Upper St. Clair clinches playoff spot with win over Moon

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, October 12, 2018 | 11:27 PM

Upper St. Clair built a 24-3 lead after three quarters, but needed to hold on to defeat Moon, 24-16, on Friday night.

With the win, the Panthers (7-1, 4-1 in Allegheny 8) join West Allegheny by punching their ticket to the WPIAL Class 5A postseason.

Upper St. Clair quarterback Jason Sweeney completed 16 of 23 passes for 130 yards and ran for a 20-yard touchdown in the second quarter.

“Every year, our goal is to make the playoffs,” Sweeney said. “Our team is coming together at the right time as we get close to the playoffs.”

The night didn’t start well for the Panthers, as Moon recovered an onside kick to start the game. The Tigers then marched to the Panthers 20-yard line on seven plays before having to settle for a 37-yard field goal from Ryan Zimmerman to give Moon a 3-0 lead.

Upper St. Clair got a 66-yard return on the ensuing kickoff by David Pantellis to set the Panthers up with good field position. The Panthers were ultimately turned away from the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the Moon 1, as Antonio Orsini was stuffed at the line of scrimmage by the Tigers defense.

Two plays later, the Tigers gave the ball right back to the Panthers as Jamal Littlejohn lost a fumble at his own 1-yard line. That was the first of four Tigers turnovers, something that’s plagued them all year.

On the next play, Colin McLinden scored the first of his two touchdowns on a 1-yard plunge, giving the Panthers their first lead with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.

The Panthers extended their lead to 14-3 on a 20-yard run by Sweeney on a zone read play. Sweeney faked the handoff to Orsini and ran untouched off of left tackle into the end zone.

After the first of two Dante Clay interceptions gave Upper St. Clair the ball back on the Tigers’ 10-yard line, placekicker Sean Martin knocked one through the uprights from 26 yards out to give the Panthers a 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter.

After the break, the Panthers added to their lead on a 2-yard touchdown run by McLinden, giving Upper St. Clair a seemingly insurmountable 24-3 advantage.

Moon fought back by scoring two touchdowns in less than a 3-minute span late in the fourth quarter. Clay connected on a 29-yard touchdown pass to Malcom Johnson and, after the failed extra point, the Tigers cut the lead to 24-9.

After a three-and-out, a short Panthers punt was returned by Johnson deep into Upper St. Clair territory. Clay found Ramone Dean on a beautiful back-shoulder pass to cut the deficit to 24-16.

Moon’s defense got the ball back for one last possession at the 1:09 mark of the fourth quarter, starting at its own 30, but Clay fumbled the football back over to the Panthers on the first play of the drive, and Upper St. Clair ran out the clock to preserve the win.

Moon fell to 2-6 overall and 1-4 in Allegheny Eight action and was eliminated from postseason contention.

Steve Nagler is a freelance writer.

Tags: Moon, Upper St. Clair