A 14-point outburst in the final two minutes of the third quarter helped Moon Area take control on the way to a 21-3 victory over host West Allegheny Friday night in a nonconference football game at Joe P. DeMichela Stadium.
The Tigers (3-1) had trouble getting untracked through most of the first half but finally found some traction in the closing minute after Teagan Tomei’s 33-yard field goal had given West Allegheny a 3-0 lead.
Setting up shop at their own 35-yard line with less than a minute to play, Moon quarterback Andrew Cross connected with Savario Vandetti for 19 yards, then kept for 6 before hitting Jayden Revis for a 9-yard gain to the West Allegheny 31-yard line.
Cross and Revis then teamed again on the very next play on a 31-yard touchdown pass, and Evan Senkevich’s PAT gave Moon a 7-3 lead with 13 seconds to play in the half.
After a lengthy Homecoming halftime, neither team could get anything going offensively through much of the third quarter and at one point the Tigers faced a fourth-and-23 from the West Allegheny 41-yard line. But a roughing the punter penalty breathed new life into the Tiger drive, giving Moon a first down at the West Allegheny 26.
Five plays later, Cross hit Vandetti on a slant for a 6-yard score, and the PAT made it 14-3 with 1 minute, 59 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Moon extended that lead to 21-3 on the second play of West Allegheny’s next offensive possession when Jared Moyer picked off Donovan O’Connor’s pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Senkevich’s PAT made it 21-3 with 54 seconds left in the quarter, and that sealed the win.
West Allegheny squandered one scoring chance in the opening quarter, driving to Moon’s 16-yard line, but the Indians failed to convert on a 33-yard field goal attempt.
The Indians eventually got on the board first, taking advantage of a blocked punt to open a drive at the Moon 13-yard line late in the second quarter.
But the Tigers’ defense came up with two big stops, and a false start penalty pushed West Allegheny back to its own 25-yard-line.
On fourth-and-22, the Indians opted for a field goal attempt, and Tomei converted from 42 yards out with a minute to play in the half, giving West Allegheny a 3-0 lead.
Moon won the statistics battle, finishing with 215 total yards to 141 for West Allegheny. Cross completed 10 of 18 passes for 149 yards, with Revis catching three of those passes for 82 yards. Vandetti had four receptions for 28 yards.
West Allegheny held Moon’s running game in check for the most part, limiting the Tigers to 77 yards on the ground. Antione Arnett led Moon with 25 yards on eight carries.
Montour 41, Knoch 8
Caden Halajcio rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns and the Spartans had little trouble subduing the Knights in a nonconference game in Saxonburg.
Halajcio scored on runs of 1, 7 and 28 yards for the Spartans, who improved to 3-1 on the season. Knoch fell to 0-4 with the loss. Halajcio amassed his yardage on 18 carries, and the Spartans totaled 253 yards on the ground as a team while holding Knoch to 31 yards rushing in 26 attempts.
Montour completely dominated play in the first half, holding Knoch to just one first down, with that coming on a penalty. The Spartans offense, meanwhile, reeled off four scoring drives in the first two quarters and led 28-0 at intermission.
Halajcio scored on runs of 1 and 7 yards and Archie Collins went in from 2 yards out.
Brandon Bennett also connected with Zander Stern on a 43-yard scoring pass for Montour; that was the Spartans’ first score of the night. Bennett finished the game with five completions in 11 attempts for 100 yards. Stern caught three of those passes for 64 yards.
Amari Wright added a 1-yard touchdown run for Montour in the final quarter, extending the Spartans’ lead to 41-0. Knoch finally got on the board when Keegan Orris caught a 16-yard touchdown pass from Kade Sundie.
Cornell 18, Burgettstown 13
M.J. Stuckey and Khylil Johnson teamed on a last-second touchdown pass to vault the Raiders past the Blue Devils in a Class 1A Black Hills Conference thriller at Frankl Letteri Stadium.
The Stuckey-to-Johnson 6-yard connection capped a 95-yard drive that Cornell put together in the final 63 seconds of the game. The winning score came with 3 seconds remaining in the game.
“It was a phenomenal game,” Cornell coach Ed Dawson said afterward. “It was great to see the kids fight from bell to bell and come out with a win.”
Johnson rushed for 124 yards on five carries, including a 51-yard touchdown run that opened the scoring in the second quarter.
A Burgettstown field goal trimmed the lead to 6-3, and the Blue Devils went in front by returning the second-half kickoff 75 yards for a score. Another field goal extended the Burgettstown lead to 13-6 with 6 minutes, 23 seconds left in the game.
But Cornell clawed back, and Stuckey’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Dawson cut the Raiders’ deficit to 13-12.
That set the stage for Cornell’s last-second heroics.
Stuckey finished with 12 completions in 22 attempts for 127 yards.
Apollo-Ridge 42, Carlynton 0
Jaden McCray ran for a pair of scores and hauled in one of Chris Dailey’s two touchdown passes, sparking the host Vikings past the Cougars in a nonconference game.
Preston Clemens opened the scoring for Apollo-Ridge, which improved to 2-2, on an 11-yard run in the opening quarter.
McCray scored on runs of 1 and 4 yards in the second quarter, boosting the Vikings’ lead to 21-0 at halftime.
Dailey connected on a 39-yard scoring pass to McCray in the third quarter, then teamed with Nathan Fryer on a 20-yard touchdown toss to extend Apollo-Ridge’s lead to 35-0.
Jordan Mull’s 7-yard touchdown run closed out the scoring for the Vikings.
The loss dropped Carlynton’s record to 1-3.
South Allegheny 28, Our Lady of the Sacred Heart 6
Alijah Cook connected with his older brother Drew on a pair of touchdown passes and the Gladiators held the Chargers scoreless until the final quarter en route to a nonconference victory at Moon Area’s Tiger Stadium.
After a scoreless first quarter, the Cook brothers teamed on a 10-yard touchdown pass and later in the quarter, they hooked up on an 8-yard scoring pass to make it 14-0 at halftime.
South Allegheny, now 4-0, added to its lead in the third quarter when Joey Gamret blocked a punt and returned it for a touchdown, and Connor Morabeto’s third PAT made it 21-0.
OLSH finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter when Chris Harris picked off a pass and returned it 55 yards for a score to make it 21-6. Harris also led the Chargers in tackles with 6 unassisted stops.
Gamret answered for the Gladiators when he broke loose on a 52-yard touchdown run, and Morabeto’s PAT closed the scoring at 28-6.
OLSH, now 1-3, had major trouble offensively, as it wound up with minus-18 yards rushing and quarterback Fabian Nixon completed just 5 of 17 passing attempts for 16 yards.
Keystone Oaks 28, Sto-Rox 0
Owen Gearhart ran for two touchdowns and passed for a third as the visiting Eagles won for the first time in four starts and handed the Vikings their fourth straight loss to start the season in a nonconference game.
Gearhart scored on runs of 4 and 18 yards and also connected with Joe Colton on a 6-yard touchdown pass.
Cooper Lugalia accounted for Keystone Oaks’ final score, as he picked off a pass and returned it 53 yards for a touchdown.
Photos by Mike Longo Jr.
Be First to Comment