Narrative
Art Walker had turned things around in Wexford. His first season taking over the North Allegheny Tigers improved the former power from 4-6 to 5-5. But things supercharged quickly, as the Tigers went 9-3 and 11-1 in his next two seasons and retook their place amongst the WPIAL contenders. In 2009, North Allegheny finished 9-2 and lost in the WPIAL quarterfinals. They were led by junior running back Alex Papson, who posted his second straight 1,000 yard season. So expectations were high heading into 2010, with Papson having an outside shot at becoming the first North Allegheny player with three 1,000 yard seasons, and an outside chance at joining the 4,000 yard club with a big season.
The Tigers offense had been predicated on the power run game since Walker took over. More than anything, he developed excellent offensive lines, and this Tiger team was shaping up to have a great one. They brought back eight total starters, including three on the offensive line led by all league left tackle Justin Haser. The Tigers also benefited from one of their great advantages in the offseason - the drawing power of the North Allegheny school system and the premier real estate in the suburb. When the Steelers hired Sean Kugler as their offensive line coach, the former Bills assistant picked up his family and bought a house in Wexford - a family that included 18 year old Rob and 16 year old Patrick, both of whom were elite recruits on the offensive and defensive lines. North Allegheny was picked third in the WPIAL behind Woodland Hills and Pittsburgh Central Catholic, but had some real potential if the new kids fit in and they were able to replace talent in the back seven of their defense.
Statewide, North Allegheny checked in at #7 in the preseason poll. Woodland Hills and PCC were the two WPIAL schools ahead of them, and #3 and #5, respectively. The preseason top dogs were both in District 1, with North Penn and Ridley, the 2009 D1 finalists, voted #1 and #2 before the season started. Downingtown East and Neshaminy were the other D1 teams in the rankings, slotted at #6 and #9. Cumberland Valley was the District 3 favorite and ranked 4th in the state. Easton was picked to win their second D11 title in a row and were ranked #8 in the preseason, while defending state champion LaSalle was the favorite in the PCL and #9 in the state.
North Allegheny opened the season with State College, the 2009 state runners up. The Little Lions graduated virtually all of their contributors from the state finals team, but were a consistently good program in the central part of the state. That didn’t much matter against the North Allegheny rushing attack. Papson kicked off his season in style, rushing for 171 yards and four touchdowns...in the first half, as North Allegheny rolled to a 42-7 win. That was just a warm up for Papson, who set a new career high the next week with 240 yards against Butler, who came to Wexford with their new head coach, legendary North Allegheny boss Jim Rankin.
North Allegheny and Upper St. Clair was the WPIAL Game of the Week in week three. The Panthers were led by quarterback Dakota Conwell, a four star athlete and one of the biggest recruits in the WPIAL. But simply put, the North Allegheny lines dominated the game. Rob Kugler and Justin Haser, who were quickly becoming an unstoppable pair at defensive end, combined for four sacks and eight tackles for loss, as Upper St. Clair managed just 163 yards and eight first downs in the game. It was the first time Upper St. Clair had been shut out since 2007. Alex Papson’s early season hot streak continued with 223 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries, and he was often five yards upfield before encountering a defender.
Week four brought Erie McDowell to town, who came in averaging over 42 points per game behind four star Iowa bound tailback Greg Garmon. McDowell took a 10-7 lead into halftime, but North Allegheny got the ball to start the second half and went to work with a 16 play, 80 yard touchdown drive, capped by a Papson one yard plunge. Later in the third quarter, Papson ripped off a 74 yard touchdown run to secure the game. He finished with 275 yards on 29 carries, putting him thirty yards from the 1,000 yard mark before the halfway mark of the season. The defense held Garmon under 100 yards, the only time all season that would happen.
North Allegheny would run their regular season record to 8-0 over the next four weeks, crushing Seneca Valley 47-10 (and giving up 12 rushing yards in the process), blowing out Kiski Area 49-7, and thrashing Pine-Richland 35-7, where Papson ran for 238 yards and the outgained the Rams 501-92, and shutting out Shaler 45-0, with Papson running for a career high 289 yards and 3 TDs.
