Canon Mac Comeback Comes Up Short Against North Allegheny 35-21

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Nate Grella | September 3, 2022

By Wes Champlin

Spirits were high at Canon-McMillan Stadium on Friday night as Canon-Mac played host to the visiting North Allegheny Tigers in the first WPIAL conference game of the season. The 6A foes battled all night, with the Tigers proving victorious by a score of 35-21.

It was a game of many momentum swings, with the first being in North Allegheny’s favor. Canon-Mac Head Coach Mike Evans elected to receive the kickoff, hoping to put points on the board early. The offense, led by junior quarterback Mikey Evans, stalled at the North Allegheny 24 after Evans and senior wideout Austyn Winkleblech were unable to connect on a 4th & 5 pass.

Two plays later, Junior quarterback Logan Kushner had brought the North Allegheny offense to the opposing 41-yard line. That was where he and junior wideout Khiryn Boyd connected on a 28-yard strike deep into Big Mac territory. Two plays later, senior back Andrew Gavlik rumbled in from 10 yards out to give North Allegheny the early 7-0 lead.

A three-and-out on the next Canon-Mac drive marked by multiple penalties (a theme of the night) led to the first Winkleblec punt for the Big Macs. North Allegheny junior Evan Lyon returned the boot all the way down to the Big Mac’s 1-yard line. The Big Macs stood their ground for the first 3 downs before Gavlik took the fourth-down handoff into the endzone. 

The score would remain 14-0 until the second quarter when another Canon-Mac three-and-out gave the Tigers the ball at their own 32-yard-line. Kushner then found Boyd on three successive completions of 43, 13, and 12 yards, with the last for a touchdown. The extra point attempt was blocked, making it 20-0 North Allegheny.

A penalty on the return forced the Big-Macs to start at their own five-yard-line. Two Evans completions later, they were across midfield, but two consecutive incompletions and stops on 3rd and 4th down gave North Allegheny the ball at their own 40. On the first play, Lyon took the handoff on the reverse 60 yards for the score. The Tigers led 27-0 with 5:09 remaining in the second quarter.

Canon-Mac fell victim to their third consecutive three & out due to a seasonal medley of drops, overthrows, and penalties. With time winding down in the first half, and the Tigers driving down the field, Kushner’s pass was picked off by senior defensive back Trayvon Mullen and returned six yards to their own 45-yard-line. Mullen would then be rewarded for his efforts with a 21-yard reception down the right sideline with 1:06 remaining, and then once more with a 5-yard touchdown pass from Evans with 13 seconds left in the half.

This is when things would get wild. The Tigers received the second-half kickoff but were forced to punt due to multiple penalties resulting in a 4th & 32. Mikey Evans would then throw a pass resulting in a tip by Boyd and an interception for Lyon. Two plays later Geno Calgaro would recover the Gavlik fumble, giving it right back to the Big Macs at the North Allegheny 19-yard-line.

After a holding penalty on 3rd down made it 4th & 17 from the opposing 28, Mike Evans elected to go for it. It ended up working out, as Austyn Winkleblech found himself all alone in the seam and waltzed in for Canon-Mac’s second score of the night.

At this point, everyone in the stadium could feel the momentum shift. The crowd was back into it and the Canon Crazies were louder than ever.

The Tigers continued to give the game away. The Big Macs recovered a North Allegheny fumble on the ensuing kickoff. On the next play from scrimmage, Austyn Winkleblech found himself all alone in the seam yet again and glided into the endzone with a 32-yard-score, cutting the Tigers’ lead to 6 with 4:09 to go in the 3rd quarter. This was the same exact play they had run just 19 seconds of gametime earlier.

After driving to midfield, Kushner couldn’t corral the high snap on 3rd-9, and Canon Mac’s Kent McMahon recovered the ball at the North Allegheny 44. A sack of Evans on 3rd down forced another punt, however, and Gavlik galloped 46 yards on the second play of the drive to the Canon-Mac 35-yard line. Kushner would then find Khiryn Boyd yet again to give the Tigers a 1st & goal from the 1-yard line. The Big Macs held firm on 1st and second down, but Boyd made an impressive leaping grab along the right side of the endzone for the North Allegheny touchdown, making it 35-21 Tigers with 10:40 to play in the fourth.

The next Canon-Mac drive went nowhere and Winkleblech punted to their own 37. The Big Macs would be gifted one more chance to win this game on the Tigers’ first play, as Kaeden Singleton recovered another Gavlik fumble at the 38-yard line.

Three plays later, Canon-Mac was presented with a 4th-5 with 7:33 left in the fourth. Evans’ deep pass intended for Winkleblech was broken up by senior Harron Lee, resulting in a turnover on downs. After trading fruitless drives, the Tigers were able to salt away the rest of the clock and secure the conference victory, 35-21.

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