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TIGER TURNOVERS HELP UPPER
ST. CLAIR TOP NA, 23-14

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Six NA turnovers were too much to overcome for the Tigers on Friday night as the Upper St. Clair Panthers took a 23-14 victory over NA at Newman Stadium.  Senior Grant Huckestein scored both Tiger touchdowns, one on a 10-yard pass from senior QB Justin Brozick and the second on a 34-yard run.  USC’s David Court kicked three field goals that proved to be the margin of victory.

The Tigers fumbled the opening kickoff with USC’s Montgomery Scott recovering at the NA 18.  It was a sign of things to come.  On a second and 12, Connor Scott raced around right end for 19 yards to the NA 1.  On the next play, Jacob Siwicki took it in for the game’s first score.  Court added the point and the Panthers had a 7-0 lead just 1:22 into the game.  NA answered on the ensuing drive.  After junior halfback Alex Papson returned the kickoff 22 yards to the NA 24, the Tigers went on a 13 play, 76-yard drive to tie the game.  On second and ten, Brozick threw to Huckestein for a gain on nine to the 33.  On the next play, Papson ran left for eight more and a first down at the 41.  On second and eight, Papson ran the middle for six to the 49.  The Tiger junior then raced around the left side for ten more and another first down at the USC 39.  After an incomplete pass, Brozick found Huckestein open again for a gain of 18 to the Panther 21.  On a second a nine, Brozick turned a broken play into a gain of seven to the USC 13.  After Papson picked up the first down to the 10, Brozick hit Huckestein in the left flat and the Tiger senior dove into the end zone for the touchdown.  Senior Jackson Cox booted the point to tie the game.  After the scoring drive, both Papson and Huckestein left the game with injuries.  Huckestein would return in the second half; Papson would not.  Siwicki returned the ensuing kickoff 31 yards to the Panther 37.  USC started a drive that would end in a field goal that gave the Panthers the lead.  On first down, Panther QB Alex Park threw to a wide open Mitchell Fawcett for a gain of 19 to the NA 44.  On second and one, Connor Scott ran right for a gain of nine.  On the next play, Park took off on a quarterback draw for five more and a first down at the 30.  On a third and nine, Park scrambled for another USC first down at the Tiger 20.  At this point, the NA defense stiffened holding the Panthers to five yards in three plays.  On fourth and five, Court drilled a 32 yard field goal to give USC a 10-7 advantage with just 13 seconds left in the quarter.  After the kickoff went into the end zone, junior HB Matt Steinbeck gained four around the right side as the quarter ended.   USC took a 10-7 advantage into the second quarter.

On the first play of the second quarter, Brozick hit junior WR Dan Slivka for a gain of 10 and a first down to the 34.  After Brozick was sacked for a loss of six and a false start penalty by NA, the Tiger QB completed a pass to junior WR Steve Ferringer along the left sideline for a gain of 14 to the 37, but it was still short of a first down.  Brozick punted out of bounds at the USC 30.  The Panthers then went on another long drive that resulted in a second field goal.  On first down, Park threw to WR Tyler Findle along the left sideline for a gain of 12 and a first down at the 42.  On a third and three, Park hit Findle for a gain of eight more and another first down at the Tiger 41.  After senior LB T.J. Idowu knocked down a first down pass, Connor Scott was held to a gain of one.  On third and nine, Park ran another QB draw for a gain of 21 and a first down at the NA20.  After two running plays were stopped for a gain of just two yards, Park ran left for eleven and another first down at the Tiger 7.  After Park was stopped for a gain of one, the Tigers broke through to sack Park for a loss of seven as junior DL Vince Czerniewski slowed the USC quarterback and senior LB Gary Allen made the tackle.  On third and long, Park threw to FB D.J. Scarton but he could get only to the NA 8.  On fourth down, Court made a 22-yard field goal to give USC a 10-7 lead with 4:36 left in the half.  Senior WR David Humphrey ran the kickoff back 47 yards to the NA 49.  On first down, the Panthers picked off a Brozick pass and returned it fifteen yards to the 50.  After Park got three on a first down scramble, junior DE Justin Haser knocked down a Park pass but the Panthers were called for holding.  An incomplete pass and a completion from Park to Fawcett gained 14 to the NA 48, Court was forced to punt with Steinbeck able to return it only two yards to the Tiger 12.  After a delay of game penalty, junior HB Kevin Cope got two to the 9.  On third and ten, USC’s Montgomery Scott intercepted another NA pass and fell to the ground at the Tiger 40.  After a completion from Park to TE Mike Detrick gained five, Park ran left to the NA 27 for a first down.  After an incomplete pass, Cope broke through to sack Park for a loss of eight to the 35.  After senior LB Jon Lowery knocked down a second down pass, Cope broke through to sack Park for a loss of 8 at the NA 35.   On fourth down, Cope tackled Park for no gain and the Tigers regained possession.  Two runs by Humphrey gained 12 yards as time ran out.  Upper St. Clair took the narrow 10-7 advantage to the intermission.

