September did not start well for North Catholic, who fell 34-28 in overtime to the Shady Side Academy Bulldogs on Friday the 1st. It was their second nonconference game out of four of the year, and the Trojans, try as they might, could not put the pieces together to win.
The game opened with some early mistakes for both teams. Quarterback Jason Siket threw an interception on their first drive to Carter Bonner, but the Bulldogs quickly punted the ball back to North Catholic. This set up the Trojans for a four-play, 60-yard touchdown drive that started with a 47-yard run by Jack Fennell and ended with Danny Franco running the other 13 yards to the house. NC was up 7-0. Shady Side responded on the next drive, which was capped off by a 27-yard touchdown pass from QB Calvin Harris to Deacon Durham to knot the game up at 7-7. The Bulldogs kicked it back to North Catholic after the extra point in ordinary fashion; their only problem was that Gavin Kamody made an extraordinary play as he turned on the jets and shed multiple would-be tacklers on his path to the endzone for a kick return touchdown that put his team up 14-7. The Bulldogs countered upon getting the ball back and drove the ball down the field through the end of the first quarter, of which North Catholic still led 14-7.
Shady Side continued their drive upon the start of quarter two, down to the North Catholic 15-yard line, where Harran Zureikat attempted a 33-yard field goal that proved good after being forced to 4th down by the Trojans defense. North Catholic still led, but now it was 14-10. The Trojans followed with a drive that lasted almost six minutes of game clock that ended with a 25-yard touchdown pass, on 4th down, to Gavin Kamody to make it 21-10 NC. Shady Side's next drive stalled after six plays in large part due to a big 2nd down sack by Oliver Gibson that made it 3rd and long for the Bulldog offense. Their punt pinned the Trojans back inside their own 10 with 4:03 to go in the half. Just 1 minute and 9 seconds later, a fumble at the 7-yard line gave the Bulldogs the ball back in prime position for them to take advantage. However, North Catholic stood tall and forced a four and out after a massive tackle by Danny Franco to keep it 21-10 Trojans heading into halftime.
Shady Side Academy started with the ball at the beginning of the 2nd half and made no mistake, scoring on a 22-yard touchdown pass to Cam Mallory. With 8:55 remaining in the quarter, it was a 21-17 game. North Catholic preceded to have their first three-and-out drive of the night, which gave the ball right back to a hungry Shady Side offense. Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, the only food that the Trojans were serving was a sack sandwich delivered by Alex Jackson that backed up Shady Side to an eventual 4th and 30. North Catholic did not channel much momentum on the following drive, other than a 19-yard QB keeper by Jason Siket, but was then accompanied by a punt four plays later. The Bulldogs began their new drive with a bang on a 35-yard pass to Carter Bonner. However, just seconds later, after some unrelenting pressure from the North Catholic defense, Shady Side quarterback Calvin Harris threw up a prayer toward the endzone, where the highly talented Brady Koziara intercepted it at the 3-yard line. The Trojan's backs were up against the wall, and the Bulldogs gave them no room for air and forced a safety that made it just a 21-19 North Catholic lead with 1:07 remaining in quarter 3. As a result of the safety, the Trojans had to punt it from deep in their end, which led to Shady Side assuming their next drive at the North Catholic 43-yard line, which they would continue into the start of the 4th quarter still down 21-19.
Shady Side continued their drive into the new frame with authority and took the lead with 10:09 to play in regulation on an 11-yard touchdown pass to Carter Bonner. The Bulldogs got greedy on the following play and attempted to carry their momentum into a 2-point conversion, but the Trojans' defense denied them. 25-21 SSA. North Catholic's next drive went for 59 yards from their own 20 to the Bulldogs 21, where they were stopped on a 4th and seven on an incomplete pass to Brady Koziara. With 6:51 to go, Shady Side had the ball and the lead, but the Trojans were not about to give up. They put together a tremendous defensive stand that culminated in a significant interception by Brady Koziara, who had a fantastic night defensively and changed the course of the game with 3:21 to go. North Catholic took over with the ball on their own 44. The drive erupted from the very first play, which was a 30-yard run by the lightning-fast Jack Fennell, followed by a 10-yard pass from Siket, right on the money, to Kamody, which a 2-yard run by Fennell supplanted. The cherry was put on top after a remarkable 12-yard touchdown run by Trey Purnsley that put North Catholic up 28-25 with 2:13 remaining. Everything was in the Trojans' favor until it wasn't. The Bulldogs started at their own 26 and worked down the field on multiple extended passing plays to the North Catholic 17. Nevertheless, North Catholic stood tall and forced a fourth down, and Shady Side elected to attempt a field goal from 35 yards out. It was good. We were going to overtime locked at 28-28.
For overtime in the WPIAL, each team gets a set of downs from 1st and goal range at the 10-yard line. Regardless of the first team who gets the ball scores a touchdown, the second team can match it. Shady Side Academy got the ball first, and they did not need it for long as Devin Harris found Carter Bonner in the endzone on their first play to put them up 34-28, pending the extra point. The kick is no good! North Catholic would get their chance now, knowing that a touchdown and an extra point would win. The first play of their drive was intercepted. Overtime lasted all two plays from scrimmage total, and Shady Side Academy won 34-28 in a tough game for North Catholic. The Trojans will move on and prepare themselves over the next week to face the back-to-back 4A WPIAL champion Aliquippa Quips at Heinz Field on Friday, the 8th of September. Where there is a great challenge, there is a great opportunity, and the Trojans have an excellent opportunity to get back on the right track in a challenging matchup against Aliquippa. We hope to see you there! Have a great week!
Some Analysis: North Catholic was a couple of turnovers and a couple of blown coverages away from winning this game by double digits. The passing defense improved from the Week 0 game against Serra Catholic but was still disappointing in this contest. The offense moved down the field with a good rhythm for most of this game and put the team in position to win late. Just a couple fewer turnovers and it is a perfect night on that side of the ball. The bottom line is that the passing defense must strengthen as this season progresses to be in contention within the division. The best is yet to come from this group, and we may see some of that in their upcoming game against the Quips.
