Tigers fall 24-21 in WPIAL Semifinals to Canon-McMillan
North Allegheny traveled to AHN Field in Canonsburg, PA to take on the Canon-McMillan Big Macs in the WPIAL 6A Semifinals on Friday night. In a game that went back-and-forth, it was the Big Macs who got it done on the last possession, converting a field goal with one second left to defeat the Tigers 24-21.
In a feeling-out period, both teams traded punts on their first two possessions and the score was still 0-0 going into the second quarter. In the second quarter, on a second-and-nine play, Brady Brinkley rolled out to the right with no one open downfield, so Brinkley tucked and ran 61 yards to open the scoring, giving NA a 7-0 lead.
Canon-McMillan immediately responded, going 83 yards in nine plays with Bryce Collins doing most of the heavy lifting. Collins scored from six yards out to make the score 7-7. North Allegheny went right back down the field, going 62 yards in eight plays, capped off by a Ben Kern 15-yard rushing touchdown on a reverse play to make the score 14-7 at halftime.
The Tigers defense got a three-and-out to start the third quarter and looked to be on their way to a two-possession lead, driving the ball to the Canon-McMillan 24-yard line, but a penalty derailed the NA drive, and they were forced to punt. With a bolt of energy from a big stop, the Big Macs went 89 yards to tie the game. Ty Jansma found Ohio State commit Luke Sohyda from 20 yards out and the score was 14-14 going into the fourth quarter.
North Allegheny had first-and-goal from the CM 5-yard line to start the fourth quarter but couldn’t find the end zone. A 27-yard field goal hit the uprights, and the score remained 14-14. The Tigers got the ball back after a Canon-McMillan punt, but a 36-yard pick-six gave the Big Macs a 21-14 lead. NA stayed composed on the next offensive drive and tied the game up, going 58 yards in nine plays with Brinkley completing an eight-yard pass to Mason Brown.
With 3:11 remaining in the fourth quarter, Canon-McMillan was looking to get into field goal range, and that is exactly what they did. The Big Macs used some timely runs from Collins to get to the North Allegheny 19-yard line, and first-team all-conference kicker Rhys Maentz nailed a 36-yard field goal to give CM a 24-21 lead with one second left. The Tigers tried a couple of laterals on the ensuing kick return but were tackled at the 30-yard line and Canon-McMillan clinched their first-ever trip to the WPIAL Championship game, defeating NA 24-21.
Brinkley finished 19-for-24 for 168 yards and a touchdown. He also had 113 yards on the ground with a touchdown. Anthony Sisinni had 47 yards rushing. Ben Kern led the Tigers in receiving with six catches for 62 yards.
Brown led the NA defense with 11 tackles. Kellan Frank made eight tackles while Grant Girty and Aidan Urschler had seven and six tackles.
The North Allegheny seniors were named the Wright Automotive Players of the Game.
North Allegheny’s season ends with a 5-6 record and a WPIAL Semifinal appearance. This is the 11th straight season the Tigers have been in the WPIAL Semifinals.
Football Summary at Canon-McMillan, 11-13-26
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | FINAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Allegheny | 0 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
| Canon-McMillan | 0 | 7 | 7 | 10 | 24 |
