The remaining two West Hills high school teams playing for a shot at a WPIAL football championship will return to action Friday night.
In the Class 5A playoffs, No. 5 seed Moon Area will travel to Penn-Trafford to take on the fourth-seeded Warriors. And in the Class 1A tournament, No. 3 seed Bishop Canevin will meet No. 11 Frazier at Canon-McMillan High School.
Kickoff for both games is at 7 p.m.
Moon Area (8-3) at Penn-Trafford (9-1)
This will mark the second meeting of the season between the two teams, and the first meeting is one the Tigers likely would rather forget.
Moon held a 12-point lead with a little more than six minutes to play but saw that lead evaporate en route to a 25-24 loss.
Moon coach Ryan Linn certainly remembers that game, which was played on Sept. 5 and was the Tigers’ third outing of the season.
“We did enough to win,” Linn said. “But we also did enough to lose.”
After giving up a score on Cody Yacamelli’s 2-yard run, the Tigers gained possession with less than three minutes left. Needing only a few first downs to salt away the victory, Moon converted one and had a third-and-three situation on its next series. But a false start penalty that Penn-Trafford declined forced the Tigers to punt.
A 50-yard completion on the Warriors’ ensuing possession put them in business, and Nate Desmond’s 15-yard touchdown pass with 6.8 seconds remaining gave Penn-Trafford the win.
Linn acknowledges that much has happened in the past two months, so it’s hard to take too much away from that game.
“We’re not the same team they played and they’re not the same team we played,” he said.
In retrospect, Linn said he thought his team got the better of things for the middle portion of the game; Penn-Trafford scored 12 points early and then made its late comeback in the final six minutes.
“It felt like we controlled the middle 36 minutes on offense, defense and special teams,” he said. “We know we can play with them for sure. We just have to put together a full game.”
Penn-Trafford, who brings a 9-1 record into Friday’s game – the Warriors’ only loss came to Woodland Hills on Sept. 12 — enjoyed a week off by virtue of its No. 4 seeding.
Moon, meanwhile, defeated Armstrong last week, 48-21, putting together a strong second half after trailing 14-6 at halftime.
Linn said his team came out a bit flat against the 12th-seeded River Hawks.
“I don’t know if they were tentative,” he said. “There’s a little more pressure in the playoffs. But we talked at halftime about just coming out and playing, and the kids cranked it up. Someone made a big play, someone else made a big play and it just snowballed into 42 points in the second half.”
Linn said he doesn’t mind the fact that his team played last week while Penn-Trafford had a chance to rest.
“I don’t want a bye,” he said. “I’d rather keep playing – ride that momentum and continue to work on things.”
Linn said his team had a bye in 2021 and while it seemed beneficial at the time, in retrospect it was what he called a “weird week.”
“Not playing takes you out of your routine and rhythm,” he said. “I liked playing last week – it kept us locked in and kept us in our routine. We’re ready to play.”
Both teams enter Friday’s game on winning streaks, with Penn-Trafford taking six in a row and Moon (8-3) five straight.
Leading Penn-Trafford’s attack is Desmond, who has completed 83 of 145 passes for 1,385 yards and 10 touchdowns to go with seven interceptions.
Nick Ponko is Desmond’s top receiver with 38 catches for 660 yards. The Warriors boast two strong running backs in Ben Grabowski, who has 794 yards rushing and a 7.8 yard per carry average, and Yacamelli (747 yards, 8.6 per carry, 12 touchdowns).
For Moon, Andrew Cross has completed 81 of 158 passes for 976 yards and 12 touchdowns. He’s been intercepted five times. He’s also a threat with his legs, as he’s rushed for 470 yards and six scores.
Antione Arnett, the Tigers’ second-leading rusher with 460 yards, is expected to return after missing the last several games due to an injury. Dionte Henry has 253 yards rushing and Daiveon Taylor has added 156. In last week’s win, the Tigers rolled up 384 yards on the ground, with Cross, Taylor, Henry and Paul Bronaugh all rushing for at least 71 yards.
Cross’ top receiving targets are Savario Vandetti (25 catches, 377 yards), Braeden Stuart (28-286) and Jayden Revis (14-272).
Frazier (7-4) vs. Bishop Canevin (8-3) at Canon-McMillan High School
The Crusaders opened their WPIAL playoff run with a 50-35 victory over Greensburg Central Catholic. Like Moon, Bishop Canevin trailed at halftime and used a big second-half to overtake the Centurions.
Receiver-turned-quarterback Damar Olds had a huge game for Bishop Canevin, running for three touchdowns and throwing for two more.
Crusaders coach Rod Steele said his team moved the ball well in the first half but self-destructed on a fourth down play and turned the ball over on downs twice.
“Those three drives should have been points,” he said.
Steele said his defense made some adjustments and the team as a whole settled down after halftime.
“The first half was a little choppy for us,” he said. “But once we got the kids calmed down and got them to stay to the plan, we came out and executed on all our (second-half) possessions and scored points.”
Olds displayed his versatility, moving from wide receiver to quarterback, where he took over for Brady Wagner, who is ineligible to compete in the postseason due to his transfer status.
Olds wasn’t completely unfamiliar with the position; he started there earlier in the season before Wagner was ruled eligible to play in the regular-season and has practiced at the spot throughout the season.
“He was taking reps because we obviously knew this situation was coming,” Steele said of Olds. “He’s an athlete – he understands the system. Once we got him calmed down, he played his part in controlling the offense.”
Steele described Olds as a dual threat, capable of running designed plays, scrambling and throwing when needed.
“He can launch that thing and he’s pretty accurate,” Steele said of Olds. “He’s a threat anytime the ball is in his hands.
“As long as he keeps his composure and gets the team lined up and executes the plays, we’re fine. He doesn’t have to do too much.”
In last week’s win over Greensburg Central Catholic, Olds completed 5 of 11 passes for 161 yards, with Justin Melvin catching four of those passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns.
Myontae Mott rushed for 182 yards and a touchdown. On the season, Mott has 876 yards rushing on just 70 carries to go with 16 touchdowns. Olds has 12 touchdowns and has caught 19 passes for 402 yards. Neuval Bone also has rushed for 306 yards.
For Frazier, Brady Secrest has completed 87 of 163 pass attempts for 1,265 yards and 16 touchdowns to just three interceptions. Chase Fulmer has 53 receptions for 714 yards and eight scores; no one else has caught more than seven passes for the Commodores.
Derek Diamond is the main running threat with 1,786 yards in 280 carries. He has scored 17 touchdowns and made good on eight two-point conversion attempts.
Bishop Canevin has won four straight games and Frazier, which finished fourth in the Eastern Conference, owns a similar winning streak. The Commodores upset No. 6 California in last week’s opening round of the playoffs.
Steele said Frazier looks to be a well-coached team with its share of solid athletes.
“Their coach (Frazier alum Tony Battaglini) is doing a great job out there,” he said. “He’s getting kids to play for him and their doing a great job of working together. They have a running back who wants to run the ball, and they take shots when they can.”
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