Football Game Summaries

By Randy Gore

Senior quarterback Brady Brinkley tossed two fourth-quarter touchdown passes, including a scoring strike to Ben Kern with 48 seconds remaining, propelling North Allegheny to a 14-7 win over Hempfield on Friday night at Newman Stadium. The victory improved the Tigers’ all-time record against the Spartans to 13-0, and helped NA get off on the right foot in Class 6A Quad County Conference play.

The first three quarters were a defensive stalemate with neither team finding the end zone.  NA and Hempfield combined for only 154 total yards of offense by halftime, and the defenses also forced five total turnovers. The Tigers sacked senior quarterback Carden Lippman four times and intercepted him twice, including a first-quarter interception by senior Jameson Walsh and a leaping third-quarter interception by senior Gavin Ust.

Ust’s pick, his second of the season, came with 5:36 left in the third period at the NA 44-yard line and appeared to put the Tigers in position to take the lead. North Allegheny embarked on an eight-play drive deep into Hempfield territory, but a fumble forced by Leroy Corey was recovered by Lippman at the Spartans’ 5-yard line, thwarting the best scoring opportunity of the evening to that point.

Undaunted, North Allegheny’s next opportunity with the ball proved fruitful. Starting at their own 19-yard line with 11:04 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Tigers marched 81 yards in nine plays, sparked by three key pass receptions from senior Mason Brown. The Point Park University commit in lacrosse accounted for 60 yards on the drive, including a 14-yard touchdown catch on a slant with 4:27 left in the fourth quarter, which gave North Allegheny a 7-0 lead.

Despite being held in check all night, the Spartans responded in kind and put together an 8-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game. The Hempfield drive was spearheaded by senior running back Andrew Bentz, who caught two passes for 60 yards, including a 30-yard reception that set up Hempfield with a 1st and goal at the NA 4-yard line. After a loss of two yards on first down, Bentz capped the drive with a 6-yard touchdown scamper to knot the score at 7-7 with 2:51 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, North Allegheny delivered what proved to be the game-winning score thanks to a 7-play, 64-yard march to pay dirt. The key play of the drive came with NA staring at a 3rd down and 7 at the Hempfield 48-yard line with 1:29 left in regulation. Brinkley scrambled to his left and lofted a 35-yard pass to junior Anthony Sissini, setting up the Tigers at the Hempfield 13-yard line. One the very next play, Brinkley found Kern for a 13-yard touchdown pass with 48 seconds remaining to put NA in front, 14-7. For hauling in the game-winning touchdown pass, TigerVision named Kern the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

On their final possession, the Spartans traversed to the NA 30-yard line on just five plays, but had only nine seconds remaining with one timeout. On the last play of the ballgame, Lippman scrambled for a 13-yard gain but was tackled with no time left on the clock and the Tigers staved off the Spartans last-ditch effort to claim a conference win.

With the win, North Allegheny improves to 1-3 overall and 1-0 in the Quad County Conference. Hempfield slips to 1-3 overall and 0-1 in the conference. The Tigers will visit the top-ranked team in Class 5A, Pine-Richland, next week. The game will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network.

Football Summary vs. Hempfield, 9-18-26

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Hempfield	0	0	0	7	7
North Allegheny	0	0	0	14	14

THIS GAME WAS LATER DETERMINED TO BE A WIN BY FORFEIT BY THE WPIAL

North Allegheny hosted the Woodland Hills Wolverines on Friday night at Newman Stadium in a non-conference matchup. The game went back and forth, and the Tigers had a chance on the last play to tie it up, but ultimately lost 33-25.

The first quarter saw offense all over the place. NA scored on the second play from scrimmage when Brady Brinkley connected with Ben Kern for a 69-yard touchdown, giving North Allegheny a 7-0 lead. Woodland Hills immediately responded with a nine-play, 82-yard drive.  Jaron McKinney Jr. found Avon Pressly to tie the game 7-7. The Tigers got right back to work with a big play from Brinkley to Jayden Rucker for 64 yards, setting up the offense in first-and-goal. Brinkley finished the drive on a QB sneak and NA led 14-7. The Wolverines drove the ball right back down with McKinney hooking up with Malik McCloud from 31 yards out to tie the game at 14.

In the second quarter, North Allegheny drove the ball down the field again, but the drive stalled at the Woodland Hills six-yard line. Josh Gidas came on and converted a 23-yard field goal to put the Tigers back in front 17-14.

Both defenses settled in for the remainder of the half. NA forced a punt, but a fumble gave the Wolverines the ball right back. On the ensuing drive, Noah Sellers picked off McKinney on the 33-yard line, but a Tiger interception kept the score at 17-14. The Wolverines kneeled out the half, and NA led 17-14.

Woodland Hills seized momentum to start the third quarter as they took the second-half kickoff back to the North Allegheny 13-yard line. Two plays later, McKinney hit McCloud for a 13-yard touchdown, and the Wolverines took the lead at 21-17. Following a Tigers punt, it looked like the NA defense made a stop, but a muffed return put the Woodland Hills offense back on the field. The Wolverines made the Tigers pay; this time it was McKinney to Jordan Austin, and the Woodland Hills lead expanded to 27-17.

