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TIGERS THROTTLE STATE COLLEGE, ADVANCE TO PIAA SEMIFINALS

(12/3/11) The North Allegheny Tigers moved a step closer toward another state championship on Saturday afternoon with a 40-14 win over the State College Little Lions in the PIAA quarterfinals.  Mack Leftwich led the way for the Tigers as he trotted into the end zone with five rushing touchdowns and tossing another.  Running for 186 yards and passing for another 166 yards, Leftwich was selected as the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.  NA tailback Vinnie Congedo was another prominent weapon, rushing for 109 yards on 16 carries.  James Kleinhampl topped the century mark receiving with six catches for 118 yards.  

The Tigers opened the game with the football and marched 65-yards for the first score of the contest.  The methodical nine play drive was punctuated on a Lefwtich eight-yard touchdown run and North Allegheny had claimed an early 7-0 lead with 8:36 on the first quarter clock.  The Tigers appeared poised to add on when State College’s Derek Van Horn fumbled the ensuing kickoff and NA recovered at the Little Lions’ 36-yard line.  However, North Allegheny was turned away a play later when Darian Herncane intercepted a Leftwich pass at the State College 2-yard line.  After a three-and-out by the State College offense, the Tigers next scoring threat was thwarted again by Herncane, who stepped in front of another Leftwich pass in the end zone for a touchback for State College. 

On their second possession of the game, the Little Lions drove 80 yards for the game tying touchdown early in the second quarter.  The key play in the drive came on a third down at the State College 41-yard line, when quarterback Josh Weakland hit Andrew Kelly over the middle for a 54-yard completion to the Tigers 5-yard line.  Soon after, Jack Haffner plunged into the end zone for a one-yard score and the game was knotted up, 7-7. 

State College’s second turnover of the game gave the Tigers a great opportunity to reclaim the lead when a running play went sour.  Weakland’s hand-off attempt caromed off the hands of Haffner and bounced into the arms of NA’s Chas Smith at the SC 35-yard line.  North Allegheny quickly turned the error into points when Leftwich scored on a four-yard scamper to put NA back in front, 13-7.  Jason Buchert’s extra point was blocked. 

A shanked punt by State College’s Josh Clothiaux gave NA good starting field position again, this time at the Little Lions’ 36-yard line.  A little over a minute later, Leftwich scored on a 12-yard run to increase the Tigers lead to 19-7.  NA’s two-point conversion attempt failed.  The resilient Little Lions answered the Tigers score with a 22-yard scoring strike from Weakland to Andrew Kelly, and State College had narrowed the gap to 19-14 with 1:12 remaining in the second quarter.  North Allegheny, armed with all three of their timeouts, traversed 71-yards on nine plays to score right before halftime.  With six seconds remaining in the half and the ball at the State College 22-yard line, Leftwich lofted a perfect pass in the left corner of the end zone to Gregg Garrity who made a terrific catch to bring the score to 25-14 at the half.  Once again, the Tigers missed the extra point on a blocked kick.

Any hopes for a State College comeback were dashed early in the second half.  State College’s opening possession of the half stalled and when punter Josh Clothiaux could not field a low snap, the Tigers took over the football at the SC 28-yard line.  At 7:01 of the third quarter, Leftwich scored his fourth rushing touchdown of the game on a seven-yard run and NA was in command at 31-14.  The Tigers two point conversion pass from Leftwich to Zach Lyon upped the lead to 33-14.  North Allegheny capped the scoring at 9:40 of the fourth quarter on a 10-yard touchdown run by Leftwich to bring the final to 40-14. 

North Allegheny improves to 14-0 on the season and advances to the PIAA semifinals at a site and time to be determined.  Continue to monitor the North Allegheny Sports Network web page for further information on the Tigers next game.  State College ends their 2011 campaign with a mark of 8-5. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 40   STATE COLLEGE - 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

STATE COLLEGE

NORTH ALLEGHENY

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TIGERS READY TO POUNCE ON LITTLE LIONS IN PIAA QUARTERFINALS

For the second time this season, the North Allegheny Tigers will face the State College Little Lions.  This time, the WPIAL champions will battle the Little Lions in the quarterfinals of the state playoffs at Mansion Park in Altoona, PA.  On opening night, the Tigers hammered State College in a 53-21 victory at Newman Stadium to kick off the 2011 season.  While these teams play in separate districts, Saturday’s game will be the fourth meeting between them in the last 15 months.  North Allegheny has won all three of the previous match-ups, including a 21-6 win in the PIAA quarterfinals last year.

