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PAPSON LEADS TIGERS OVER
PINE-RICHLAND, 40-7

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After leading by only a 12-7 score at halftime, the Tigers scored three straight touchdowns in the third quarter on their way to a 40-7 victory over Pine-Richland on Friday night at Newman Stadium.  It was Homecoming Night and junior Alex Papson made sure the Tigers were victorious as he rambled for 213 yards on 21 carries good for three touchdowns.  Senior quarterback Justin Brozick connected with senior HB Grant Huckestein for an 11-yard score and senior QB Greg Adams tossed a 28-yarder to junior WR Dan Slivka for the other NA scores.

On a cold and rainy night, the Tigers fumbled on the first play of the game from scrimmage with the Rams recovering at the NA 26.  The NA defense was able to hold P-R to just six yards in three plays leading to a field goal attempt from 37 yards away.  The snap sailed over the holder's head and the Tigers took over at their own 39.  Three plays got only seven yards and Brozick went back to punt.  On a low snap from center, Brozick had to go to a knee to catch the ball and the Rams had again in NA territory at the Tiger 34.  On second and ten, Ram QB Eric Kordenbrock found his WR Tommy Berexa open for a gain of eleven and a first down at the NA 23.  On second and ten, P-R's Conor Mincer got four yards, but the Rams were called for a personal foul that moved the ball back to the 34.  After an incomplete pass, Kordenbrock punted with Steve Valenza downing the ball at the NA 2.  After Papson got seven off the right side, Huckestein picked up four more and a first down at the 13.  On first down, Papson again got six with two runs by Huckestein gaining another five and a first down at the NA 24.  On a third and five, a Ram blitz hit Brozick when he was throwing the ball and it ended up in the hands of Mincer who ran it to the Tiger 2.  On the next play, Mincer took it in to give P-R the lead.  Christian Holowchak added the point making it a 7-0 Ram lead with 3:44 remaining in the quarter.  After P-R was offside on the kickoff, senior Robbie Walchak returned the ensuing short kick back eight yards to the NA 45.  The Tigers then went on a four play drive to score their first touchdown of the game.   On the first play, Brozick threw to junior halfback Matt Steinbeck for a gain of 22 yards to the Ram 33.  On a third and seven, Papson took a double handoff and raced up the middle for the remaining 30 yards and the score.  The snap was bad on the conversion allowing the Rams to keep a 7-6 advantage with 2:16 left in the quarter.  After Aaron Kowalchick returned the kickoff to the 31, a pair of penalties against the Rams brought up a third and long from the 18.  A pass from Kordenbrock to Berexa got 13 yards back, but Kordenbrock had to punt.  A low punt rolled all the way to the NA 15.  Three plays gained only five yards, and Brozick punted to the Rams' Dwight DePasquale who made a fair catch at the NA 49 at the first quarter ended.  Pine-Richland took a 7-6 lead into the second quarter.

As the second quarter began, the Rams started a drive behind the running of tailback Justin Williams.  After Williams got eight around the left side, the Ram runner picked up nine more and a first down around the right end.  On a third and six at the NA 29, Kordenbrock hit Williams in the right flat for a gain of five and a first down at the Tiger 23.  A pass to DePasquale put the Rams at the NA 8 with a first and goal.  On the next play, Huckestein broke through to nail Williams for a loss of three at the Tiger 11.  After an incomplete pass, Kordenbrock set up a middle screen, but the Tigers forced a fumble that Steinbeck recovered at the NA five.  It was time for a patented long NA scoring drive.  After Papson got nine on first down, the junior running back raced through the middle, cut to his right and was finally caught from behind by Valenza at the Ram 39, a gain of 47 yards.  After Huckestein gained three, Papson again broke through the middle for nine more and a first down at the Ram 27.  Two more runs by Papson gave the Tigers a first and goal at the P-R four.  After the Rams stopped Papson for no gain, the P-R defense got through to sack Brozick for a loss of seven to the 11.  On the next play, Brozick hit Huckestein in the left corner of the end zone for the score.  The Tigers went for two, but Brozick's pass was broken up in the end zone, but NA now had the lead at 12-7 with 4:01 left in the half.  After Kovalchick returned the kickoff to the 29, senior defensive lineman Ryan Kelly tackled Wilson in the backfield for a loss of three.  Two plays later, Kordenbrock had to punt again with Huckestein making a diving catch at the NA 42.  On first down, Brozick threw to Slivka over the middle for 15 and a first down at the Ram 45.  After a gain of two by Brozick, the Tigers called a time out with 1:42 remaining.  A pass from Brozick to Huckestein gained nine to the 34, and a screen pass to Papson along the right sideline got 13 and a first down at the P-R 21.  On the next play, the Ram's Luke Conte was able to pick off a Brozick pass in the end zone to end the threat.  The Rams ran two plays but time ran out in the first half.  The Tigers went to the intermission with a 12-7 advantage.

