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TIGERS WIN 12th STRAIGHT OVER RAIDERS, ADVANCE TO WPIAL CHAMPIONSHIP

To listen to an archived broadcast of NA's victory, click here!

(11/16/12) North Allegheny continued their historic bid toward a Quad-A three-peat on Friday night with a 47-17 victory over the Seneca Valley Raiders in the WPIAL semifinals at Martorelli Stadium.  The Tigers racked up 514 yards of offense and seven touchdowns, with quarterback Mack Leftwich accounting for 469 of those yards and playing a role in all seven scores.  The senior quarterback was nearly perfect through the air, completing 18 of 23 passes for 360 yards and five touchdowns. As if that weren’t enough, Leftwich rushed for 79 yards and two more TDs.  For his astonishing performance, Leftwich received Wright Automotive Player of the Game honors.

Leftwich and the Tigers offense wasted little time jumping on top of the Raiders as NA connected for a touchdown on the game’s first play from scrimmage.  Following a 12 men on the field penalty against Seneca Valley after the opening kickoff, Leftwich stuck for a 64-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Elijah Zeise and the Tigers grabbed a 7-0 lead just 12 seconds into the contest.  Following an exchange of possessions by both teams, the Raiders mounted a threat, driving the ball 57 yards on nine plays to the NA 7-yard line.  However, Seneca Valley was forced to settle for a 24-yard field goal by Chad Izenas and the score was 7-3, Tigers, with 3:45 to go in the first quarter.

The Raiders missed opportunity to tie the score would haunt them as North Allegheny exploded for 26 points in the second quarter.  Leftwich tossed a 9-yard touchdown pass to Skyler Cox, a 27-yard scoring strike to Gregg Garrity, and a 63-yard bomb to Zeise to balloon the Tigers advantage to 27-3.  Leftwich added a 14-yard touchdown run with 2:06 to go in the half to push NA’s lead to 33-3.  Seneca Valley did get a big lift just before halftime as senior quarterback Jordan Brown ran an option play left for a 57-yard touchdown to cut the deficit to 33-10 at intermission.

The Raiders narrowed the deficit to 33-17 when Brown hit Jon Dorogy for a diving 4-yard touchdown catch in the back of the end zone with 2:59 remaining in the third quarter.  With Seneca Valley trailing by just two scores and building momentum, the Tigers seized back control of the game with an 11 play, 60-yard march that ate up six minutes off the clock.  The drive was punctuated by Leftwich who scampered into the end zone on an 8-yard run to effectively put the game away, 40-17.  The Tigers capped the scoring with a 5-yard Leftiwich-to-Cox touchdown pass in the waning minutes to bring the final score to 47-17. 

While Leftwich was certainly the facilitator of the NA offense, there were plenty of outstanding performances on the night.  Zeise finished with 127 yards receiving and tight-end Zach Lyon caught five passes for 120 yards.  Helping put the game on ice in the second half, senior tailback Alex DeCiantis rushed for 71 yards on 17 carries as he churned up yardage and clock in the game’s late stages.  Defensively, Kevin Edwards, Patrick Kugler and Jeremy Gonzalez all shared the team lead with five tackles apiece.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 12-0 on the season and advances to Heinz Field for a chance at a third consecutive WPIAL championship.  Seneca Valley ends the year with a 10-2 mark, their best record since 1995.   In the WPIAL title game, it will be a rematch of the 2010 Quad-A championship as the Tigers will face the Woodland Hills Wolverines.  Kickoff is scheduled for 2:00 pm on Friday afternoon at Heinz Field. 

GAME SUMMARY
NORTH ALLEGHENY - 47   SENECA VALLEY - 17

INDIVIDUAL SCORING

TEAM STATISTICS

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

NORTH ALLEGHENY

SENECA VALLEY

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TIGERS HOPE TO RUN DOWN RAIDERS ON HIGHWAY TO HEINZ

(11/16/12) Only the Seneca Valley Raiders (10-1) stand in the way between the North Allegheny Tigers (11-0) and a third straight trip to Heinz Field.  The Tigers have been regulars in the WPIAL semifinals over the past few seasons, but for Seneca Valley tonight marks the first time they have gone this deep into the playoffs since 1997.  It’s almost been as long since the Raiders have defeated North Allegheny, which was a 47-21 victory over the Tigers back in 2002. 

While the Tigers have enjoyed much success over the Raiders in recent years, that doesn’t mean North Allegheny is expecting to coast their way into the title game.  Since their loss to NA in week three, Seneca Valley has rolled off eight straight wins, including a 34-7 trouncing of Central Catholic in week five and an impressive 32-13 win over Mt. Lebanon in the WPIAL quarterfinals last week.  The Raiders have been an offensive juggernaut that has rarely been slowed this season.

Both teams possess high-powered offenses and outstanding quarterback play, averaging 40 points per game. North Allegheny’s Mack Leftwich has thrown for over 2,000 yards and 27 touchdowns while Seneca Valley’s Jordan Brown has tossed for over 1,200 yards and 13 touchdowns.  Both quarterbacks can make plays with their legs as well as each has rushed for over 300 yards this season.

However, when it comes to the running game, look for North Allegheny’s Alex DiCiantis and Seneca Valley’s Forrest Barnes to carry the load. NA’s senior tailback has been spelled the past couple weeks by the more than capable Josh Bergman and Sean Idowu, but DiCiantis is expected be full go tonight.  Barnes is an explosive runner who is a threat to go the distance every time he touches the ball.  Barnes rushed for 141 yards against Mt. Lebanon last week and holds school track records. 

Perhaps one of the most important aspects of tonight's game will be the defenses and their ability to limit damage done by their opponent.  North Allegheny boasts the best scoring defense in Quad-A, allowing just 6 points per game, and their first-team defense hasn’t allowed a touchdown since week two.  Seneca Valley’s defense allows 17 points per game, but has great team speed and does a nice job of forcing the timely turnover. 

In past match-ups, and again tonight, one of the keys for North Allegheny’s defense will be their ability to keep Forrest Barnes running east-west, rather than north-south.  In their previous meeting, the Tigers did a good job of that, holding Barnes to just 15 yards on eight carries.   Keeping Barnes contained will allow the heavy NA pass rush, which has collected 36 sacks this season, to breath fire and pressure Brown into potential mistakes.  Defensive lineman Jeremy Gonzales leads all Tigers with 10 sacks this year. 

Tonight’s game marks the fourth time these teams will have played each other in the last two seasons.  For Seneca Valley, a victory over their conference nemesis would mean a landmark trip Heinz Field.  For North Allegheny, a victory would be the 12^th straight over the Raiders, but more importantly would put the Tigers in position for an unprecedented third straight Quad-A championship.  Kickoff is slated for 7:30 tonight at Martorelli Stadium, with pre-game coverage airing live on the North Allegheny Sports Network at 7:00 pm.  Randy Gore and Rick Meister will have the call, along with pre-game interviews with NA head coach Art Walker and Seneca Valley head coach Don Holl.

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