Football News

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-o, 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 an 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