North Allegheny chasing historic WPIAL 3-peat

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, August 6, 2024 | 6:01 AM

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Editor’s note: Trib HSSN will publish team-by-team previews for one conference per day until the start of the high school football season Aug. 23.

Last November, North Allegheny tied Pine-Richland and Central Catholic as the only teams to repeat as WPIAL champions in Class 6A football.

“The dedication to everyone in our program (stood out last year),” North Allegheny coach Art Walker said. “Players, coaches, the administration and our families, it was a phenomenal effort.”

Now the Tigers will try to make history by doing something the Rams could not do in 2019 and what the Vikings failed to accomplish in 2022 — three-peat as 6A district champs.

“We’re going for the (WPIAL) three-peat,” senior two-way lineman Jack Yatchenko said. “We have the pieces. The young guys are really picking it up. We’ve gotten a lot better since the spring. I think the three-peat is absolutely the goal.”

It could be done, but it won’t be easy as NA returns five starters on both sides of the ball.

“Hard work and competition have been relevant since the winter and continued throughout the spring and summer,” Walker said. “We are hopeful that opportunity will lead to success.”

Walker breaks down some of the key players returning this fall for North Allegheny.

• Yatchenko is a four-year letter winner and a Princeton recruit. “He is strong, physical and a very hard worker.”

• Senior running back and linebacker Liam Flaherty is one of the team leaders. “He will do anything for the team. He’s smart, reliable and an over-achiever.

• Senior wide receiver and defensive back James Donaldson. “He is a throwback player, tough, great motor, loves his teammates and plays bigger than he is.”

• Twin senior linebackers and h-backs Dylan and Kyle Langdon. “Both are very physical, great motors, and are very hard workers and will lead as well.”

• Senior kicker Peter Notaro is a Alabama commit. “He has an unbelievable leg and desire to be the best. We are counting on him in close games.”

There are a lot of new faces throughout the lineup for NA, but Yatchenko is confident the Tigers will be strong up front thanks to he and his fellow lineman.

“I’m extremely excited about this year’s offensive line,” he said. “I think we’re going to be incredible at running the ball and pass protecting.”

Filling out the rest of the starting spots is a process that is challenging, but rewarding and exciting for Walker as he prepares for his 20th season as head coach of the Tigers.

“Watching players that have been backups to great players make the very most of an opportunity to be a major contributor is exciting,” he said.

North Allegheny defeated Central Catholic in a wild 6A title game last season, 44-41, even though the Tigers finished in second place to the Vikings in the regular season.

Even though the classification has expanded, Walker doesn’t expect any new wrinkles among the seven participants.

“Two teams have been added, but not much different,” he said. “We will approach things week to week as always.”

North Allegheny

Coach: Art Walker

2023 record: 13-2, 3-1 in Class 6A

All-time record: 461-258-14

SCHEDULE

Date, Opponent, Time

8.23 St. Frances Academy Regional (Md.), 7:30

8.30 Gateway, 7:30

9.6 at Penn Hills, 7

9.13 at Hempfield*, 7

9.20 Norwin*, 7:30

9.27 at Central Catholic* at Baldwin, 7

10.4 at Mt. Lebanon*, 7

10.11 at Canon-McMillan*, 7

10.18 Pine-Richland, 7:30

10.25 Seneca Valley*, 7:30

* Conference game

STATISTICAL LEADERS

Passing: Logan Kushner*

93-182, 1,821 yards, 24 TDs

Rushing: Kushner*

160-1,434 yards, 22 TDs

Receiving: Khiryn Boyd*

32-846 yards, 16 TDs

* Graduated

FAST FACTS

• North Allegheny captured its sixth WPIAL championship last year, 33 years after winning football gold for the first time in 1990. The Tigers repeated with an instant classic victory over North Allegheny at Norwin last November, 44-41. NA quarterback Logan Kushner threw for 107 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 242 yards and four touchdowns, including a 76-yard run in the fourth quarter that turned out to be the game-winning score.

• Art Walker begins his 20th season as head coach at North Allegheny following seven years as head coach at Central Catholic. He has 244 career wins and seven WPIAL championships. His father, legendary Mt. Lebanon and Shady Side Academy coach Art Walker, coached for 26 years and won six district titles.

• North Allegheny will be trying to become the first team to win three consecutive Class 6A crowns this fall. Pine-Richland won two straight 6A titles in 2017 and 2018 and Central Catholic repeated in 2019 and 2020. The Tigers will be trying to tie their own record by winning three straight championships in the WPIAL’s highest classification. The only other time that has happened was when NA pulled off the hat trick in 2010, 2011 and 2012. Penn Hills won Class 3A district championships in 1976 and 1978, but shared the title with Butler in 1977.

• With four of the seven Class 6A teams qualifying for the WPIAL football playoffs, odds are decent North Allegheny will qualify for the WPIAL football playoffs for the 21st year in a row. The last time the Tigers missed out on the playoffs was in 2003 when they finished 3-7 overall and in sixth place in the old Quad North Conference.

• This is the 70th season of North Allegheny football. The Tigers have a record of 461-258-14.

Tags: North Allegheny