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Photos Courtesy of North Allegheny Tigers football website

SEVEN FOOTBALL PLAYERS SIGN LETTERS OF INTENT

National Signing Day was Tuesday, February 2, and several North Allegheny football players signed letters of intent to continue their careers at the collegiate level, including two signing with Division I-A programs.  After anchoring the both the offensive and defensive lines for the Tigers state championship team, Justin Haser signed with Ohio University, where he will study exercise physiology.  TE/DE Rob Kugler signed a letter of intent with Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana.  In addition to competing in the Big Ten, Kugler plans to study political science.  WR Dan Slivka decided he will continue his football career in New York, signing with Columbia University.  At the time of this writing, he is currently undecided on a major at the Ivy League institution.

Four other Tigers have chosen to play for colleges closer to home, continuing their careers in the state of Pennsylvania.  Standout RB Alex Papson will attend Gannon University, located in Erie.  Along with playing for the Golden Knights, Papson plans on pursuing a degree in accounting.  Papson’s teammate in the backfield, multi-talented Matt Steinbeck, plans to attend Bucknell, where he will study marketing.  Lineman Adam Ward decided on Seton Hill, planning to study Biology.  Finally, TE/LB Seth Marx will attend Allegheny College.

Additional signings are expected within the next week.

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KEVIN COPE NAMED BIG SCHOOL PLAYER OF THE YEAR
by David Mika, westernpafootball.net

North Allegheny fielded a dominant defensive unit in 2010, and really, the player of the year award could have been given to that entire unit as a whole. The Tigers enjoyed a dominant defensive line, steady linebackers and a productive defensive secondary en route to winning their first PIAA championship since 1990.

Kevin Cope finished the season with an impressive 159 tackles (102 solo – 64.1 percent of his season tackle total) – 6.5 sacks (for 50 yards lost), forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles, intercepted one pass, deflected two others and recorded a safety. Cope was North Allegheny’s leading tackler, averaging 9.9 tackles per contest and posted 11 games of 10+ tackles, including six of NA’s seven post-season contests.

In post-season play, Cope tallied 73 tackles and four sacks. He was part of a North Allegheny defensive unit (including reserves) that held nine of 16 opponents to seven points or less and allowed an average of 7.8 points per game, including four shutouts.

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7 TIGERS SELECTED TO ALL-STAR TEAM, 4 EARN HONORABLE MENTION

The accolades continue to roll in for the PIAA Champion North Allegheny Tigers football team.  Earlier this week, WesternPAFootball.net released their 2010 Big School All-Star Team which includes seven NA Tigers.  The All-Star list contains running back Alex Papson, offensive lineman Vince Czerniewski, linebacker Kevin Cope, defensive back Matt Steinbeck, kicker Alex Greenblatt, and defensive linemen Justin Haser and Rob Kugler.  Also receiving an honorable mention was NA receiver Dan Slivka, offensive lineman Patrick Kugler, defensive lineman Nate Nachazel, and defensive back Brendan Coniker.        

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PG NAMES PAPSON PLAYER OF THE YEAR, 9 TIGERS NAMED ALL-CONF

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette released their WPIAL All-Conference teams on Friday and the Northern Seven Conference is a who’s who of North Allegheny Tigers.  On offense, lineman Patrick Kugler, Vince Czerniewski and Pete Thistle were selected.  Running back Alex Papson and kicker Alex Greenblatt also made the list.  On defense, Justin Haser, Rob Kugler, Kevin Cope and Matt Steinbeck were honored by the PG.  Papson, who rushed for 2,550 yards despite missing the final three games with a dislocated collarbone, was named the WPIAL Class AAAA Player of the Year by the publication.   

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HASER, KUGLER CO-PLAYERS OF THE YR

The North Allegheny Tigers have been honored with not one, but two player of the year awards.  The Pennsylvania Sports Writers’ Class AAAA all-state football selection committee chose NA’s Rob Kugler and Justin Haser as co-Players of the Year.  Kugler and Haser are bookends on the defensive front and members of a dominant offensive line that led the Tigers to the PIAA & WPIAL Championship.  Not to be outdone, fellow lineman Vince Czerniewski and 2,000 yard rusher Alex Papson received first-team laurels.  NA head coach Art Walker was named the Coach of the Year.

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TIGERS DISMANTLE LaSALLE 21-0
 TO WIN PIAA CHAMPIONSHIP

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

In a dominating performance on Saturday evening, the North Allegheny Tigers blanked the defending state champions, the LaSalle College Explorers, 21-0 to earn the PIAA title in Hershey, PA.  The Tigers used the same success formula it has all season long, a hard-nosed defense that yielded very little, and a rugged running game that plowed through the LaSalle defense for 220 yards.

LaSalle won the opening coin toss and elected to receive, giving an offense that has averaged 35 points per game a chance to start the game with the football.  As would be the case throughout the evening, the Explorers could not navigate through the Tigers defense.  On their opening possession, LaSalle’s Tim Wade caught a quick pass but was stripped by Rob Kugler.  Tigers’ linebacker Kevin Cope made the recovery at the LaSalle 40-yard line and the first turnover of the game had the NA offense in business.  The Tigers used a nine-play drive to travel those 40 yards, punctuated on a four-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Michael Buchert to put North Allegheny in front 7-0, just over six minutes into the football game.