The final regular season game pitted North Allegheny with longtime rival North Hills. The Tigers had climbed to #4 in the state during the eight game winning streak, while North Hills sat a 7-1 and was honorable mention in the state rankings. The game would also decided the North Division title. North Hills spent the week installing a 5-2 defense in an effort to thwart the North Allegheny rushing attack. It worked incredibly. Buchert popped a 50 yard touchdown run in the first quarter, but that accounted for nearly a third of North Allegheny’s yards. Meanwhile, North Hills rotated three different quarterbacks, all of whom threw passes, ran the option, and generally confused the North Allegheny defense. The Indians put up three first half touchdowns, then held on in the second half for a 21-16 win. Papson was held to 82 yards on 24 carries, his only game under 100 yards for the season. North Hills won the Northern Division title, and the loss dropped North Allegheny to the #5 seed in the WPIAL.
North Allegheny finished the regular season ranked #7 in the state. The top seed in District 7, Pittsburgh Central Catholic, finished ranked #3 in the rankings as the top undefeated in the WPIAL. North Hills, fresh of the North Allegheny win, vaulted up to #5. Mount Lebanon, who finished the regular season undefeated, was ranked #6 and was back on the scene as a competitor in the WPIAL for the first time since the early part of the century. The top ranked team at the end of the season was Ridley, who blitzed through a 10-0 regular season after returning most of their state semifinalist team. Returning state champ LaSalle was ranked #2 in the state, and owned the best regular season win, a defeated of #4 North Penn in the season opener. District 3 was shaping up to be a Harrisburg-Cumberland Valley showdown, who were ranked #8 and #9 respectively. And Easton, with just a controversial loss to Whitehall, rounded out the rankings at #10 and was the top seed in the D11 playoffs.
North Allegheny opened the WPIAL playoffs with a 38-7 laugher over Peters Township. Showing some balance, Mike Buchert threw for 171 yards on 7-10 passing, and Alex Papson chipped in with 138 yards and 3 touchdowns. Meanwhile, fourth seeded McKeesport was shocked by thirteenth seed Bethel Park, 24-21 and the Blackhawks got a date with North Allegheny in the quarterfinals. Bethel Park gave North Allegheny some real trouble, but the Tigers answered the adversity by leaning on Papson and their offensive line. Papson carried the ball a staggering 45 times for 301 yards and scored three times in the 23-13 win.
The WPIAL semifinal match up was one that high school football fans had been licking their chops for since 2005: Art Walker versus Pittsburgh Central Catholic. The Vikings had moved up to #2 in the state after Ridley was shocked in the first round of the District 1 tournament, while North Allegheny had moved up to #5. The Vikings were once again loaded with Division I talent, and Walker said before the game that PCC was “the fastest defense we’ve seen on tape.” To make matters worse, Rob Kugler was out with a sprained MCL, and his younger brother Patrick would have to take all of his defensive reps.
In the first half, North Allegheny tried to counter Pittsburgh Central Catholic’s defensive speed by staying very balanced on offense. But on their first drive, North Allegheny fumbled, and two plays later, future Maryland quarterback Perry Hills hit Dustin Lowman for a 25 yard touchdown and a 7-0 PCC lead. The Tigers offense would continue to sputter through the first half, until Justin Haser got things going from his defensive end spot. Haser tipped a Hills pass to himself for an interception and returned the pick 30 yards, plus was facemasked on the way down. On the next snap, Buchert hit Dan Silvka for a touchdown and a 7-7 tie.
