Tigers Tame Dragons In Week Zero Tilt, 61-0
by Jared Barton
The North Allegheny Tigers Football team took care of business in the Week Zero opener beating the Allderdice Dragons 61-0 at Newman Stadium Friday night.
The Tigers opened the game on a three-play drive, capped off by a 51-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Logan Kushner. An Allderdice three-and-out led to another short scoring drive for NA, as senior running back Tyree Alualu scampered 26 yards for the score.
The Tigers made quick work on defense during the ensuing Dragons possession. Junior defensive back James Donaldson recovered a fumble leading for another short field for the Tiger offense. One 25-yard pass from Kushner to senior wideout Khiryn Boyd and NA led 21-0 with 8:45 left in the quarter.
TIGER TAKEAWAY @6james_ with the fumble recovery and @kboyd_4 with the TD grab on the very next play!
Tigers lead 21-0 with 8:45 left in 1st Q pic.twitter.com/1O5LfALmgE
— NATigers (@NATigerAthletic) August 25, 2023
Allderdice faced another three-and-out situation on the next drive and North Allgheny cashed in once again. Two run plays from junior running back Liam Flaherty was all it took for NA to put up another touchdown. Flaherty’s run to score was from 15 yards out.
Senior defensive back Evan Lyon provided a splash play, returning an interception 45 yards to set up great field position for NA at the five-yard line. Flaherty punched in his second touchdown of the night on the very next play.
Donaldson reeled in NA’s second interception of the night leading to a 10-yard touchdown run from Alualu on the next possession. The Tigers led 42-0 with 2:21 left in the first quarter.
In the 2nd quarter, NA scored on a four-play drive capped off by a four-yard touchdown run via senior running back Aidan Buggey. NA had the mercy rule clock rolling by the third quarter as the offense scored 49 points in the first half.
Sophomore quarterback Jackson Failla added two rushing touchdowns in the second half, one in each quarter, to bring the final score to 61-0.
Alualu took home Wright Automotive Player of the Game laurels with 60 yards rushing on just three carries and two touchdowns.
Kushner was 4-for-5 through the air for 72 yards and a score. He also had 51 yards and another touchdown on the ground. Flaherty scored twice on just three carries for 31 yards.
Defensively, sophomore Lincoln Hoke and junior Kyle Langdon registered a sack with Langdon ending the game with four total tackles. Junior Dylan Langdon had three total tackles. Junior Colin Moore senior Landon McCarthy each had two tackles. For game stats, click here.
The Tigers improve to 1-0 on the young season and begin conference action next week at home, as the Canon-McMillan Big Macs travel to Newman Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. kickoff. That game will be broadcast live on the North Allegheny Sports Network.
Football Summary vs. Allderdice, 8-25-23
| GAME SUMMARY | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SCORE BY QUARTERS | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Allderdice | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| North Allegheny | 42 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 61 |
