Oct 15, 2021 3 min read

CANONSBURG – Canon McMillan was looking for revenge when North Allegheny rolled onto West Pike Street last night. The Big Macs were shut out 35-0 a year ago at North Allegheny. While the Big Macs led early, the Tigers stormed back to seal a 36-14 victory.

It was Canon-McMillan that got the scoring started when senior running back Ryan Angott took a handoff into the end zone from nine yards out. Angott was injured late in the second quarter and was carted off the field on a stretcher. Agnott finished his shorten night with 16 yards rushing on six carries and one touchdown.

“It was precautionary.” Canon-McMillan head coach Mike Evans said about Angott’s injury. “There was some helmet-to-helmet, but I don’t think it was anyone’s fault. He had some pain, but it was moderate, the stretcher was precautionary.”

Canon-McMillan dominated the first quarter and the begining of the second quarter, holding the North Allegheny offense to minimal gains. The Big Macs stretched their lead to 14 when sophomore quarterback Mike Evans, son of the head coach, hit senior wide receiver Anthony Finney on a 51-yard touchdown pass.

“He’s young and he’s fortunate to play with some really talented skill players around him.” Evans said about his son. “He has an offensive line that would die for him, so he is very lucky in that respect.”

North Allegheny was able to get on thescoreboard midway through the second quarter when sophomore quarterback Logan Kushner found senior wide receiver Dwayne Taylor on a 52-yard touchdown pass. The ensuing possession by the Big Macs was halted after one play when Taylor intercepted an Evans pass.

“He’s a big target.” North Allegheny head coach Art Walker said about his 6-6 wide receiver Taylor. “We needed a big play to get back into it and that was a big one.”

North Allegheny then took the lead and never looked back. With just over three minutes remaining in the second quarter when Kushner scampered in from four yards out and Tigers scored a two-point conversion on a fake field goal.

“Kevin Thompson my defensive coordinator put it in this week.” Walker said. “Our kicker Harron Lee did a great job throwing it to Connor Casten.”

The Tigers were able to seize control of the game when sophomore wide receiver Khiryn Boyd caught a 70-yard touchdown pass from Kushner and extended the North Allegheny lead to 22-14.

While the North Allegheny offense was able to tally 36 points, the Tigers defense was the star of the game. The Tigers had constant pressure on Evans all night, holding him to five completions in 15 attempts. The Big Macs did break 100 yards rushing but were held to small gains most of the second half.

“Our defense was unbelievable.” Walker said. “We were down 14-0 and got it to a 15-14 halftime lead. I told them in the locker room that if we shut them out in the second half we’ll win.”

Behind that impressive defensive performance, North Allegheny (3-2, 5-3) has now stacked two consecutive wins and will look to make it three next Friday when it hosts Hempfield in a WPIAL Clas 6A Quad County Conference matchup.

It was a tough night for the Big Macs losing star running back Angott and giving up 36 unanswered to lose is never an easy pill to swallow. A bright spot for Canon-McMillan was backup running back senior Owen Carter, who tallied 73 yards on 11 carries.

Canon-McMillan (2-3, 4-4) will look to rebound next week when they travel to North Huntingdon to take on the Norwin Knights.