North Hills' luck did not run out last night. Instead, that was Brandon Felder, Dayonne Nunley and the rest of the Gateway Gators running out, over and past them.

Felder rushed for 83 yards and three touchdowns, and Nunley scored on a long touchdown reception and a kickoff return as No. 1 seed Gateway ended the Cinderella run of No. 12 North Hills with a 42-20 victory last night in a WPIAL Class AAAA semifinal at Fox Chapel's James Burk Memorial Field.

"It was a tough game. [North Hills] came ready to play," said Gateway coach Terry Smith, whose team will play in its third consecutive WPIAL title game and fourth in the past six years Friday against Woodland Hills at Heinz Field.

"They challenged us, but we answered the call.

"We put 42 points up on the board, and every time they scored, we answered with a score."

Gateway (12-0) came into the game with the highest-scoring team in WPIAL Class AAAA and the best scoring defense in that classification.

The Gators barely had been pushed in a game since the opening night of the season, but they found themselves in a dogfight when the Indians' Max Creighan scored his second touchdown of the game 1:05 into the fourth quarter to pull North Hills back from an early, 21-3 deficit to within 28-20.

"I asked the kids to make it a fourth-quarter game," North Hills coach Jack McCurry said. "And there we were in the fourth quarter, late in the game, and it's a one-touchdown game."

The Indians (6-6) entered the playoffs having lost three of their last four regular-season games and with a losing record but upset No. 4 seed McKeesport and No. 5 North Allegheny in the first two playoff rounds.

"I'm very proud of this team," McCurry said. "I think we showed everybody we belonged in the tournament. We belonged in this game."

It did not look that way early, when the Gators used their quick-strike capability to build a 21-3 lead.

On the second play from scrimmage, Rob Kalkstein hit Nunley, who ran 59 yards for a touchdown to make it, 7-0. Then, after North Hills' Anthony Chiappetta kicked a 40-yard field goal, Nunley returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown, and, after a North Hills fumble, Felder scored the Gators' third touchdown in the first 9:31 of the game on a 3-yard run.

But the Indians climbed all the way back and had the ball at midfield with 8 minutes to play before fumbling it away.

"That's one of the best teams in the state right there," said the Indians' Creighan, who had a touchdown rushing and receiving.

"We battled. ... We just self-destructed at the end."

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