Moon Area’s bid to annex a third straight Steelers High School Flag Football League championship came up short Sunday, as the Tigers fell to Upper St. Clair, 12-0, in the title game at Highmark Stadium.
Moon reached the championship game by beating Latrobe, 25-7, in Sunday’s semifinal matchup, earning the right to face Upper St. Clair, which defeated Shaler in Sunday’s other semifinal.
But the Tigers couldn’t repeat their offensive output against Upper St. Clair, which held Moon scoreless while putting two touchdowns on the board to claim the crown.
Moon remained within striking distance in the second half, trailing 6-0, before Anushka Sharma hauled in a long touchdown pass for Upper St. Clair with 11 minutes, 22 seconds remaining in the game.
That extended the Panthers’ lead to 12-0.
Moon could not mount any sort of offensive threat the rest of the way, as Upper St. Clair bottled up the Tigers’ attack and defending player of the year Shay Brown, who could not get untracked.
The Panthers’ offense, meanwhile, provided just enough against a Moon defense that hadn’t allowed a score in more than six games.
The loss was the first of the season for Moon, which finished with a 13-1-1 mark.
Moon’s Lyla Beene gets tackled by Upper St. Clair’s Ellie Shanholtzer in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Shay Brown slides between two Upper St. Clair defenders in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Sydney Ray gets tackled by Upper St. Clair’s Meredith Huzjak in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Julianna Corrado breaks up a pass intended for Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the flag football championship game 
Moon’s Maria Cortes breaks up a pass intended for Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Avery Pacheco tackles Upper St. Clair’s Emily Powell in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Gianna Reynolds tackles Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Avery Pacheco collides with Upper St. Clair’s Anna Engelman and makes the tackle in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Lyla Beene try to evade Upper St. Clair’s Meredith Huzjak and the tackle in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Shay Brown avoids a tackle by Upper St. Clair’s Ellie Shanholtzer in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game. 
Moon’s Lyla Beene questions the side judge during a second-half break in the championship flag football contest against Upper St. Clair at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. 
Moon’s Maddie Wilson trys to avoid Upper St. Clair’s Meredith Huzjak but gets tackled in flag football action at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Panthers in the championship game.
Moon vs. Upper St. Clair - (Photos by Mike Longo Jr.)
Upper St. Clair employed a three-safety look defensively, which Moon hadn’t seen much of this season, but Moon coach Mike Muraco said he didn’t think that was the difference-maker.
“We just never really got a flow going,” he said. “We came close to scoring twice and couldn’t capitalize on it.
“It wasn’t necessarily that they were doing anything different. We had a couple drops and a couple of interception opportunities that we dropped. We got ourselves in good position but we couldn’t finish.”
Muraco also gave credit to his team’s opponent.
“It was tight,” he said. “But you have to give it to them. They played well.”
Moon got off on the wrong foot in its semifinal game, throwing a pick six on its first offensive series to fall behind 7-0.
“I think with the nerves of the day, it took us a while to get started,” Muraco said. “But once we got started, we got in a nice groove, and we were able to take care of things. They played really well.”
Sunday’s championship game had several special guests, including Dan Rooney Jr., the Steelers’ vice president of player personnel, and Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, along with retired players Charlie Batch and Arthur Moats, the latter of whom provided color commentary for the television broadcast.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Charlie Batch is introduced as the honorary captain prior to the start of Moon Area’s flag football championship game against Upper St. Clair Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. 
The championship trophy was on display Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Moon Tigers battled the Upper St. Clair Panthers for the right to hoist the trophy. 
Pittsburgh Steelers mascot Steely Mc Beam gets the Highmark Stadium crowd going during the flag football championship game. The Moon Tigers dropped a 12-0 decision to the Upper saint Clair Panthers. 
The Moon flag football faithful showed up Sunday at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh for the championship game between the Tigers and the Upper St. Clair Panthers. Two young fans dance to the halftime music. 
Moon’s Sara Tavares slips on her second-place medal presented by former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, Charlie Batch following the flag football championship game at Highmark Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers dropped a 12-0 decision to the Upper St. Clair Panthers. 
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick present Moon’s Reese Keslar her second-place medal at Highmark stadium in Pittsburgh. The Tigers battled the Upper St. Clair Panthers in the flag football championship game, but lost 12-0.
(Photos by Mike Longo Jr.)
Joe Lofton, the Steelers’ football development manager, said the event turned out well all the way around, from the play on the field to the spectator experience.
“The atmosphere was awesome,” Lofton said.
This is only the second year of existence for the Upper St. Clair team. Moon, meanwhile, won the league championship in its second and third years of existence – 2023 and 2024 – after Shaler won the inaugural title.
Muraco said his team took the loss hard, but a number of his players indicated they’re ready to begin working for next year’s title run.
“We lost so many seniors last year, and we’re losing some seniors this year as well,” he said. “But we had a lot of juniors and freshmen that we counted on. We asked a lot of them this year and a lot of them had to step up and make plays. We could be interesting (next year).”
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