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Moore, Tomlin lead Shady Side Academy football over Valley

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 7, 2018 | 11:51 PM

The last time Skyy Moore visited Valley’s Memorial Stadium on a football Friday night, Shady Side Academy’s standout quarterback barely could walk, let alone play football.

The New Kensington native made the most of his final chance to play in his hometown.

Moore passed for 180 yards and three touchdowns, all to Dino Tomlin, and rushed for 126 yards and another score as Class 2A No. 3 Shady Side Academy rolled to a 43-14 win over Valley in an Allegheny Conference game Friday night.

“Coach called it a homecoming for me, and it just feels great for me to come in here and get it done,” Moore said.

Moore played with and against many of Valley’s players growing up in the Ar-Ken youth football league before attending Shady Side Academy for high school. He expected an “electrifying” atmosphere, and he provided most of the electricity himself, hitting Tomlin for scores of 15, 43 and 80 yards and rushing for an 18-yard touchdown to help SSA (2-0, 1-0) race to a 36-6 halftime lead and put the mercy rule into effect in the third quarter.

“Skyy Moore, I can’t say enough about,” Valley coach Muzzy Colosimo said. “Not only is he a great player, he’s a good kid.”

Moore missed Valley’s win in 2016 after breaking his ankle. He accounted for seven touchdowns in an SSA victory last season.

“It was definitely extra special for him, especially because the last time we came to this stadium he was on crutches,” SSA coach Chuck DiNardo said. “He knows what it’s like to miss that time right there, and he definitely wanted to make the most of his last appearance at his home field.”

Valley hoped to keep the ball out of the hands of Shady Side Academy’s playmakers, and the Vikings got 177 yards and two rushing touchdowns out of running back Deonte Ross. But two early turnovers in Indians territory hurt the Vikings (1-2, 0-2) and helped SSA take a big lead.

“At halftime I just went in and told them, you’re playing hard, but you’ve just got to get better, that’s all,” Colosimo said. “I think we played hard the whole game. Dede ran hard. I thought we did some good things.

“We could not handle when they went deep. We couldn’t get into our turns quick enough, and they ran right by us. And speed freaking kills.”

Tomlin, a state champion hurdler, finished with 140 yards receiving and three touchdowns, returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and intercepted a pass. Younger brother Mason Tomlin added an interception as their father, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, watched from the visiting stands. Lower Burrell native Alex Bellinotti added a 4-yard rushing touchdown and teamed with Ronan O’Connor and Billy Frohlich to help limit Valley’s offense.

“At times teams can preach about, ‘It takes all of us,’ ” Shady Side Academy coach Chuck DiNardo said. “In reality, it takes every single one of us every single day.”

It took Shady Side until late in the first quarter to score its first touchdown, but the Indians started rolling after that. Moore’s 43-yard touchdown to Tomlin, Bellinotti’s 4-yard run, Moore’s 18-yard run and two 2-point conversions made it 23-0. Ross put Valley on the board on a broken play, corralling a high snap on a punt and running 60 yards for a touchdown, but Tomlin returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown and added an 80-yard scoring play late in the second quarter.

“It took us a couple drives to get going, and coach made an emphasis about that when we were talking in our huddle,” Moore said. “But it was great to hop on them early and step on their neck, basically, at the second half.”

The third Moore-to-Tomlin touchdown early in the third put the mercy rule into effect before Ross capped the scoring with a late 2-yard run.

Both teams face high-quality opponents next week, with Valley visiting Class A No. 2 Imani Christian in nonconference play and SSA taking on Class 2A No. 2 Steel Valley in a big Allegheny Conference battle.

“We have to work and get better next week, that’s all,” Colosimo said.

Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Doug at dgulasy@tribweb.com or via Twitter @dgulasy_Trib.

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