The Moon Area Tigers made quick of their first two opponents in the WPIAL’s inaugural girls flag football playoffs Tuesday and earned a berth in Thursday’s tournament semifinals.
The Tigers, who last year reached the flag football championship game when the sport hadn’t yet been sanctioned by the WPIAL or PIAA, entered tournament play Tuesday with an overall record of 10-3 and was the No. 3 seed among the four Section 4 teams that qualified for the 16-team playoffs.
But Moon had no trouble with No. 2 seed Keystone Oaks in Tuesday’s opening game, whipping the Eagles, 33-13, at Montour High School’s Thomas J. Birko Memorial Stadium.
Moon quarterback Syd Ray threw five touchdown passes — one each to Gianna Reynolds, Belly Rodrigues, Madi Wilson, Kendall Dydek and Juls Corrado. On defense, Maria Cortes had 11 flag pulls (tackles) and Wilson picked off a pass.
Keystone Oaks had beaten Moon, 33-7, during the regular season.
With that first-round win Tuesday, the Tigers moved on to battle Section 4’s top seed, Seton LaSalle, which defeated Montour 35-6 earlier Tuesday.
Seton LaSalle entered the tournament with a 16-1 overall record and went unbeaten in section play at 13-0. Included in that run was a 27-7 victory over Moon on April 28.
But it was a different story this time around, as the Tigers rolled to a 33-6 victory. Moon now takes on Plum, which defeated Greater Latrobe, 32-18, on Tuesday in Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. semifinal game at Upper St. Clair. Shaler and Mt. Lebanon will play in the other semifinal game at 5 p.m.
The two semifinal winners will meet at 8 p.m. at the same venue for the championship.
Ray threw for three more touchdowns in the win over Seton LaSalle, connecting with Sarah Tavares on two of them and hitting Reese Keslar with one. Wilson also ran for a touchdown.
Avery Pacheco led the defense with three interceptions while Cortes and Wilson each had one pick. Reynolds had 11 flag pulls.
The top four teams in each of the WPIAL’s four sections for flag football reached the inaugural tournament, and Tuesday’s action was played at four different sites, including Montour.
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