The Rams fumbled the second half kickoff but recovered at the P-R 18.  On the first play, senior linebacker Gary Allen intercepted a Kordenbrock pass and ran it back to the Ram 16.  On second and ten, Steinbeck ran a double handoff for four to the P-R 12.  On third and six, the Tigers fumbled but junior lineman Justin Haser alertly fell on the ball at the Ram 20.  Senior Jackson Cox was sent in to attempt a 37-yard field goal, but the kick was blocked and rolled to the P-R 43 where the Rams took over.  Three runs by Williams got a first down at the Tiger 47.  After Williams was drilled by Kelly for no gain, a pass from Kordenbrock to Williams lost a yard thanks to a good defensive play by senior linebacker T.J. Idowu.  On the next play, Kelly broke through to sack Kordenbrock for a loss of twelve.  Kordenbrock then punted out of bounds at the NA 35.  On first down, Brozick ran a keeper around the left end for thirteen and a first down at the NA 48.  After Huckestein got nine on first down, Brozick picked up three and another first down at the Ram 40.  On the next play, Papson took it the distance, but the Tigers were called for a block in the back at the Ram 9 with NA getting the ball at the P-R 19.  No problem for the Tigers as Huckestein got seven on first down, and Papson ran it into the end zone on a 12-yard run to extend the NA lead.  Cox added the point to give the Tigers a 19-7 lead with 3:04 remaining in the quarter.  After the Rams fumbled the kickoff again, Valenza picked up the loose ball and got it to the P-R 20  After two plays lost a yard, Kordenbrock hit Williams on a swing pass for a gain of nine.  After a time out, the Rams decided to go for it on a fourth and one, but the snap was fumbled and the Tigers took over at the P-R 28.  On the next play, senior reserve QB Greg Adams came in and threw to Slivka who made a nice catch in the end zone for the score.  Cox drilled the point again as the Tigers extended the margin to 26-7 with 1:51 still left in the period.  Williams returned the kickoff 21 yards to the Ram 23.  On the next play, the snap was fumbled again but the Williams recovered for a loss of one.  For the third consecutive offensive play, the Rams fumbled the snap again with the Tigers' senior linebacker Jon Lowery recovering at the Ram 24.  On the first play, Papson broke through for a gain of nineteen giving the Tigers a first and goal at the five.  On the next play, it was Papson again scoring his third touchdown of the game.  Cox again converted as the Tigers took a commanding 33-7 lead.  After Mincer brought the kickoff back to the 20, the Rams went on a drive.  After Wilson got a first down at the 40, Kordenbrock hit Beraxa over the middle for a gain of 15 and a first down at the NA 34.  Williams then ran right for nine more to the Tiger 25 as the third quarter ended.  The Tigers held a 33-7 advantage going into the final stanza.

After an incomplete pass opened play in the fourth quarter, Williams gained enough up the middle for a first down at the Tiger 23.  Williams followed with a gain of ten and another first down at the NA 10.  After a motion penalty cost the Rams five yards, Steinbeck broke up a Kordenbrock pass at the goal line.  Three more incomplete passes ended the drive and gave the ball back to the Tigers at their own 15.  The Tigers then ran six minutes off the clock with a running attack that brought the ball all the way midfield.  A steady diet of Papson and Huckestein, along with a pair of runs by Brozick, gained three first downs before Brozick had to punt.  DePasquale made a sprawling catch at the Ram 21 with just 4:33 left in the game.  Three plays gained only four yards and Kordenbrock punted to junior WR Steve Ferringer who made a fair catch at the NA 45.  The NA second offensive unit went into the game at this point.  On first down, junior QB Michael Buchert raced around left end for a gain of 31 all the way to the P-R 24.  On the next play, senior halfback David Humphrey ran for four.  After two plays were stopped for no gain, a fourth down run by Buchert around left end again got a first down at the Ram four.  On the next play, Buchert followed his offensive line into the end zone as the NA reserves hit the scoreboard.  Cox's kick was good again to make it a 40-7 game with 20.2 on the clock.  After Valenza had trouble fielding the kickoff and returned it only to the Ram 7, two running plays by the Rams ended the contest with the Tigers taking the 40-7 victory.

After a tough start in the first half, the Tigers came back with a convincing victory to gain some measure of revenge for the upset loss at Pine-Richland last year.  Papson was the key offensive player leading the Tigers to a total of 321 yards on the ground.  Buchert had 53 and Huckestein 44 as the NA ground game dominated the Rams in the second half.  In the air, Brozick was 9 for 14 for 87 yard and a score while Adams can brag about his perfect night of 1-for-1 and a touchdown.  The Tigers outgained P-R in total yards, 436 to 150, in wrapping up the victory.  Defensively, Idowu led with eight solo and one assisted tackle with Lowery adding six, Allen five, and Kelly four solo tackles.  Poor weather conditions and a wet football led to many mistakes by both teams, but in the end, the Tigers were able to overcome their first half bobbles and pick up the important conference victory.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Alex Papson as the Player of the Game.

With the win, NA improved to 3-0 in Northern Six Conference play, 6-1 overall on the season.  The victory also earned a playoff spot in the upcoming WPIAL Class AAAA playoffs.  The Tigers will travel to Butler on Friday night to meet the Tornado as 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.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

Game Statistics
Photo Gallery

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 40  PINE-RICHLAND - 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