Mistakes hurt Tornado in 49-0 defeat
WEXFORD — `Butler controlled the ball. North Allegheny controlled the scoreboard.
And the unbeaten Tigers made the mistake-plagued Golden Tornado pay for every miscue Friday night in posting a 49-0 victory Friday night at Newman Stadium.
The Tornado (2-3) turned the ball over four times and set up NA (5-0, 4-0) with an errant punt snap that resulted in a 31-yard loss. All of those problems occurred in the first half as the Tigers had a 42-0 lead by halftime.
NA only ran 15 offensive plays in the first half to Butler's 38.
“They are very good, there is no questioning that,” Butler coach Clyde Conti said of North Allegheny. “But this isn't who we are ... Not at all.”
North Allegheny scored touchdowns on all five of its possessions in the first half. The Tigers scored three TDs in the final 2:35 of the second quarter.
The errant punt snap handed NA a first down at the Butler 29-yard line. Sean Idowu scored three plays later on a 15-yard run with 2:35 to play in the half.
Brendan Coniker scooped up a mis-communicated pitch in the Tornado backfield and scampered 20 yards for a score just 20 seconds later. Taylor Nikithser recovered a Butler fumble at the Tornado 28 two plays later and Mack Leftwich immediately found Gregg Garrity deep in the middle of the end zone for a touchdown with 1:26 left in the half.
“We capitalized on every turnover and that was great to see,” North Allegheny coach Art Walker Jr. said. “We came out with a lot of fire and energy tonight. Our kids were really ready to play.”
Linebacker Mark Schultheis produced the Tigers' first two takeaways, intercepting a Tom Jendesky pass and returning it 12 yards to the Butler 30 early in the game. He recovered a fumble shortly thereafter.
Jendesky started behind center for Jordan Cratty. Butler all-purpose back Jake Olenick also did not play.
“Jordan was just too banged up to play tonight,” Conti said. “The trainers suited him up, but I wasn't gonna put him out there under any circumstances.”
Leftwich connected on six of seven passes for 220 yards and four touchdowns, all in the first half. After an 80-yard TD bomb to Elijah Zeise was wiped out by a holding penalty, Leftwich hit Zeise on a post pattern for a 93-yard score on the next play.
“We just seemed to implode tonight,” Conti said.
North Allegheny did not play its starters in the second half. The Tigers added a touchdown early in the third quarter when Josh Bergman's 62-yard return of the second-half kickoff set up his own 11-yard scoring run.
While the Tornado rushed for nearly 200 yards — not counting the 31 lost on the errant punt snap — Butler never possessed the ball inside NA's 25-yard line.
“Their kids played hard and they never quit,” Walker said. “Clyde definitely has them going in the right direction.
“We haven't seen much mid-line offense against us and we had trouble defending it. Facing it tonight will probably help us down the road.”
Claude Clark led the Tornado ground game with 58 yards. Jendesky added 51 and Bob Vernick 48. Kolby Kriess, Butler's leading ground-gainer on the year, left the game early in the second quarter with an undisclosed injury.
“We're not sure about his (future) status at the moment,” Conti said.
Butler hosts Upper St. Clair in its first non-section game of the year next Friday.
