The flame was squirted on -- but never fully extinguished.

And kudos to Northgate for getting things back on track and earning their first win of the season.

In Northgate's 30-25 victory against Cornell last week, the Flames got down, 18-14, after three quarters in the battle between two winless teams.

Then, the Flames fought back to take a 22-18 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Bill Quinn to Josh Abernethy.

But that wasn't all, Northgate would need to light another fire under its offense.

Later in the fourth quarter, Cornell took a 25-22 lead when Mark Rucker scored on his second short run of the game.

That is when the Flames constructed a game-winning drive that culminated with Pat Carr's 25-yard touchdown run and Justin Mayhew's two-point conversion catch for the final margin of 30-25.

Carr's 149-yard, two-touchdown effort was the catalyst in a win wherein the Flames came from behind twice late in a season that has otherwise been tough.

The merits of Seneca Valley's offense have been well-documented, with quarterback C.J. Brown and receiver Matt Plautz leading the charge. The Raiders have routinely moved the ball and are averaging 28.3 points per game, second best in the Class AAAA Northern Six Conference.

So why is Seneca Valley saddled with a 3-3 record and all the way at the bottom of the conference standings with an 0-2 Northern Six mark?

Simply put, they have had a hard time stopping anyone.

In the past two games, Seneca Valley's defense has yielded a combined 108 points -- 52 last week at North Hills and 56 the week prior at home against North Allegheny.

Earlier this season -- in a win, no less -- Seneca Valley gave up 33 points against Erie McDowell.

It doesn't help the Raiders either that the Northern Six has been, by and large, on the defensive this year. Just Seneca Valley and Butler are giving up more than 18 points per game.

OK, OK, OK, they aren't really in the PG North coverage area -- the school is "too North" for that -- but an accomplishment by Erie McDowell needs to be mentioned.

More specifically, did you happen to see what the Trojans' running game did to Latrobe last week?

In a 55-20 win for McDowell, running back Alex Schmude rushed for 291 yards and quarterback A.J. Fenton picked up 283 of his own on the ground.

That adds up to 574 yards by two guys, or for a sense of perspective, 187 more than North Allegheny had, as an entire team, in its commanding 34-6 win against Shaler Area last week.

If you have a heart, you have to feel for Deer Lakes quarterback Geoff Landry.

Last week against Kittanning, Landry completed 24 of his 45 passes.

He threw for 351 yards.

He tossed four touchdowns.

Great night, right?

Sure, except one thing, his defense didn't do him much in the way of favors, yielding six touchdowns -- the Wildcats also scored a defensive touchdown -- as Kittanning earned a 49-35 victory in the Class AA Allegheny Conference.

The loss now also has the Lancers on the outside looking in on the playoff race, with a 2-4 conference record. Had it won, Deer Lakes would have been right in the thick of the playoff jockeying, fighting for the final spot at 3-3.

The Fox Chapel Foxes.

Sure, a whole team is something very broad to pay attention to, but let me explain a little bit.

Fox Chapel is 4-2 overall, but much more important, 2-0 in the Class AAAA Big East Conference headed into tomorrow's conference game against Woodland Hills (2-4, 1-1) at the Wolvarena.

A win against Woodland Hills would be momentous for Fox Chapel and coach Bryan Deal.

Here is the catch -- when the Foxes come running out of the locker room, they are going to be playing for Fox Chapel, and when they look across the field -- even though it is a slightly down Wolverines team -- they are still playing against Woodland Hills, a traditional power.

Also, there is some talk that Fox Chapel's leading offensive threat, running back Montay Green, is banged up and isn't expected to play in the game.

All that said, though, Fox Chapel can win this game, but in order to do so, Deal must make sure his kids understand they are playing only against this Woodland Hills team, and not all the history that comes with those teal and black winged helmets.