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NA RIPS McDOWELL, 49-14

McDowell High School entered Newman Stadium on Friday night undefeated and determined to make a statement against the North Allegheny Tigers.  The defending state champions had other ideas, however, rolling up 567 yards of offense, and holding heralded McDowell running back Greg Garmon to just 88 yards in a dominating 49-14 victory.  Tiger quarterback Mack Leftwich passed for 284 yards, including 138 to senior receiver James Kleinhampl.  Vinnie Congedo also contributed 116 yards on the ground in the North Allegheny victory.

The offenses started sluggish for both sides, as each team's first possession ended in a punt.  North Allegheny began their second drive from the McDowell 49 and the offense took little time to score.  The four play, 49-yard drive culminated with Leftwich connecting with Gregg Garrity for a 25-yard touchdown.  Jason Buchert added the PAT, giving the Tigers a 7-0 lead.  The fireworks were just beginning on the scoreboard, however, as McDowell quickly responded.  Garmon took the handoff up the middle, dancing around and barrelling through the entire North Allegheny defense.  His whirlwind run crossed the goal line 78 yards later, knotting the score at 7-7.

The Tigers grinded the ball on their following possession, with the offensive line creating holes for Congedo.  The drive ended with Leftwich rolling right and finding Kleinhampl with room to run.  The senior outraced the Trojan defense to the end zone, giving North Allegheny a 14-7 lead.  Garmon immediately answered for McDowell, grabbing the ensuing kickoff and took off on another jaw-dropping run, returning it 87 yards to tie the game as the first quarter expired.

The second quarter began with another North Allegheny touchdown drive.  This time, it was Nick Passodelis plowing his way in from two yards out, putting the Tigers ahead 20-14.   Passodelis' plunge was set up by Leftwich hooking up with Brendan Coniker on a 37 yard gain.  The precision on the pass was pinpoint, with Coniker outracing the McDowell defender, and snatching the ball out of the atmosphere on his way down to the turf.

On McDowell's subsequent possession, the North Allegheny defense began to clamp down, forcing the Trojans into a three and out.  Inexplicably, Garmon did not touch the ball at all during the three plays.   North Allegheny got the ball back and began to march again.  Although the drive momentarily stalled on a 3rd and 1, Leftwich called his own number, sneaking for a conversion on fourth down.  Later in the drive, using playaction, Leftwich found tight end Kevin Edwards down the left sideline for a gain of 26, sending the quarterback over 200 yards passing in the field half.   Three plays later, Congedo scored from a yard out.  Isaiah Faulk caught the two point conversion, tiptoeing the goal line, to increase the lead to 28-14 at halftime. 

Following the break, the North Allegheny defense began to clamp down, offering little room for the Trojans to run.  Linebacker Jared Lux was seemingly everywhere on the night, leading the Tigers in tackles with eight.  For his efforts, Lux was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game by the North Allegheny Sports Network.  Linemen Patrick Kugler, Zach Lyon, Nate Nachazel, and Jeremy Gonzales kept the potent McDowell attack in check, limiting the Trojans to just 208 yards of total offense, 78 of which came after halftime.  McDowell did not complete a pass on the night.  Passodelis, Alex DiCiantis, and Faulk all scored second-half touchdowns to close out the scoring on the night, as North Allegheny came away from Newman Stadium with a key section win. 

The victory pushes North Allegheny's record to (4-0), (2-0) within the Northern Seven Conference.  The Tigers will return to action next week when they travel to Seneca Valley in a clash with the surprising Raiders, a team from off a 34-0 drubbing of McKeesport.  Kickoff for next week's game is slated for 7:30 pm.  Be sure to listen to Randy Gore and Rick Meister on the North Allegheny Sports Network for all the action.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 49   McDOWELL - 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

McDOWELL

NORTH ALLEGHENY

Statistics Courtesy of Luke Mortimer, Chris Panos, and Dave Cracraft

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