North Allegheny outlasts Upper St. Clair in overtime
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North Allegheny stretched its winning streak to 20 games Saturday night and stretched its championship streak to two in a row.
In a thrilling WPIAL Class AAAA final, North Allegheny needed overtime to defeat Upper St. Clair, 28-21, at Heinz Field. It was the second consecutive championship for the Tigers.
The score was tied, 21-21, after regulation. In high school overtime, each team gets a possession from the 10. If the score is still tied, the process is repeated.
North Allegheny (13-0) got the ball first in overtime. Quarterback Mack Leftwich ran 9 yards on first down and scored on a 1-yard run on third down. Jason Buchert kicked the extra point.
PG VIDEOOn Upper St. Clair's possession, receiver Mike Wilcox lost 7 yards on a first-down end-around play. A pass play gained only 3 yards before quarterback Pete Coughlin was sacked on third down for a 2-yard loss. On fourth down, Coughlin rolled left, but was sacked by Jared Lux to end the game.
It was only the fourth overtime game in WPIAL championship history.
Dakota Conwell started the game at quarterback for Upper St. Clair (11-2). He did not play last week in a semifinal game against Central Catholic because of an injured ankle. But Conwell, who has more than 4,000 yards offense the past two seasons, played only the first series of the first half before being relieved by Coughlin for the rest of the half.
Conwell also started the second half and played one series before Coughlin came on and played the rest of the game.
The score was tied, 14-14, at halftime, but North Allegheny went ahead in the third quarter, scoring on its first possession. After a 25-yard Upper St. Clair punt, North Allegheny took over at the Panthers 35. Six plays later, Vinnie Congedo ran 1 yard for a touchdown.
PG SLIDESHOWBut Upper St. Clair used a turnover to set up the tying score. Carleton Gibson stepped in front of a Leftwich pass and intercepted at the North Allegheny 38 with 7:31 left. Upper St. Clair moved downfield, but was faced with a fourth-and-goal from the 5. Wilcox got his first carry of the game and turned it into a tumbling act for a touchdown. Wilcox took the ball, ran to his right and dived into the end zone from the 4. The ball crossed the goal line by inches and the extra-point kick tied it, 21-21, with 4:36 left.
First Published November 27, 2011 12:19 am
