The Northgate Flames exploded into Class A competition last Friday night, obliterating the OLSH Chargers’ WPIAL debut. It took the Flames until the second half to heat up, but a stunning third quarter performance contributed to the 44-6 win for the home team. Pictured above, quarterback Jon Girvin looks for an opening. Girvin scored four of Northgate’s touchdowns. The Flames remain at home tonight, taking on Jefferson Morgan at Alumni Field at 7:30 p.m.

By JIM RUMBLE

In a quarterfinal game that went down to the wire, the Avonworth football team saw their season come to a close as they were defeated by the Rochester Rams last Friday, 26-22.

"We gave it a good run," said coach Duke Johncour after the game."We came out of the chute slow with a fumble and giving up a couple of big third down conversions, but they made some great plays when they had to and that was the end result." .

By MEL PERKINS

The Northgate Flames (5-3, 4-3) nearly pulled off what would have been the upset of the night last Friday. But their attempt at what would have been an incredible come from behind win over the North Catholic Trojans (5-3, 4-3) was denied in the last few seconds of a hard-fought contest.

When the Flames' 2-point conversion try failed, they came up short, losing to the Trojans by the score of 27-26, at North Catholic's J.C. Stone Field.

By MEL PERKINS

The Northgate Flames lit up the scoreboard last Friday night, when the offense exploded and scored 27 points in the first quarter on their way to a 53-22 win over the visiting Riverview Raiders.

The win extended the Flames' winning streak to three, and gives them a conference record of 4-2, with an overall record of 5-2.

The win places Northgate in a tie for third place with the Springdale Dynamos in the WPIAL's Eastern Conference.

Playing through a steady rain on a field that was reduced to a mud pit, the Avonworth Antelopes recorded their second consecutive shut-out when they traveled to Riverview last Saturday.

What was really remarkable was that the Antelopes were able to hang on to the ball under the circumstances while forcing five turnovers by the Raiders on their way to a 26-0 victory.

"We weren't able to throw the ball as much as we would have liked to, but you have to roll with the punches," said head coach Duke Johncour after the game. He added, "Ricky [Lawniczak] ran the ball well."

By MEL PERKINS

The Northgate Flames battled to the end, and pulled out a 32 - 27 victory against the Our Lady of Sacred Heart (OLSH) Chargers Saturday night. In T.J. Wiley's debut game as head coach of the Flames, his Northgate team showed a combination of speed, power and "quick strike" potential.

OLSH won the coin toss to start the game, and elected to receive. The Flames' Brett Howell kicked off, and Northgate's 2011 season was underway on a hot and humid night at Robert Morris' Joe Walton Stadium.

By JIM RUMBLE

It wasn't pretty, nonetheless the Avonworth Antelopes did what they need to do in their quarterfinal match-up against North Catholic last Friday.

The 'Lopes for the most part had trouble finding their rythym on offense, but took advantage of several turnovers by the Trojans on their way to a 17-3 win.

North Catholic came into this match-up without starting quarterback Martin Long, who had been sidelined with a broken fibula and has missed the playoffs.

Avonworth was hampered by penalties, as they were assessed nine for 105 yards.

It didn't hurt that North Catholic's multi-talented quarterback was sidelined with a broken bone, or that the Trojans made some costly errors that turned the ball over to Avonworth no less trhan four times. Despite accumulating about 100 yards in penalties, the Antelopes left the stadium in Fox Chapel Friday night with a 17-3 victory and a ticket to the WPIAL semi-finals.

Northgate quarterback Jon Girvin prepares to fire a pass to Rob Vickers.

By JIM RUMBLE For three and a half quarters it looked as though the Avonworth football team locked in on another dominating performance when they hosted Beth-Center in a non-conference game last Friday. That was until the Antelopes surrendered two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter but managed to hang on to defeat the Buldogs 28-20. "We just made too many mistakes, too many mental errors," said head coach Jason Kekseo. The 'Lopes got a balanced offensive effort led by quarterback Brian Vales, who threw three TD passes with 197 yards through the air.

By JIM RUMBLE

It was suppose to be a tough match when Avonworth hosted Riverview on the Antelopes’ homecoming night last Friday.

For the third consecutive game, however, the Antelopes kept their opponent off the scoreboard as they disposed of the Raiders 35-0.

The win puts the 4-1 'Lopes in a tie with Springdale atop the Eastern Conference, with Canevin and North Catholic close behind at 3-1, with one less conference game played.

"We have a team with good, strong character," head coach Jason Kekseo said after the win last week.

BY JIM RUMBLE

It was a game the players eagerly awaited when Avonworth hosted #3 ranked Springdale last Friday. Having a sense that this was a “must-win” only two games into the season, the Antelopes delivered with an exciting 26-10 win over the Dynamos.

The 'Lopes were led by quarterback Brian Vales, who threw two TD passes and ran for one. They also got a huge performance from running back Ricky Lawniczak, who scored a touchdown while rushing for 187 yards.