North Allegheny wasn’t the preseason favorite to win the WPIAL Class 6A title in 2022, but it went ahead and won it anyway.
It was the same story last year when the Tigers once again proved the pundits wrong and repeated as champions.
A year later, the Tigers find themselves on the doorstep of becoming the first school to win three consecutive Class 6A titles, and, wouldn’t you know, they are once again not the preseason favorite.
Not that the Tigers care about that one bit.
“It’s the same story every year,” senior lineman Jack Yatchenko said. “They’ve got all the WPIAL pages, all the PA sports pages. They always, I don’t want to say disrespect, but they always put us down. And I think every year we’ve proven them wrong, and I don’t think it will be any different this year.”
North Allegheny lost seven all-conference players to graduation, among them quarterback Logan Kushner, Khiryn Boyd and Tyree Alualu, but the Tigers do return some key pieces in addition to a slew of younger players who are vying for much more prominent roles than they had a season ago.
“There was a lot of accountability with that group,” coach Art Walker said. “They were tight. And that’s what we want to see out of these guys. We want to see that, ‘Hey, it’s now my opportunity. I’m going to make the most of it. I’m going to do it with a lot of heart, with a lot of guts, with a lot of grit, but also as a great teammate.’ Because that’s the only way you win in 6A, is you have to have a group of guys that are together. And create some depth and a belief in one another. I truly believe that got us past a lot of very good football teams late in the season.”
North Allegheny, which defeated Central Catholic in each of the past two WPIAL title games, returns a pair of all-conference offensive linemen in Yatchenko and junior Lincoln Hoke. Yatchenko is a three-year starter and one of the WPIAL’s best linemen. Walker called Yatchenko (6-3, 290 pounds) the strongest player he has ever coached. A Princeton recruit, Yatchenko has benched 440 pounds and squatted 520.
“What he’s been able to do in the weight room is one thing. How he’s worked on his speed and flexibility is another. He’s taken that very seriously,” Walker said. “We pulled him up in ninth grade because he hung with varsity guys in the weight room. The kid is just a natural in there. I’ve never really seen anything like it.”
Junior Jackson Failla and sophomore Brady Brinkley have been competing to become the starting quarterback. Failla was the varsity backup last season and Brinkley was the starter on the freshman team. Both have fathers who were outstanding athletes at North Allegheny. Paul Failla went on to play quarterback at Notre Dame, and Derek Brinkley was an NCAA hurdles champion at IUP. Derek is North Allegheny’s offensive coordinator.
“They have been working hard since January. It’s a good competition,” Walker said. “They are both very good athletes, so for us it’s a good problem to have.”
Among the top playmakers on the offensive side of the ball are senior running back Liam Flaherty and senior wide receiver James Donaldson. Flaherty shared the starting duties with Alualu last season and rushed for 424 yards and five touchdowns. He also starts at inside linebacker.
Senior twins Kyle and Dylan Langdon return and will add to what should once again be a very good secondary. Donaldson is back there, too, as is senior cornerback Nicholas Humphries.
North Allegheny also boasts one of the most special specialists in the WPIAL. Senior kicker Peter Notaro, an all-conference pick last season, is the only WPIAL player currently committed to play at an SEC school. Notaro is an Alabama recruit. Kohl’s Kicking ranks him a 5-star recruit and No. 4 kicker in the nation. He was 15 of 17 on extra points and 7 of 10 on field goals last season when his season long was 47 yards.
“He wants to be a guy that you call on to bring in to win the game,” Walker said. “His range now, I don’t know where we’re at, but I know if we cross the 40 he can make it.”
These Tigers believe they can make it, too … to the WPIAL Class 6A summit once again, that is. And if they prove the doubters wrong again, more history will come their way.
“It would mean everything,” Yatchenko said of becoming the first team to win three consecutive WPIAL Class 6A titles. “That’s the same speech we got two years ago. ‘North Allegheny has never won a 6A title.’ We did that. ‘North Allegheny has never gone back to back in 6A.’ We did it. I think it would be amazing, it would be everything to be the first team to three-peat in 6A.”
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.