Tigers run away from Norwin, 36-14

Posted on: by Jonathan Spina

North Allegheny hosted the Norwin Knights Friday night in a Quad County North Conference matchup at Newman Stadium. The Tigers didn’t get off to the best start, but harnessed the momentum of the game in the second quarter and rolled to come away with a 36-14 win.

After both teams traded punts, NA got on the board first when Brady Brinkley ran 53 yards to the house on a read option. The Tigers elected to go for two, and Brinkley found Carter Melzer to give North Allegheny the 8-0 lead five minutes into the game. Things would swing in Norwin’s favor from there as the Tigers’ defense had no answer for Norwin quarterback Tristan Tavares. He ran for touchdowns of 80 and 23 yards to give Norwin the 14-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Things shifted in the second quarter when Norwin had a fourth and one from their 30-yard line. It looked like the Knights were attempting to get the Tigers to jump offsides, but the ball was snapped and backup quarterback Xavier Holtzman was tackled five yards in the backfield by Owen Urschler. North Allegheny was in business on the 25-yard line. The Tigers wasted no time and on the next play, Luke Rohan scored from 25 yards out. Peter Notaro booted through the extra point and NA led 15-14. After a great Evan Pfeifer punt, North Allegheny was pinned at their own 10-yard line. The Tigers orchestrated a 15-play, 90-yard drive while converting two crucial third downs and finding the end zone again. Liam Flaherty scored from eight yards out, and NA held a 22-14 going into halftime.

Familiarly, NA’s defense took over in the second half. Norwin punted on the first possession of the third quarter and Nick Humphries gave North Allegheny a 29-yard return putting the Tiger offense in great field position. North Allegheny cashed in when Brinkley hit James Donaldson for a 12-yard touchdown and the lead ballooned to 29-14. After another three-and-out, Jackson Failla completed a pass to Colman Craft for 27 yards and a touchdown.

It was all defense in the fourth quarter as North Allegheny held Norwin’s offense to -5 yards in the final frame and finished an impressive 36-14 win.

Brinkley finished with 156 passing yards, 55 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. He was named the Wright Automotive Player of the Game. Failla finished with 53 passing yards and a touchdown. Rohan had 64 rushing yards and a touchdown. Craft led all receivers with five catches for 78 yards and a touchdown.

Dylan Langdon led the Tigers’ defense with five tackles, two for a loss. Kyle Langdon added four tackles. Liam Flaherty had three tackles and two sacks while Urschler had three tackles, a half of a sack and two tackles for loss.

North Allegheny improves to 5-0 overall and 2-0 in conference play. Norwin falls to 2-3 overall and 0-2 in conference. The Tigers will prepare for a showdown next Friday with the Central Catholic Vikings at 7:00 p.m. from Baldwin High School. The game will be broadcast on the NA Sports Network.

Football Summary vs. Norwin, 9-20-24

GAME SUMMARY
SCORE BY QUARTERS1234FINAL
Norwin1400014
North Allegheny81414036