In the second half, North Allegheny completely eschewed the passing game and went to their bread and butter: Alex Papson between the tackles. The Tigers handed to Papson on 25 of their 32 plays in the second half. He rewarded their commitment to the run with 161 yards in the second half, including a 67 yard touchdown in the fourth quarter that extended a 10-7 lead. And while he was chewing up clock on offense, the Tigers defense was killing the Vikings. Justin Haser finished with a pair of sacks and an interception, while linebacker Kevin Cope made 13 tackles, three behind the line of scrimmage, and sack. For the day, star running back Damion Jones-Moore ran for 20 yards on 16 carries, and while Perry Hills was picking up yardage, he was also sacked six times and threw two interceptions. For the day, PCC ran for negative seven yards. Papson finished with 190 yards on 35 carries in the 17-7 win. Across the District, Woodland Hills was busy upsetting North Hills, so the Tigers would not get a second crack at their archrivals thanks to Lafayette Pitts, who ran for 267 yards in the upset win.
The Wolverines were once again loaded and were gunning for their seventh WPIAL title under George Novak, which no WPIAL coach had accomplished. They were led by Pitts on offense, a 5’9 195 pound speedster, who committed to Pitt over the summer to play cornerback. The defense was loaded, with Pitts, Ohio State commit Ejuan Price at linebacker (who would flip to Pitt on signing day) and four star defensive end Quinton Jefferson.
Saturday night at Heinz Field proved to be a bizarre one. After North Allegheny spent most of the season pounding the ball with Papson and their brilliant offensive line, they came out throwing the football in the WPIAL championship game. Their first drive covered 93 yards and almost the entire first quarter, with Michael Buchert hitting Rob Kugler for a touchdown. After forcing a Woodland Hills punt, Buchert led the Tigers down the field again, completing three passes on the drive, including an 18 yard touchdown to wideout James Kleinhampl as Buchert rolled out on a scramble. The final damage of the half was done late in the second quarter, when Papson looked like he was stuffed at the line, but emerged from a pile of bodies to race 43 yards for a touchdown. The Tigers went into the half with a 21-0 lead, as Buchert was a perfect 6-6 for 137 yards and two touchdowns, and Papson had already grinded out 112 yards.
Disaster struck in the third quarter. On his second carry of the half, Papson went down and stayed down after being perfectly squared up by Price. He came off of the field with his right arm hanging down - a sure sign of a separated shoulder which would ultimately end his season. He walked off the field with 123 yards on the game and 2,482 yards and 32 touchdowns, both school records by large margins. Woodland Hills did score a pair of second half touchdowns, a 46 yard pass in the third quarter, then a TD run by Pitts in the final minutes, but the North Allegheny defense largely stymied the Wolverines in the victory. Pitts finished with a season low 48 yards on 21 carries, while inside linebacker Kevin Cope had the game of his life with nine tackles, three behind the line of scrimmage, and a pair of sacks, while Rob Kugler tacked on a sack and four tackles for loss in addition to his receiving touchdown. THe WPIAL title was North Allegheny’s first in 20 years.
The state quarterfinals were set that weekend. In District 1, North Penn’s Corey Ernst was 11-12 for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns in a 28-14 win over Council Rock South. That set up a date with Neshaminy, a 33-7 winner over WC Rustin. LaSalle, the state’s top ranked team, rolled in their D12 championship game with Northeast, crushing the hosts 35-0. In District 11, Easton lost to Phillipsburg on Thanksgiving Day, then came back two days later and avenged a regular season loss to Whitehall with a 13-10 win. Quarterback/safety Justin Pacchioli ran down All State wideout Tyler Artim at the Easton 28 and stripped him from behind while trailing 10-6 in the fourth quarter, then engineered a 12 play, 72 yard touchdown drive, with Pacchioli scoring on a QB draw to win the game. In the western half, Red Lion beat Daniel Boone 14-0 in a District 3 semi, making them the first York County team since 2000 to make the D3 finals. Their opponent would be Cumberland Valley, who strangled Central Dauphin in a 28-7 game, where they scored two defensive touchdowns in the first half, then had a 12:19 drive across the third and fourth quarters to physically dominate in a 28-7 win.
