From the CD 2011 State Champs Project
North Allegheny (14-1): 23-20 (State Semifinals
In the western final, Central Dauphin faced the defending state champion North Allegheny Tigers. North Allegheny thrashed State College in the state quarterfinal, 40-14, putting up 509 yards of total offense. All State quarterback Mack Leftwich threw for 136 yards, ran for 186 yards and accounted for six total touchdowns (5 rushing, 1 passing) in the win. The Tigers came into the western final on a 21 game winning streak and Leftwich had added a new dimension to the offense. The junior had over 2,000 yards passing and 800 yards rushing (one of five Tigers with over 500 yards on the ground). No 4A District 3 team had beaten a WPIAL team in the postseason since Cumberland Valley’s 1992 win over Upper St. Clair and no D3 team had punched a ticket to state finals since Lower Dauphin in 1995. Meanwhile, North Allegheny was looking for their second straight final and to be the tenth WPIAL finalist in the last 11 years in the state’s biggest classification.
Central Dauphin got off to a fast start when late in the first quarter, a snap rolled to North Allegheny punter James Henderson and he was tackled at his own 18. The Rams took advantage of the short field with a three yard Zayd Issah touchdown run to go up 7-0. North Allegheny responded with a ten play touchdown drive and Leftwich scored from two yards out to tie the game on the first play of the second quarter. After a defensive struggle for the remainder of the second quarter, with the Tigers particularly bottling up the inside run game of Zayd Issah, Central Dauphin got Drew Scales to the perimeter on an end around, and he turned the corner and hit the jets for a 53 yard touchdown run with 1:06 left in the first half. Issah forced a Leftwich fumble at his own 28 on the first drive of the second half and Adam Hollinger took a fullback dive on the next play for a 28 yard touchdown and a 20-7 lead. But North Allegheny answered with an 11 play touchdown drive, with Leftwich scoring his second touchdown of the day to cut the lead to 20-13.
Again, the defenses took over until a special teams disaster hit, this time for the Rams. Punter Casey Hartzell shanked a punt 15 yards and three plays later, Leftwich hit James Kleinhampl for a 5 yard touchdown to tie the game with 5:14 to go. After an exchange of punts, Central Dauphin caught a huge break when the Tigers hit Drew Scales out of bounds on a punt return for a 15 yard penalty, part of 101 yards in flags against North Allegheny, to set the Rams up at the North Allegheny 46 with 1:39 on the clock. After gaining one yard on the first two plays, LaVia hit Scales short of the sticks, but the gritty slot receiver carried a Tiger defender for a first down at the 35. On the next play, Scales came around on a jet sweep and made two Tigers miss in the backfield before getting the corner and gaining ten yards on the play. With the clock running, LaVia dropped back to pass and hung in the pocket long enough for Issah to run a deep hitch route. The junior got crushed just after releasing the ball, but Issah got separation and made his first catch of the day, good for 23 yards down to the two yard line. After a pair of North Allegheny timeouts designed to freeze the kicker, Evan Brandes drilled a 21 yard field goal to complete the upset and send the Rams to the first state final in program history. LaVia threw for 111 yards, while Scales had 106 all purpose yards, including three of the biggest offensive plays of the game. Issah was held to 15 yards on 12 carries, and his only catch was the 23 yarder on the second to last play of the game, but his impact was felt on defense with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Defensive end Zach Wilk starred on the defensive side of the ball with 13 tackles, a tackle for loss, and a sack. Leftwich was nearly a one man show, rushing for 158 yards and throwing for 75, but it was not quite enough to extend the Tigers winning streak.
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