A lot has changed about State College since last year’s PIAA contest.  While the starting quarterback, Josh Weakland, remains the same, the offensive line and offensive philosophy is much different.  The Little Lions have a new starting five on the line since last season and will have their hands full against a Tigers defense that poses a certain size advantage over State College.  In addition, the pass first offense of the Little Lions is now a ground heavy attack that is led by bruising running back Jack Haffner who has rushed for over 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns.  State College head coach Al Wolski explains that the change in offensive approach has much to do with injuries and inconsistency at the wide receiver position.  Weakland’s quarterback totals are down considerably compared to last season, having thrown for just 1,084 yards and five touchdowns.  State College’s offense averages 29 points per game and will rely heavily on Haffner and the rushing attack if they hope to succeed on Saturday afternoon.

On the defensive side of the football, the Little Lions have struggled.  Allowing 28 points per game as State College has been touched up by opposing offenses frequently this season.  On opening night, North Allegheny put 53 points on the scoreboard against the Little Lions, led by quarterback Mack Leftwich’s four touchdown passes.  Linebacker Ryan Goeke leads State College with 42 tackles while Brian Wess and Chase Stone are tops on the squad with two interceptions apiece.  Applying pressure on opposing quarterbacks has been a problem area for State College as the Little Lions have only nine sacks as a unit.  In contrast, Nate Nachazel of the Tigers has nine sacks alone.

North Allegheny enters the PIAA playoffs after an exciting 28-21 overtime win over Upper St. Clair in the WPIAL championship game.  State College, the District 6/9/10 champions, defeated City League champ University Prep last week in the opening round of the state playoffs, 33-32, in overtime.  The Little Lions showed a lot of guts and grit in their victory over Prep after falling behind 26-23 with under a minute to play.  State College rallied to tie the score at 26-26 on a Josh Clothiaux field goal as time expired and then held on for the victory in OT.  That resiliency will be necessary when they go up against the Tigers high powered offense attack.

Having thrown for nearly 2,000 yards and 18 touchdowns, quarterback Mack Leftwich is the leader of the North Allegheny offense.  The junior quarterback has used his legs as a major weapon in recent weeks and has totaled 589 yards on the ground and nine more scores. In the passing game, Leftwich has an arsenal of receivers that includes the high jumping Brendan Coniker (25 rec, 426 yards, 6 TD), the glue fingered James Kleinhampl (34 rec, 730 yards, 5 TD), and the quick footed Greg Garrity (25 rec, 401 yards, 4 TD).  When they Tigers want to churn out yardage and clock, running backs Alex DeCiantis (773 yards and 14 TD), Vinnie Congedo (666 yards and 11 TD), Isaiah Faulk (396 yards and 4 TD) and fullback Nick Passodelis (546 yards and 11 TD) will eat up yardage behind an offensive line that wears down and bullies opponents on a weekly basis.  That line consists of Patrick Kugler, Zach Harvey, Pete Thistle, Alex Jewell, and Jeremy Gonzalez.  Tight ends Ben Connelly, Kevin Edwards and Zach Lyon add three more tremendous blockers into the mix. 

The defense will look to build on a strong performance against Upper St. Clair last week, with leading tackler Kevin Clemons (90 tackles) spearheading a full compliment of hard hitting defenders.  Nate Nachazel is the team’s sack leader with nine, followed closely behind by Zach Lyon and his eight sacks.  James Kleinhampl and Brendan Coniker are the ball hawks in the defensive backfield with nine interceptions combined.

Winners of 20 games in a row, the North Allegheny Tigers will look to extend their winning streak on Saturday afternoon with kickoff slated for 1:00 pm at Mansion Park.  As always, the game will be carried live via the internet on the North Allegheny Sports Network.  Featuring interviews with NA head coach Art Walker and State College head coach Al Wolski, the pre-game show hits the air at 12:30 pm.   

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