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“No quit in them”: Northgate ends playoff drought in thriller against Union

 
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, pfn

| October 24, 2026

Over the last ten years, the Northgate football program has had its fair share of trials and tribulations – to say the least.

But the 2026 Northgate Flames put the pieces together with a never-die attitude, leading to a dramatic victory last night in a win-and-get-in game for both Northgate and the Union Scotties. A fourth-quarter comeback aided by interceptions from the Flames’ defense led to a 27-19 final score, securing a third-place finish in the WPIAL Class A Big 7 conference and a playoff spot for the first time since 2016.

That 2016 Northgate team was one of the best in school history, going 9-1 in the regular season and making it to the WPIAL semifinals. In 2017, after a thrilling season-opening win against OLSH, the Flames shockingly went on to win one more game the rest of that campaign, which started one of the longest losing streaks in WPIAL history that concluded with a 22-6 win over Carlynton in the opening game of the 2021 season.

After that 2021 season, led by a gutsy senior class, Northgate football began a brick-by-brick revival of interest and growth under Head Coach Chris Lucas, who took over the reins in 2022 after serving as a coordinator the previous two seasons. After some 4- and 5-win seasons that fell just short of the playoffs, Lucas stepped aside as head coach in 2024 to spend more time with his family, only to step up late this spring as interim head coach when the school district had no other options. On top of that, Lucas had no choice but to take on offensive and defensive coordinator duties this year, with the help of a very supportive coaching staff.

But earning that playoff berth for a program he helped rebuild made it all worth the while.

“Being an alum here, I think, is the most important thing to me,” Lucas said about what the accomplishment meant to him personally. “Two years ago, when we didn’t make the playoffs, I felt like I let them [the players] down. Coming back into the role this year, I wanted to make sure we gave these kids the [best] opportunity [to make the playoffs].”

The Flames, with new starters almost everywhere last season after losing a large group of seniors, finished 1-9 in 2025. But a young group of linemen grew up quickly this offseason, and a fast, physical group of skill players, led by a tough-as-nails quarterback, turned it around, with Northgate also securing its first six-plus-win season since 2016.

“We talked all week that the key to this game was them staying together, working together, and not losing hope, and they’re buying into that,” Lucas said. “That’s probably the greatest thing I’ve seen out of these kids [this season] is that they just have no quit in them.”

While Coach Lucas’ offense has typically balanced the run and the pass this season, last night’s game plan was clear: run the ball, win at the line of scrimmage, and methodically move the chains while controlling time of possession. Penalties and red-zone inefficiencies limited some touchdown opportunities, but Union struggled to stop the Flames’ ground attack.

Junior quarterback DJ Smith astoundingly ran for 250 yards on 35 carries, with the QB power and the threat of a handoff to speedster senior running back Savian Baptiste on a QB jet sweep counter as the go-to plays. The big, strong frames of Smith and junior running back Jayden Turner pushed forward for yards after contact, with Turner getting direct snaps out of the wildcat formation.

“We’ve been talking about playoff football, and [how] you have to be able to run the ball,” Lucas said. “We have some good runners, and our line dominated the front tonight.”

With the Flames down 12-10 at halftime, a punt from their own end zone set up the Union offense inside the Northgate 30-yard line. A few plays later, senior running back Gianni Million had one of the night’s more impressive runs, slipping through multiple tackles for a 17-yard touchdown. After a missed and blocked extra point in the first half, Scotties sophomore kicker AJ Kulkin managed to bang a kick inside the left upright to make it a two-score game, 19-10.

Northgate’s special teams struggled to control field position most of the night, but a solid return by Savian Baptiste set the Flames offense up near midfield and gave them much-needed momentum. Inside the 20-yard line, DJ Smith was stuffed on a 3rd-and-5 run for no gain. Knowing his team desperately needed points, Chris Lucas turned to his kicker, junior Sam Stiteler, for a 30-yard field goal, which he buried down the middle to bring Northgate within a score.

Stiteler made his first career field goal from 22 yards in the first quarter, a somewhat surprising move at the time, with the Flames in a short-yardage situation on fourth down in the red zone. But Stiteler’s two field goals and three extra points made the difference in the game.

“We were going to take points when we could get them,” Lucas said about his field goal decisions. “Sammy delivered like he has all year with the extra points.”

Stiteler had shown the ability all summer and fall to kick field goals from 30+ yards, but the opportunities hadn’t presented themselves. At the start of the season, the snap-and-hold process was a bit shaky, but repetition in practice and on extra points throughout the season paid off in the biggest game of the season.

On the ensuing Union possession, the turnover bug bit Scotties quarterback Stephen Lane, who threw four of his five interceptions in the second half. On a second-down pass from Lane over the middle, it was ruled that sophomore free safety Jah’Sye Helms’ diving attempt for the ball was an interception. It was hard to tell whether the ball was caught or hit the ground first, but after much discussion, the officials gave the Flames a game-changing turnover, setting the offense up near midfield for a touchdown-or-bust drive in the fourth quarter.

Northgate’s run game once again got them into the red zone, but after a first-down incompletion and a short gain by DJ Smith, the Flames needed a big play through the air, something they had struggled to find all night. Despite completing only 3 of 12 passes for 39 yards, Smith made the season’s most important throw, hitting his top target, senior Johrdon Hairston, over the middle for a 19-yard touchdown.

The Scotties then got their chance to respond. After a questionable pass interference call, Stephen Lane threw a deep sideline pass to his top target, senior Zion Waters, putting Union at the Northgate 25 and giving them a chance to gain more yardage, chew clock, and either score a touchdown or kick a game-winning field goal.

But after senior linebacker Christian Tamburri exploded through the backfield to tackle Gianni Million for a loss of yardage, a third-and-ten set up a pass from Lane, who looked right and then fired to his left – not seeing that senior Billy Hurley dropped into coverage – and threw right into his arms, sending the Northgate crowd into a frenzy.

DJ Smith then cracked his biggest run, a 40+ yard rushing touchdown on 3rd-and-5 in the final minute, to extend the Flames’ lead to 8. With only one timeout and 58 seconds left, the Union offense moved past midfield before senior WR/DB Samir King collected his third interception of the game to seal the win for Northgate.

Northgate (6-3, 4-2) is scheduled to take on the Cornell Raiders (3-5, 1-4) in a conference matchup next Friday night at Alumni Field. With the tragic and shocking passing of Cornell Head Coach Ed Dawson last night, the status of that game is certainly up in the air. Football communities throughout the WPIAL and the entire state are mourning the loss of Coach Dawson and praying for his family and the Cornell community during this difficult time.

 
 
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