North Allegheny had a rematch with State College in the state quarterfinals. The Little Lions used a late touchdown to beat Perry Academy in the D6/8/10 subregional final. State College started the season 0-5, but was on a 7-1 streak down the stretch to advance to another state playoff. Quarterback Josh Weakland had 2,011 yards and 21 touchdowns passing, and had come into his own late in the season. With Papson out for the year with a separated shoulder and backup running back Matt Steinbeck also down with an ankle injury, there was hype that North Allegheny was on upset watch.
That was not to be. Although the Tigers fumbled at their 39 on their first drive, and Weakland threw a touchdown to put State College up 6-0, that was the only offense the Little Lions could generate all day against a ferocious North Allegheny defense. The Tigers answered the score with a 14 play, 65 yard TD drive of their own, picking up two third down and one fourth down conversion. The 7-6 score held until the second half, when the Tigers forced a 3 and out, then got a 66 yard punt return from sophomore Brendan Conniker to set up a drive from the 12. Third string tailback Vinnie Congedo busted in for a touchdown to take a 14-6 lead. He would score again at the start of the fourth quarter to put the game totally out of reach, and North Allegheny largely played keep away in the second half. Their third and fourth string running backs combined for 214 yards (Congedo ran for 141 yards and two touchdowns, while Alex DiCiantis chipped in 71 yards and a score). They also held State College to 23 rushing yards on 18 carries and while Weakland threw for 179 yards, he was sacked four times and threw an interception.
Quarterfinal weekend was rather uneventful. North Penn mercy ruled Neshaminy, 42-6, to win their fifth D1 title since 2002. Neshaminy’s pair of 1,000 yard rushers wer held to 56 and 41 yards, while the Knights pounded out 280 yards on the ground in the win. That set up a rematch with LaSalle, who scored 16 straight points in the second half to upend Easton 19-7. Jamal Abdur-Rahman finished with 108 rushing yards, 57 receiving yards, and an interception returned for a TD with 1:53 left to seal the victory.
Cumberland Valley dominated Red Lion in the District 3 finals. The Eagles picked up 10 first downs in the first quarter and used their Wing-T attack to run for 211 yards in the game, while Red Lion picked up just 23 yards on 27 carries in the 35-7 win. The Eagles were led by a three headed rushing attack of Jeremy Dipetro (1,275 yards), Kevin Snyder (939 yards) and Dan Flynn (885 yards). Snyder was also their leading tackler and a Rutgers commit as a linebacker (and is still playing in the NFL, currently on the Broncos roster).
The Western Final was 20 years to the day of North Allegheny’s 1990 state championship win over Ridley. While that game to late game heroics, the Tigers would go back to to the state finals thanks to a dominant second half. In the first quarter, Cumberland Valley drove deep into North Alelgheny territory, but a 10 yard sack by Rob Kugler forced the Eagles to setle for a field goal. In the second quarter, North Allegheny marched 59 yards in 12 plays, with Alex DiCiantis scoring to take a 7-3 lead. That looked like it would hold, until Snyder ran a perfect wheel route on a fake option, and Eric Sawyer hit his tailback for a 70 yard touchdown pass to take a 10-7 halftime lead.
Then the third quarter became bully ball. North Allegheny stared with the ball, and facing a fourth and three from the 32, used a little trickeration, with Matt Steinbeck (back from his ankle injury) hitting Dan Silvak on a halfback pass for a 32 yard touchdown. The defense forced a three and out, and North Allegheny answered with an 8 play, 60 yard touchdown, with Buchert scoring from two yards out. At this point, the Kugler brothers and Justin Haser were just having their way with the Cumberland Valley offensive line, and forced another three and out, followed by another North Allegheny scoring drive capped by an Alex DiCiantis run. A third straight three and out led to an 11 play touchdown drive, with each play coming on the ground, as the Tigers had physically broken the Eagles and Alex DiCiantis ran for his third touchdown of the day to go up 35-10. Cumberland Valley scored with under two minutes left with Snyder catching his second touchdown of the day, but the game had long been decided. Cumberland Valley ran for negative 22 yards in the second half, and their powerful rushing attack finished with five yards on 20 carries. Meanwhile, North Allegheny ran for 341 yards in the win, getting 161 yards on 21 carries from Steinbeck, 97 yards and three scores from DeCiantis, and 50 yards and a touchdown from Buchert.
