Shady Side Academy wraps up conference title

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, October 27, 2018 | 1:00 AM

Shady Side Academy claimed the Class 2A Allegheny Conference title with a 28-10 victory over Avonworth Friday night.

After finishing with an 0-9 record two seasons ago, the Indians completely flipped the script and ended the regular season with a perfect 9-0 record.

“To be where we were then compared to where we are now doesn’t say enough about the testament to our leadership and our guys’ willingness to work,” coach Chuck DiNardo said.

Shady Side Academy (9-0, 6-0) played in its closest game this season, winning by 18 points. The Indians had averaged over 53 points per game coming into the final game of the regular season, while giving up just under 15 per game.

Senior quarterback Skyy Moore was the focal point all evening as he rushed for 336 yards and all four Shady Side touchdowns on 27 carries. He scored on runs of 78, 3, 34 and 37 yards.

Shady Side broke out to a 8-0 lead on a 78-yard touchdown run by Moore.

The score remained the same until just before halftime when Avonworth put together an almost nine-minute drive that ended with a Jason Novosel 32-yard field goal.

Avonworth (7-3, 4-2) trailed 8-3 at halftime, and it seemed momentum was shifting its way when Jax Miller returned the opening kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown. The extra point was good, and the Antelopes had their first lead of the game 10-8. That’s when Shady Side took over.

Moore scored two more touchdowns before the third quarter ended, and he added another in the fourth to seal the victory. Moore finished with 440 total yards of offense, and Shady Side outgained Avonworth 491 to 147 yards in all.

Avonworth’s Derek Johncour led Class 2A in passing with over 2,300 yards and was averaging close to 300 yards passing per game. He was held to just 89 yards.

“They did a nice job tonight. They have two Division I athletes at cornerback. We are a throwing team, and they locked our kids down,” Avonworth coach Duke Johncour said.

Avonworth ends the regular season on a two-game losing streak, but it earned the third seed from the Allegheny Conference.

Shady Side Academy will likely be the No. 1 seed in Class 2A when the WPIAL brackets come out Monday night.

“Whether we end up as the No. 1 seed or the No. 16 seed, we have to beat anybody anyways so we need to take things one step at a time,” DiNardo said.

Cory Campano is a freelance writer.

Tags: Avonworth, Shady Side Academy