The Philadelphia Catholic League champions appeared that they would rebound as LaSalle moved the ball deep into Tigers territory on a 16-play drive.  When a false start side tracked a potential 28-yard field goal attempt, LaSalle’s Matt Magarity threw a pass on 4^th and 7 but was turned away on a Seth Marx interception.  It was the first of three interceptions by the Tigers defense on the night.

Before the end of the second quarter, the Tigers had the football at their own 29-yard line and quickly rumbled down field for another touchdown.  After a pair of long runs by Buchert moved the ball to the LaSalle 28-yard line, Matt Steinbeck scored on a reverse with 47 seconds left in the half to increase the Tigers lead to 14-0.

To start the second half, Steinbeck intercepted a Magarity pass and returned it to the LaSalle 23 yard line.  On a 3^rd and long situation, the Tigers pitched the ball to receiver Brendan Coniker who then tossed a deep pass to a wide open Dan Slivka for a 30-yard gain to the Explorers one-yard line.  Buchert ran into the end zone untouched on the next play to make it a 21-0 advantage for NA with 7:46 left in the third quarter.

For the remainder of the game, the Tigers used the clock and their stingy defense as their allies.  Time and time again, the NA defense forced punts from the Explorers and the Tigers offense milked time off the clock with every snap.  In all, LaSalle’s offense was limited to 192 yards, with Villanova recruit Jamal Abdur-Rahman rushing for only 49-yards and a 2.9 yard per carry average.  For the first time this season, the dynamic Explorers offense could not discover the end zone.  NA’s defense forced a total of five turnovers in the game.

On offense for the Tigers, Steinbeck led the way on the ground with 120 yards rushing on 20 carries.  For their efforts on this night, and all season long, the entire offensive line was named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game.  From tight end to tight end, Rob and Patrick Kugler, Zach Harvey, Pete Thistle, Justin Haser, Vince Czerniewski, and Seth Marx have provided rushing lanes for a host of different runners and are certainly deserving of the “players” of the game award in a championship winning effort.  To complete the 2010 season, the Tigers finish up with a 15-1 record, adding a WPIAL and PIAA championship in Class Quad-A to the North Allegheny trophy case.      

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 21   LaSALLE COLLEGE - 0

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NORTH ALLEGHENY

LaSALLE COLLEGE

Statistics Courtesy of Steve Heckmann

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KUGLER, HASER & PAPSON NAMED TO
PG's "FABULOUS 22"

Every Thanksgiving the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette names its All-Area High School Football Team, dubbed the "Fabulous 22."  This year, three North Allegheny Tigers headline the list.  Tight end/defensive lineman Rob Kugler and offensive/defensive lineman Justin Haser have been anchors on the line of scrimmage for the Tigers this season.  Kugler has accepted an offer to play at Purdue University next year and Haser is also drawing D-I interest.  Both are physically strong players and a part of the reasonn why running back Alex Papson is on the PG's list.  Behind a burly offensive line, including the aforementioned, Papson has rushed for 2, 360 yards and is one of only six running backs to ever run for over 4,000 career yards in WPIAL history.  These three players and the rest of the NA Tigers will play Woodland Hills for the Quad-A title on Saturday night at Heinz Field.  Kickoff is slated for 7:30. 

PITTSBURGH POST-GAZETTE FABULOUS 22

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WPIAL FOOTBALL - 2010

The Tigers will compete again in the WPIAL in Quad A along with 26 other teams.  Championship play will begin in the tenth week (Nov. 5-6) with a sixteen-team bracket as detailed below and determined by the WPIAL tie-breaker system.  The tournament will culminate with the four classification championships at Heinz Field (tentatively) on either Saturday, November 27, or Friday, November 26, 2010.  The WPIAL tie-breaker system will be used to determine section championship, play-off entry, and home-field assignment where applicable.  If teams tie in section record for the section championship, they will be declared champions and each will receive a section plaque.  Non-section games will not be considered in the tie-breaker system.

WPIAL FOOTBALL PLAYOFF SYSTEM

* - Only section records are used to determine playoff teams.
* - Inall four classifications, the top four teams from each section qualify for playoff spots.
* - The top two teams from each section will play at home in the first round of the playoffs.
* - Quarterfinals and semi-finals will be played at neutral sites.
* - The WPIAL will determine the playoff match-ups and brackets.

TIES FOR PLAYOFF SPOTS

* - Head-to-head competition is the first tiebreaker.
(PLEASE NOTE: head-to head counts only in section games)
* - If there is a tie between three or more teams in a section, head-to-head is still the first tie breaker.  For example, if teams A, B and C tie for a playoff spot, and team A has a 2-0 record against teams B and C, then team A gets the playoff spot.
* -  If head-to head does not break the tie, then Gardner Points are used to determine playoff participants.  (See the WPIAL website for further details of the Gardner Point system)
* - If neither head-to-head, Gardner Points, or the WPIAL Tie-Breaking System breaks the tie, a coin flip will determine playoff participants.

WPIAL CLASS AAAA - 27 TEAMS

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