North Allegheny is 2-0 after a 28-7 win at Mt. Lebanon on Friday night, while the Blue Devils fall to 1-1.
For North Allegheny, senior running back Grant Huckestein had 16 carries for 83 yards and caught three passes for 44 yards and one touchdown, Alex Papson had 25 carries for 121 yards and two touchdowns, and senior quarterback Justin Brozick was 7 for 15 for 82 yards and one touchdown.
Mt. Lebanon sophomore quarterback Pat Goff threw two interceptions in the loss. The Blue Devils had only nine first downs in the game.
Both teams won their season openers the week before, North Allegheny beating Altoona, 53-0, with a big night from Papson (12 carries, 100 yards), and Mt. Lebanon winning at North Hills, 17-16.
"A road game against a good team, to get win No. 2 is good for us," North Allegheny coach Art Walker said. "(Mt. Lebanon) is a lot better than Altoona, and that concerned me a little bit, but I thought they handled themselves well."
Mt. Lebanon scored on its first possession, moving the ball 36 yards in 11 plays. But it was North Allegheny who went into halftime with a seven-point lead as the Blue Devils and sophomore quarterback Pat Goff struggled to complete first downs in the second quarter.
The game didn't start the way the Tigers wanted, falling behind 7-0 early.
North Allegheny made it as far as the Mt. Lebanon 29-yard line on their second drive of the game. But an illegal procedure penalty pushed them back to the 34, and on third-and-15, Mt. Lebanon safety Jordan Banky picked off Brozick's pass for a 17-yard interception.
Three plays later, Brozick and senior wide receiver Mike Martin hooked up for a big 51-yard gain for the Blue Devils on second-and-13, but the ball was brought back after the Blue Devils were called for an illegal forward pass for a loss of down. At third-and-16 on their own 34, Mt. Lebanon punted to end the first quarter.
Brozick was intercepted again, this time by Jake Alberts, to start the second. But the Tigers got the ball right back on Mt. Lebanon's 36, when Gary Allen forced and recovered Martin to fumble and came up with the recovery.
The Tigers needed only four plays on their fourth possession of the game to tie the score, 7-7. Senior Huckestein ran the ball in from 15 yards for the score, with Christian Orfanopoulos kicking the extra point.
Mt. Lebanon had to punt on its next possession, and North Allegheny started at its 23.
Brozick steadily engineered the drive downfield, ending with a 23-yard pass to Huckestein for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
Both teams traded fumbles and recoveries in the final minute of the first half, first North Allegheny, then Mt. Lebanon, who gave the ball back almost immediately for the Tigers to start at their own 49-yard line with only seconds remaining.
The first half ended with Mt. Lebanon getting only three first downs, and none since 6:26 of the first quarter. They gained only 49 yards on 19 plays during just under eight minutes of ball possession.
"I thought we were fortunate to be in the position we were in in the first half with three turnovers," Walker said. "We got an opportunity from our defense early in the second, got the ball with great field position and got the score. From there, we worked the clock."
North Allegheny had 108 yards on 24 plays and had the ball for 16:02 in the first half. Brozick was 6 for 32 for 73 yards, while Huckestein carried the ball eight times for 42 yards and no losses and caught three passes for 44 yards to lead his team.
Alex Papson had 11 carries for 44 yards for the Tigers in the first half.
"(Grant) Huckstein was the man of the hour in the first half, then Alex kind of took over in the second half," Walker said. "(Huckestein) had some problems cramping up in the last seven or eight minutes, and we told Alex he was the guy."
The second half didn't start any better for Mt. Lebanon than the first half ended. Goff was intercepted again. North Allegheny got the ball on the Blue Devils' 28, and Papson converted for a 21-7 Tigers lead with 8:15 remaining in the third quarter.
"To face size like that, I'm proud of our guys up front," Walker said.
Mt. Lebanon picked up three first downs on the next possession with a 14-play, 26-yard drive in which they got as far as the North Allegheny 19. But Goss' pass on third down to Martin was broken up, and a pass intended for Clay Bunting fell incomplete in the end zone on fourth down.
An interception by North Allegheny's Vince Czerniewski with 4:18 left in the game sealed the victory for the Tigers. Papson picked up his second touchdown of the night on the next drive.
