Dave Yohe | Saturday, Sept. 16, 2017, TRIB-LIVE
Turnovers and big plays made the difference between North Hills and Fox Chapel on Friday.
Fox Chapel turned the ball over six times, dropping a 31-17 contest to North Hills in a Class 5A Allegheny 9 game at James M. Burk Stadium.
The number of turnovers had less to do with the offensive opportunity it gave North Hills and more to do with those it took from Fox Chapel.
“It might have been more about field position, than turnovers,” North Hills coach Pat Carey said. “I think that put the ball in their end. Even though we didn’t score, they had to go through a long score to get points.”
North Hills (2-2, 1-2) scored just 10 points off turnovers, with seven points coming on a late touchdown when the game was all but decided.
Following a score on the opening kickoff by North Hills’ Melvin Blanks, a 96-yarder, Fox Chapel senior quarterback Nick Gizzo lost a fumble at his 35.
“Our performance led to their victory,” Fox Chapel coach Tom Loughran said. “(It was) our mental mistakes in terms of missed assignments and our inability to secure the football when we needed to.”
Fox Chapel (1-3, 1-2) forced a three-and-out, getting the ball back at its 15.
Gizzo fumbled again, but North Hills’ Daniel Wagner fell short on a subsequent 38-yard field goal.
Fox Chapel got points on Andrew Jeffrey’s 24-yard field goal, making the score 7-3.
North Hills extended its lead on a 51-yard rush from senior running back Kamron Taylor early in the second quarter.
Fox Chapel responded immediately on a 5-yard rushing score by Gizzo.
The Foxes had a chance to take the lead late in the first half at the North Hills 13 before a Gizzo pass was intercepted in the end zone by Blanks.
The teams took a 14-10 score into the half.
Gizzo fumbled for a third time, in North Hills territory, on the first drive of the second half, leading to a 37-yard field goal for a 17-10 North Hills lead. It was the first points scored off of turnovers in the game.
Fox Chapel senior runner Micah Morris fumbled near midfield on the following drive, but the Fox Chapel defense forced North Hills into another three-and-out.
Neither team threatened on offense until Gizzo evened the score with a 2-yard run early in the fourth quarter.
North Hills immediately seized control on a 7-yard scoring pass from senior quarterback William Hirt to junior tight end Joseph Ryan. The drive was sparked by a 72-yard pass to Blanks on the first play.
Hirt later iced the game with a 76-yard scoring pass to senior tight end John Hodnik with a little more than a minute left.