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TIGERS COAST PAST ALTOONA, 42-14

North Allegheny kicked off defense of its WPIAL championship with a convincing 42-14 victory over the visiting Mountain Lions on Friday night.  Josh Bergman scored three touchdowns on the ground while Mack Leftwich and Cage Galupi combined for three more through the air as the Tigers scored a first round playoff win.  On the night, Leftwich was 8 of 13 for 198 yards and a pair of touchdown passes, earning the Wright Automotive Player of the Game nod.  Bergman and Sean Idowu carried the ground attack, slogging for 140 yards in the blustery conditions.

A stout defense was the key again for North Allegheny, bottling the Altoona running lanes, and forcing the Mountain Lions into mistakes.  On their first two possessions, the Tigers' defense held Altoona to a total of zero yards, including an interception by Brendan Coniker.  Kevin Edwards led the unit with five tackles, while Taylor Nikithser created havoc in the backfield.  Nikithser ended the night with one and a half sacks to his credit.  The Tigers defense held Altoona to just 109 total yards.  The Mountain Lions netted only eight first downs, while converting just 1 of 10 third downs. 

After each team possessed the ball without scoring, Altoona was forced to punt out of their own end zone on their second possession, setting up the Tigers deep in Mountain Lion territory.  On the fourth play of the drive, Zach Lyon scored the first touchdown of the night on a nineteen yard catch and run from Leftwich.  Jason Buchert's extra point was true and North Allegheny held a 7-0 lead.

After the next Altoona drive stalled, the Tigers needed just one play to strike again, as Leftwich hit Elijah Zeise with a 78 yard bomb.  North Allegheny also scored on its following three possessions, all punctuated with short touchdown plunges by Bergman, to seize a commanding 35-0 lead at halftime. 

Following the break, Gregg Garrity rounded out the North Allegheny scoring on the most memorable touchdown of the game.  After receiving a pass from Galupi, Garrity raced down the left sideline.  Meeting resistance, he appeared to be pinned to the boundary by a gang of Altoona tacklers.  However, he tiptoed past one defender, slipped another would-be tackler, reversed field, and outsprinted the Altoona defense to the right corner of the end zone for the North Allegheny touchdown. 

The victory propels North Allegheny into the second round of the WPIAL playoffs against Bethel Park.  The Blackhawks boast an overall record of 7-3 and knocked off McKeesport, 31-20, in its opening round game.  The neutral site for the North Allegheny-Bethel Park battle will be determined early in the week.   As always, the game will be broadcast on the North Allegheny Sports Network by Randy Gore and Rick Meister.  Keep tabs on the North Allegheny Sports Network website for more information regarding the game site, ticket sales, and other coverage regarding Tiger football.

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 42   ALTOONA - 14

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NORTH ALLEGHENY

ALTOONA

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TIGERS OPEN PLAYOFFS WITH ALTOONA

(11/2/12) North Allegheny begins their playoff push toward an unprecedented third straight Quad-A championship tonight as the Tigers host the Altoona Mountain Lions in the opening round of the WPIAL Playoffs.  The Tigers rolled through the regular season for a Northern Eight Conference title and a 9-0 record, while the Mountain Lions reached the post-season as the Wild Card team out of the Foothills Conference with a record of 4-5. 

Altoona is a decided underdog in this game but they do enter the post-season having won three of their last four contests, including a 27-12 win over Connellsville in the regular season finale that helped the Mountain Lions claim a playoff berth.  Altoona is led by head coach John Franco, who is in his second stint with the Mountain Lions.  Franco compiled a 40-45-2 record, including one District 6-AAAA title, in eight seasons with Altoona that ended in 1993.  Since then, Franco guided Tyrone to a record of 190-37 over the past 18 seasons.  Now back with the Mountain Lions, Franco is trying to rebuild a program that is playing in their first playoff game in six seasons. 

Part of the rebuilding effort, senior quarterback Brennan Luciano has helped lead the Altoona offense with 897 passing yards and five touchdown passes.  While his totals aren’t overly impressive, Luciano continues to improve each week.  On the ground, senior Avery Howsare leads the team in rushing with 394 yards and seven scores.  Howsare’s older brother, Julian, is a standout defense lineman for Clarion University.  Fullback Mante Barnes is a big part of the passing game, catching 20 passes for 221 yards to go along with his 289 yards rushing.  Altoona loves to utilize the screen game and they’ll look to take some heat away from the Tigers pass rush by dropping off short screens and dump passes to Barnes.  The top receiver for Altoona is senior wide-out Jake Diviney who has reeled in 27 passes for 381 yards and two scores. 

On the defensive side, the Mountain Lions’ most active player is linebacker Kevin Givens.  The sophomore has been banged up this season but has played through the pain on defense, and when completely healthy, will double at times at running back on offense.  Givens is part of an Altoona defense that allows 20 points per game and will have the difficult task of facing the well-balanced NA attack that averages 39 points per game on offense.  Quarterback Mack Leftwich has passed for 1,721 yards and 23 touchdowns this season and tossed five touchdowns last week in a 42-0 romp over North Hills.  Leftwich resumed his passing connection with Gregg Garrity, who had been out the past two weeks, as the senior receiver caught 10 passes and four touchdowns against North Hills.  On the year, Garrity has pulled in 33 catches for nearly 700 yards and 10 touchdowns.  Complementing the passing game, running back Alex DiCiantis has rushed for 879 yards this season and 11 touchdowns.   

North Allegheny opens the playoffs tonight by hosting 16^th-seeded Altoona at Newman Stadium.  The winner of tonight’s game will face the winner of McKeesport –Bethel Park next week in the quarterfinals.  Airtime for tonight’s game is at 7:05 pm on the North Allegheny Sports Network with Randy Gore and Rick Meister.  Pre-game coverage includes interviews with Altoona coach John Franco and North Allegheny head coach Art Walker.   Kickoff at Newman Stadium is slated for 7:30 pm. 

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