North Allegheny Rallies Past USC 28-21

won't soon forget the opportunity they failed to capitalize on at Newman Stadium Friday night.

They outplayed North Allegheny on their way to a commanding 14-0 halftime lead, then made mistake after mistake from the opening kickoff of the second half which caused a 28-21 loss.

USC totaled 329 yards, 202 on the ground. North Allegheny totaled 312 yards, 160 on the ground. However, USC's four turnovers in the first 13 minutes of the second half proved to be too much for the Panthers to overcome.

"Turnovers and penalties were the difference. We fumbled it at key times, they didn't," USC head coach Jim Render said.

North Allegheny took advantage scoring touchdowns after three of those turnovers.

"We told 'em at halftime, we can score 14 points quickly...I am so proud of my kids," North Allegheny head coach Art Walker said.

USC's defense extended their scoreless streak to ten quarters after taking the 14-0 halftime lead. But North Allegheny found holes in the USC defense in the second half, especially in the fourth quarter.

It was the first game the Panther starters had to play a full second half. Coach Render had hoped tough and would help prepare his team for the four quarters of hard nosed football they would need to play Friday.  However, that was not the case.

"The first two games hurt us... our kids were cramping up," coach Render admitted.

The first half belonged to Upper St. Clair. They outgained North Allegheny 199-128 yards and made nine first downs compared to only five for the Tigers.

scored early in the second quarter from two yards out making the score 7-0.

Late in the second quarter, USC stopped NA on 4th and 7 from the Upper St. Clair 22-yard line and took the ball over at their own 16-yard line with about a minute to play.

Zach Deitrick, playing in his first game since being injured in the first scrimmage of the year, began the ensuing drive with a 29-yard run. Deitrick carried the ball 8 times for 41 yards on the night.

That allowed USC enough room to take a chance and throw the ball deep. Conwell threw a beautiful 42-yard rainbow that came down with at the one yard line with seven seconds left.

With no time-outs left, USC took a chance from the 1-yard line and Conwell scored out of the wildcat formation giving USC their 14-0 halftime lead.

North Allegheny came out firing on all cylinders in the second half and when USC's Ryan Boyd fumbled the opening kickoff all the momentum belonged to the Tigers.

It took North Allegheny just four plays to go 25-yards capped off by one yard plunge by Alex DeCiantis cutting the lead to 14-7 just 1:15 into the second half. DeCiantis rushed for 35 tough yards on 12 carries on the night.

After both teams traded punts, USC seemed to regain their composure when Conwell intercepted a Mack Leftwich pass later in the third quarter. Momentum appeared to be back on their side.

Two plays later momentum shifted again when USC's star cornerback Boyd left the game for good unable to put pressure on either leg and needing help off the field. On the very next play, Conwell fumbled the ball after being sacked. It was one of five sacks on the night for North Allegheny.

Sensing USC's vulnerability at the cornerback position with Boyd's absence, North Allegheny went right to the air. Leftwich hit James Kleinhampl for a 35-yard pass to the one yard line. Leftwich took it on the next play tying the game up at 14.

Three plays later Conwell threw his only interception of the night, but Deciantis fumbled it right back in the waning moments of the third quarter. In all, their were four fumbles in a sloppy third quarter from a fundamental standpoint, three of them belonged to USC.

USC opened the fourth quarter much like they opened the third quarter—by fumbling for the fourth time in the half. Dietrick gave the ball up on his own 48-yard line giving the Tigers yet another short field.

That's when North Allegheny head coach Walker turned to his other powerful running back Vinnie Congedo. Up to this point he had only carried the ball once for five yards and that was in the first half.  Congedo carried the ball four times on the drive capping it off with a five-yard score that gave the Tigers their first lead 21-14 with 7:28 left to play.

North Allegheny got the break of the night right before that touchdown when Leftwich took a terrible snap that dribbled right to him and while the USC defense was thinking turnover, Leftwich came up with the ball and ran for 29-yards setting up the Tigers go-ahead touchdown.

On their ensuing drive, USC marched the ball 67 yards on nine plays as Conwell ran the final 27-yards for the game tying score at 21 with 4:51 left.

The excitement was short-lived as North Allegheny's Isiah Faulk returned the kickoff 70 yards all the way to the USC 18 yard line.

From there a fresh Congedo pounded the ball four straight times and scored from three yards out with 2:39 left making the score 28-21 North Allegheny.

USC had one final chance as Conwell ran for 29 yards to the North Allegheny 39-yard line on the first play of their final drive. However, a holding penalty forced them into a tough down and distance situation and three incompletions on the next four plays ended the game.

"I think both teams played well, the difference was we were trying to overcome long yardage situations," coach Render said. "We need to work on being a better football team. It wouldn't have made a difference if we won it, it wasn't very good."

It was a heartbreaking loss to take after leading by two touchdowns at the half. When asked if he'd like to face North Allegheny again in the playoffs, Conwell nodded his head sadly as he replayed the events that took place moments earlier.

"We'll get 'em tomorrow," said running back Phil Saracco, speaking of the JV game that will take place Saturday.

He could barely wait to get back on the football field to get this contest out of his system.

Conwell shook off second half cramps putting up pretty big numbers on the day. He rushed the ball 16 times for 135 yards, and completed 7 of 18 passes for 127 yards. However, his third quarter fumble and interception proved costly.

Up next, USC will visit West Allegheny for one final game before conference play begins. The Indians are a Class AAA powerhouse and the Panthers will need to learn some tough lessons from Friday's game in order to rebound from a the emotional defeat.

Friday's loss is not of huge significance as it was a non-conference game. USC certainly still has a chance to be the best Class AAAA team in the end. However, it could affect them in the WPIAL playoff seeds.