After the teams traded punts to start the fourth quarter, McKinney made the play of the day, connecting with Austen for an 82-yard touchdown to make the score 33-17 Wolverines. In desperation mode, the Tigers drove 80 yards in 10 plays and scored on a Brinkley pass to Gavin Ust to make it 33-23. Brinkley ran in the two-point conversion, and it was a one-possession game at 33-25. The North Allegheny defense got the stop it needed, stonewalling the Wolverines on fourth-and-one to got the ball back with a chance to tie with 1:22 left in regulation. NA drove to the 13-yard line, but a last-ditch effort to the end zone fell incomplete, and the Tigers fell 33-25.

Brinkley finished the night 15-for-32 with 268 yards and two touchdowns. He also had 95 rushing yards and a touchdown. Anthony Sissini had 52 rushing yards. Ben Kern had five catches for 103 yards and a touchdown. Jayden Rucker made three catches for 84 yards. For his efforts, Rucker was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Mason Brown led the defense with nine tackles, two for loss. Max DeHainaut made eight tackles while Tydes Alualu and Joe Kovacic each had six.

North Allegheny falls to 0-3 overall. The Tigers are back in action next Friday when they host Hempfield at Newman Stadium at 7:30 p.m. This opens conference play.

Football Summary vs. Woodland Hills, 9-11-26

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Woodland Hills	14	0	13	6	33
North Allegheny	14	3	0	8	25

North Allegheny hosted the Upper St. Clair Panthers on Friday night at Newman Stadium in a non-conference contest. The game was a defensive struggle for most of the way until three touchdowns were scored in the fourth quarter, but the Tigers ultimately fell 21-14.

Upper St. Clair got the ball first and immediately drove 71 yards in 14 plays, converting four third downs. John Banbury finished the drive from one yard out and the Panthers led 7-0. With 5:43 left in the second quarter, Upper St. Clair had all the momentum. The game completely flipped when Gavin Ust picked off a Panther pass and returned it to the USC 44-yard line, giving NA a boost. The offense cashed in the turnover when Brady Brinkley completed a pass to Ben Kern , who went 25 yards for the touchdown. Josh Gidas converted the extra point as the teams headed into the locker room tied 7-7 at halftime.

Both teams traded punts in the third quarter. It looked like North Allegheny had the advantage when they pinned Upper St. Clair inside the 10-yard line with 4:04 left in the third. The Panthers got into a Power-I and drove 94 yards in 12 plays, capped off by a 2-yard completion from Josh Snyder to Nevin Shegan-Siniawsk to give USC a 14-7 lead. After an NA punt, Upper St. Clair got right back to the ground game and took up six minutes of clock. Snyder finished the drive off with a QB sneak into the end zone and with 3:19 left in the game, the Panthers led 21-7.

The Tigers responded quickly, going 69 yards in just under two minutes. Kern caught another touchdown pass from Brinkley, this time from 12 yards out, and the score was 21-14. North Allegheny couldn’t get the onside kick and Upper St. Clair was able to run the clock out, leaving Newman Stadium with a 21-14 win.

Brinkley finished 17-for-26 with 118 yards and two touchdowns to go along with 53 rushing yards. Anthony Sisinni added 30 rushing yards. Kern had five catches for 55 yards and two touchdowns. For his efforts, Kern was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game.

Mason Brown led the defense with 12 tackles. Tydes Alualu had 10 tackles while Max DeHainaut and Kellan Frank each had eight tackles.

North Allegheny falls to 0-2 overall. The Tigers return to action next Friday when they host Woodland Hills for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Football Summary vs. Upper St. Clair, 9-4-26

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
Upper St. Clair	7	0	0	14	21
North Allegheny	0	7	0	7	14

North Allegheny hosted the North Hills Indians on Friday night at Newman Stadium, renewing a rivalry that had been on pause since 2015. The Tigers could not get it done, dropping a 13-3 defensive struggle.

NA moved the ball well on their opening possession, getting into North Hills territory, but the drive ultimately stalled, forcing North Allegheny to punt. North Hills responded with a 15-play, 69-yard drive that ended with an Andrew Greenland 38-yard field goal to give the Indians a 3-0 lead.

The Tigers went three-and-out on their next drive before North Hills took the ball 42 yards, this time getting into the end zone on a Nicco Thomas two-yard run, and NA trailed 10-0. The teams traded punts the remainder of the half and North Hills led 10-0 at halftime.q

The North Allegheny defense got a three-and-out to start the second half, and the offense showed life driving the ball to the North Hills 18-yard line, but a missed field goal kept the score at 10-0. Neither team got any offense going the remainder of the quarter, and the Indians held the 10-0 lead going into the fourth.

After a North Hills punt, NA’s offense put together an 11-play, 59-yard drive that ended in a Josh Gidas 22-yard field goal to make it a one-possession game at 10-3. After another stop, a North Allegheny interception put the Indians first-and-goal from the 10-yard line. Even though North Hills did not gain a yard on the drive, Greenland hit a 28-yard field goal to expand the Indians’ lead to 13-3. North Hills forced one final turnover to put the game away and the Tigers fell, 13-3.

Brady Brinkley had 143 passing yards and 71 rushing yards. Ben Kern made six catches for 88 yards.

Mason Brown made 11 tackles defensively, one in the backfield. Adian Urschler and Tydes Alualu each had seven tackles. Urschler also had a sack. Max Dehainaut had six tackles, including half a sack.

North Allegheny falls to 0-1 overall. The Tigers return to action next Friday when they host the Upper St. Clair Panthers at 7:30 p.m.

Football Summary vs. North Hills, 8-28-26

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS	1	2	3	4	FINAL
North Hills	3	7	0	3	13
North Allegheny	0	0	0	3	3