brozick took a knee and the Tigers took a 14-7 lead to the intermission.

The third quarter belonged to the Tigers.  After Cox kicked off into the end zone, three plays gained only six yards forcing a Ferraco punt that Steinbeck returned four yards to the PH 44.  On a second and seven, Papson ran left for 15 yards and a first down to the Indian 26.  On the next play, Papson raced all the way to the PH 1.  On first and goal, the ball was fumbled with Brozick falling on it at the PH 4.  A motion penalty moved the ball back to the nine where Papson was hit for a five yard loss.  On third down, Brozick's pass was broken up by Ifill setting up a field goal try.  Cox was true from 26-yards to give the Tigers a 17-7 lead with 9:15 still left in the quarter.  After another kickoff went into the end zone, Whittaker hit Ifill for a gain of seven.  The Tigers were called for a face mask penalty adding fifteen more to the gain moving the ball all the way to the PH 42.  After a motion penalty, three plays got only five yards with Ferraco punting again to Steinbeck who made a fair catch at the Tiger 25.  On the first play, senior halfback David Humphrey raced around left end for 23 yards and a first down at the Tiger 48.  Papson followed with a run around the right side for 42 yards all the way to the PH 10.  After Huckestein got eight on first down, the Tiger running back scored his third touchdown of the game on the next play taking it the final two yards.  Cox again was good with the point as the Tigers took a 24-7 lead with 6:19 left.  After Cox kicked off yet again into the end zone, Penn Hills went on a drive and threatened to get back into the game.  A second down scramble by Whittaker gained 12 and a first down at the 35.  After Roberson gained seven, a fumbled pitch out was recovered by Christian for a loss of seven.  On third and ten, Whittaker hit an open Christian for a gain of 16 and a first down at the NA 49.  The Tiger defense then stepped up.  Czerniewski hit Whittaker for a loss of three.  On the next play, Haser broke through to sack Whittaker for a loss of eleven back to the PH 37.  After a delay of game penalty, senior defensive lineman Dom Borgese broke up an attempted screen pass that forced another Ferraco punt.  Steinbeck made a fair catch at the Tiger 38.  After two plays gained only three yards, Papson ran left for seven and a first down at the 49.  After a motion penalty, Huckestein raced up the middle for 22 all the way to the Indian 34.  Papson gained three more on the next play as the third quarter ended with NA holding a 24-7 advantage.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Brozick lost his footing attempting to pass for a loss of seven.  After an incomplete pass, Brozick drove another punt deep into Penn Hills territory that the Tigers downed at the Indian three.  After two running plays and a delay call, the Indians were faced with a third and 12 and the two.  Whittaker was able to hit Ifill for a first down at the 16 as the Indians got out of a deep hole.  After Roberson ran for nine, Whittaker picked up four more and a first down at the 29.  on the next play, Runzo made a leaping interception at the 50 taking the ball away from Ifill.  After Humphrey got four on first down, junior quarterback Michael Buchert ran left for a big gain but the Tigers were called for holding.  Two plays lost five yards and NA was called for a person foul that moved the ball back fifteen more.  On fourth and long, Brozick punted out of bounds at the Indian 14.  On first down, senior linebacker Kyle Higgins came in and tackled Malik Blakeman for a loss of four to the seventeen.  After an incomplete pass on third down, Ferraco had to punt again with Ferringer taking the ball on a fair catch at midfield.  At this point, the game became the David Humphrey show.  After a loss of two and a holding call against the Tigers, Humphrey ran for 12 to the NA 49.  On third down and eleven, Humphrey broke tacklers and got an NA first down at the PH 35..  On the next two plays, Humphrey got three and five.  On third and two, Humprhey got ten more and another first down at the Indian 17.  At this point, Brozick took consecutive knees as time ran out.

Statistically, the NA ground attack pounded out 285 yards while the defense held Penn Hills runners to just 92.  Huckestein finished with 138 yards on 18 carries (7.7 ypc) while Papson gained 86 on just six rushers (14.3 ypc).  Humphrey added 74 on 10 runs (7.4 ypc).  Brozick threw sparingly and completed just three for nine but did hit Lowery for the big gain of 52.  Defensively, senior linebacker T.J. Idowu had eight solo and one assisted tackle while senior Gary Allen added four solo and nine assists.  For his offensive efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Grant Huckestein as the Player of the Game.

With the win, the Tigers finished non-conference play with a record of 3-1.  NA will open Northern Six Conference action on Friday night when they host Seneca Valley at Newman Stadium.  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
Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 24  PENN HILLS - 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