USC’s Siwicki ran back the second half kickoff 45 yards to the USC 47.  The Panthers then went on a 53-yard scoring drive in eight plays to extend the lead.  It was done all on the ground.  Connor Scott picked up seven on first down and then ran the left side for 14 more and a first down at the NA 32.  On second and eight, Siwicki ran left again for ten and a first down at the 20.  It was Siwicki again on the next two plays for ten more and a first down at the Tiger 10.   On second and goal from the eight, Siwicki took it into the end zone for his second touchdown of the game.  Court added the conversion to give USC a 20-7 lead with 7:58 left on the third quarter clock.  After Court kicked off into the end zone, the Panther defense pushed the Tigers back to the 12.  With a fourth and 18, Brozick punted to Montgomery Scott at midfield where the Panther back fumbled the ball.  Idowu fell on the loose ball and the Tigers took over at the 50.  On a second and nine, Brozick hit Ferringer for a gain of fifteen and a first down at the USC 34.  On the next play, Huckestein broke through the middle and raced untouched into the end zone for his second score of the contest.  Cox again added the point as the Tigers cut the margin to 20-14 with 5:37 still left in the quarter.  After the kickoff was returned to the USC 28, the Tiger defense forced a Panther punt when senior linebacker Kyle Higgins tackled Park just short of a first down on a third down run.  Steinbeck returned Court’s punt ten yards to the NA 37.  The Tigers then went on a long drive that threatened to give NA the lead.  Huckestein ran three consecutive plays for ten yards and a first down at the NA 47.  On the next play, it was Huckestein again breaking through for 14 to the USC 39.  Steinbeck followed with a gain of 12 and another first down at the Panther 27 as the Tiger line began to open holes in the USC defense.  After Huckestein got four on first down, Steinbeck followed with a run of six and a first down at the 17.  The Tigers then fumbled the snap with the Panthers Matt Doman recovering at the USC 16 to end the drive.  On first down, Siwicki gained eight to the 24.  On the next play, the Panthers were called for holding.  Siwicki was able to get to the USC 22 as the quarter ended with Upper St. Clair holding a 20-14 lead.

The Panthers started the fourth quarter with Park finding Findle open for a gain of eight and a first down at the USC 30.  The Tiger defense forced a Court punt after holding the Panthers to a -2 in three plays.  Steinbeck fumbled the return but recovered at the NA 45.  Huckestein got six on first down and five more on the next play to pick up a first down at the USC 44.  On the next play, Panther DB Sam Gaetano stripped the ball from Humphrey after the NA back had gained yardage around the right side.  Gaetano was able to return the fumble recovery all the way to the Tiger 24.  On first down, Siwicki raced to the Tiger eight where NA was called for a horse collar tackle that moved the ball half the distance to the Tiger four.  After Siwicki was caught for a yard loss, Park threw along the far sideline where NA corner Blair Plivelic was able to break up but could not quite hold on to the ball with a clear field in front of him.  On third and goal, Steinbeck tackled Connor Scott for no gain.  Court came in to kick his third field goal of game from 22 yards out to give USC a nine-point lead at 23-14 with 7:34 remaining.  Steinbeck returned the ensuing kickoff 23 yards to the NA 25.  On second and ten, Brozick found Slivka open for a gain on nine plus yards to the 34.  With third and short, Brozick picked up the first down on a quarterback sneak to the 35.  On the next play, Brozick fired down the middle to Ferringer for a gain of 25 all the way to the USC 40.  After two plays were held to no gain, the Tigers fumbled again with Czerniewski falling on the ball after a loss of five back at the 45.  After an NA time out, Brozick hit Ferringer again for a gain of 18 and a first down at the USC 22.  A holding penalty moved the ball back to the 37 negating a five yard gain on a pass from Brozick to TE Lowery.  After an incomplete pass, Huckestein gained six to the 31.  The Panthers were then called for pass interference against Ferringer with the 15 yard penalty giving NA a first down at the USC 16.  On the next play, the Tigers fumbled again with Doman again coming up with the ball for the Panthers at the 21.  The Panthers were able to pick up a pair of first downs with running plays to run out the clock and preserve the victory.

It was a tough night for the Tigers as they lost four fumbles and had two passes intercepted.  In spite of the turnovers, there were some bright spots for the Tigers.  Huckestein gained 85 yards on 11 carries (7.7 ypc) in addition to scoring both NA touchdowns.  Ferringer caught four passes for 77 yards as Brozick was nine for 17 for 133 yards and a score.  Total yardage for the game was close with USC gaining 291 yards to NA’s 271.  On the defensive side, the Tigers held USC to field goals after NA turnovers to keep the game within reach.  Allen posted 11 solo tackles along with two assists to lead the defense.  For his efforts, the North Allegheny Sports Network named Gary Allen as the Player of the Game. 

The loss was the first of the season for the Tigers as the overall NA record dropped to 2-1.  USC improved to 3-0 with the win.  The Panther victory marked the eighth time in the last nine meetings that USC prevailed.  The Tigers will be on the road on Friday when they travel to Penn Hills to meet the Indians in the final non-conference game of the season.  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 featuring an interview with NA Head Coach Art Walker.  Game time is scheduled for 7:30 pm.

GAME SUMMARY
UPPER ST. CLAIR – 23  NORTH ALLEGHENY – 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

* STATISTICS *

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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