While the Western Final was domination, the Eastern Final was one of the greatest playoff games in PIAA history. LaSalle beat North Penn 38-35 in a game that featured seven lead changes, nearly 900 yards of offense, and two incredible last minute drives. North Penn took their final lead of the game after a 15 play fourth quarter touchdown drive, that included a bold fake punt conversion. With the Knights up 35-31 in the final minutes, LaSalle marched 65 yards in six plays, with quarterback Matt Magarity hitting sophomore wideout Seasn Coleman for a 25 yard touchdown to retake the lead at 38-35. North Penn connected with a 30 yard pass on their final drive, but on the next play, defensive end Joe Nagi tipped the ball at the line, and defensive tackle Ryan Geiger came down with an interception to end the ballgame. It was LaSalle’s second win over North Penn that year, after a 27-14 win way back in the season opener. Matt Magarity finished 10-19 for 180 yards and two toucdowns, while Jamal Abdur-Rahman ran for 142 yards and three scores on 21 carries. North Penn piled up 434 yards of total offense in the loss, their third straight defeated in the state semifinals.
LaSalle was the top ranked team in the state, and was picked by the Pittsburgh Post Gazette, the Harrisburg Patriot News, and the Philadelphia Inquirerer to win the football game. LaSalle’s only loss on the season was a 22-21 point setback in week 2 to nationally ranked Bergen Catholic of New Jersey, who were the NJ Non-Public runner ups to national champ Don Bosco. No team in Pennsylvania had scored more than 17 points against a vicious LaSalle defense befor the North Penn game. Jamal Abdur-Rahman was the star of the show, following up a great junior season with a senior year that put him in state player of the year conversations. The Villanova recruit had 1,705 on 207 carries heading into the state finals and a school record 28 touchdowns. While the offense did not rely as much on the spread passing game, junior quarterback Matt Magarity had thrown for 1,149 yards and 13 touchdowns and sophomore Sean Coleman was a budding star at wideout. Art Walker noted before the game hew as worried about LaSalle’s speed, particularly in the back seven on defense, where their linebackers and secondary really flew to the football. And without Alex Papson out, North Allegheny would need more big contributions from the offensive line and their fleet of backup tailbacks.
In the first quarter, LaSalle made their first crucial mistake, when Tim Wade got popped on a swing pass by Rob Kugler and fumbled the football at his own 40, with Kevin Cope recovering. The Tigers then went right to work, with the offensive line opening huge holes as they ran nine straight times before Buchert scored from four yards out. LaSalle marched right down the field on the ensuing drive, running sixteen plays and advancing to the North Allegheny 28. But safety Seth Marx ended the drive with an interception. That score held until late in the second quarter, when the Tigers embarked on a six play two minute drill that covered 71 yards. Michael Buchert had runs of 15 and 17 from his quarterback spot, then ran a perfectly executed option, pitching to Matt Steinbeck on a reverse for a 28 yard TD run with 48 seconds left to put the Tigers up 14-0 at the break.
After halftime, LaSalle put together a promising opening drive, but Matt Steinbeck stepped in front of a Magarity pass at the North Allegheny 31 and returned it all the way to the LaSalle 24. However, the Tigers went backwards on their next two plays, including a bad sack to put them at third and 17 from the 31. Art Walker went back to the well on the halfback pass from the Western Final, except this time it was Coniker stopping to throw after an end around. He hit Dan Silvka for the first down and more, as Silvka was pushed out at the one yard line. On the following play, Buchert snuck the ball into the end zone for a 21-0 lead. The rest of the game was North Allegheny’s offensive line and backs milking the clock while the defensive front gave LaSalle headaches. The game finished 21-0, just the second shutout in 4A and North Allegheny became the third school from the WPIAL to win multiple 4A state titles.
On the day, LaSalle finished with five turnovers (three interceptions and two fumbles) and Abdur-Rahman was limited to 50 yards on 16 carries and just two catches for 14 yards. Matt Steinbeck led all rushers with 120 yards on 20 carries, while Buchert added 51 on 13 carries. The only completed pass of the day for North Allegheny came from Coniker. The television broadcast named the North Allegheny offensive line of Rob Kugler, Patrick Kugler, Zach Harvey, Pete Thistle, Justin Haser, and Vinny Czerniewski as the “Player of the Game” in a nod to the ball control performance and their work as a unit. Rob Kugler also had eight tackles, three tackles for loss, and a sack on defense, while fellow defensive end Justin Haser had six tackles, two for loss, and a sack. Kevin Cope led the Tigers with ten stops and a fumble recovery.
North Allegheny finished the season ranked #19 in the country by teh USA Today. After the season, Justin Haser and Rob Kugler were named co-players of the year by the Associated Press, the first time that two players split the award. The dominant defense ends each records sacks in every North Allegheny playoff game, and wowed the state media in the championship game with their dominant effort against LaSalle. Haser was named the 4A Defensive Player of the Year by PA Football News. Locally, Alex Papson was the WPIAL Player of the Year. Haser was a first team All State selection at defensive end by both the AP and PAFBN, while Kugler was picked as a defensive end by the AP and a tight end by PAFBN. Papson and offensive lineman Vinny Czerniewski also were first team picks by both publications. Alex Greenblatt earned first team kicker honors by PAFBN, Michael Buchert was the second team quarterback, Kevin Cope was a third team linebacker, and Dan Silvka was an honorable mention pick at wide receiver. Nine different Tigers earned All WPIAL honors, with Pat Kugler, Czniewski, Pete Thistle, and Alex Papson on offense and Haser, Rob Kugler, Kevin Cope, and Matt Steinbeck on defense, plus Greenblatt as the specialist. Kevin Cope was also named the Western PA Defensive Player of the Year by WesternPAFootball. Art Walker also earned AP Coach of the Year honors, making him the first to do so at two different schools.
Rob Kugler signed with Purdue in February and was an excellent player in the Big Ten. The Boilermakers moved him from tight end to center as a sophomore, and he responded by being a three year starter, Purdue’s offensive MVP as a junior, and a two-time All Big Ten selection. Kugler signed with the Buffalo Bills after his college career and played one season in the NFL. After the NFL, he spent one season as a graduate assistant at UTEP (where his father is now the head coach) and is currently on Chris Peterson’s staff at Washington. Unfortunately, Justin Haser did not have the health to have such a productive college career. Haser signed with Ohio University, and earned his way onto the two-deep at tackle as a sophomore, but suffered a career ending knee injury and was medically disqualified. He also went the college coaching route and is on the strength and conditioning staff for the Pitt Panthers. Vinny Czneiewski initally played at Duquesne, but transferred to UTEP when Sean Kugler was hired as the head coach, and played defensive tackle for the Miners.
Matt Steinbeck played at Bucknell, where he was a two-time All Patriot League selection for the Bison, and finished second in the country in interceptions in his sophomore season. After missing his senior year due to injury, he used the graduate transfer waiver and played his final season of eligibility at Pitt, where he played special teams for the Panthers. Kevin Cope was a three time all conference pick and two time DIII regional All American at John Caroll. Zach Harvey was a two year starter on the offensive line at Allegheny College and now is the tight ends coach at Carnegie Mellon. Michael Buchert played defensive back at John Carroll and is now an assistant at St. Vincent College. Alex Papson was a two year starter at Gannon University.
