WPIAL Class 5A football championship breakdown: Moon vs. Penn-Trafford

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, November 26, 2021 | 3:22 PM

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WPIAL Class 5A football championship

No. 1 Moon vs. No. 2 Penn-Trafford

6 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field

On the air: TV: WPCW; Audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com, 1020 AM, 107.1 FM, 92.1 FM, 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM

Winner plays: The winner of the District 3 championship game between Governor Mifflin and Exeter Township on Dec. 3 or 4 at a site to be determined.

WPIAL titles: Moon 1 (1998), Penn-Trafford 0

Moon (12-0)

Player to watch: Ben Bladel

The 6-foot, 235-pound tight end/defensive end recently received a preferred walk-on offer from Pitt. He moved from the offensive line to tight end this season. He now is lining up at running back. He’s also a leader at defensive end. He has caught 18 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also received numerous NCAA Division II offers.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Ty McGowan, 105-162, 1,248 yards, 9 TDs

Rushing: Dylan Sleva, 161-825 yards, 11 TDs

Receiving: Taite Beachy, 41-517 yards, 5 TDs

How they got here: Moon defeated No. 6 seed Woodland Hills, 21-13, in a WPIAL quarterfinal on Nov. 12 and beat No. 5 seed Penn Hills, 14-9, in a WPIAL semifinal Nov. 19.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Ryan Linn

Offense

QB, 6, Tyler McGowan, 5-10, 195, sr.

RB, 44, Dylan Sleva, 6-3, 225, sr.

RB, 2, Jeremiah Dean, 5-9, 170, sr.

WR, 10, Taite Beachy, 5-10, 150, sr.

WR, 1, Jalen Broxie, 6-0, 185, sr.

WR, 13, Anthony Antoniades, 5-10, 175, jr.

TE, 40, Ben Bladel, 6-0, 235, sr.

LT, 59, Anthony Dines, 6-2, 255, sr.

LG, 71, Jake Hoak, 6-0, 250, sr.

C, 54, Jake Baumgartner, 5-11, 240, sr.

RG, 75, Trent Fraley, 6-3, 290, sr.

RT, 50, Aidan Mazreku, 6-0, 245, sr.

Defense

DE, 40, Ben Bladel, 6-0, 235, sr.

DT, 75, Trent Fraley, 6-3, 290, sr.

DT, 54, Jake Baumgartner, 5-11, 240, sr.

DE, 21, Joe Cotton, 5-10, 200, sr.

LB, 44, Dylan Sleva, 6-3, 225, sr.

LB, 20, Ian Foster, 5-7, 275, sr.

LB, 32, Ryan Hazen, 509, 190, sr.

CB, 2, Jeremiah Dean, 5-9, 170, sr.

CB, 13, Anthony Antoniades, 5-10, 175, jr.

S, 1, Jalen Broxie, 6-0, 185, sr.

S, 30, Caden Newhouse, 5-9, 165, jr.

Special teams

K/P, 14, Jake Wieland, 5-10, 165, sr.

PLS, Dean Shazer, 5-7, 200, sr.

XP-LS, 56, Brian Crawford, 6-0, 220, so.

Notable: Moon hasn’t been in the WPIAL finals since it defeated Blackhawk, 34-7, in 1998. During that season, the Tigers finished third in the Class AAA Parkway Conference behind Blackhawk and West Allegheny, losing to both teams. … The last time Moon played Penn-Trafford was in 1979 in a nonconference game. They won 3-0. … Running back Dylan Sleva, a 6-3, 235-pound senior, has rushed for 842 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. … The Tigers return four of five starting offensive linemen. It would have been all five returning but Bladel moved to tight end. … Kicker Jack Wieland has made 41 of 42 extra points and 4 of 7 field goal attempts. His longest was 39 yards.

Penn-Trafford (10-2)

Player to watch: Cade Yacamelli

Yacamelli, a Wisconsin recruit, fumbled on his first carry of the semifinal game against Pine-Richland. It was his only mistake as he rushed for 208 yards, scored three second-half touchdowns and intercepted a pass to halt a Pine-Richland threat. He’s rushed for 1,498 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He’s also the team’s leading receiver with 14 catches.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Carter Green, 69-117, 1,024 yards, 9 TDs

Rushing: Cade Yacamelli, 144-1,498 yards, 19 TDs

Receiving: Cade Yacamelli, 14-191 yards, 3 TDs

How they got here: Penn-Trafford defeated No. 7 seed Fox Chapel, 42-14, in a WPIAL quarterfinal Nov. 12 and then knocked off No. 3 Pine-Richland, 24-6, in a WPIAL semifinal Nov. 19.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: John Ruane

Offense

QB, 8, Carter Green, 5-10, 170, sr.

RB, 5, Cade Yacamelli, 6-0, 205, sr.

HB, 19, Jack Jollie, 6-1, 210, sr.

WR, 7, Liam Hileman, 5-10, 165, jr.

WR, 12, Tommy Kalkstein, 6-2, 185, jr.

TE, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

LT, 50, Declan Ochendowski, 6-3, 240, sr.

LG, 60, Luke Jollie, 6-7, 265, sr.

C, 51, Joe Enick, 6-3, 280, jr,

RG, 56, Garrett Moorhead, 5-11, 260, sr.

RT, 75, Zach Tomosovich, 6-6, 320, so.

Defense

DE, 50, Declan Ochendowski, 6-3, 240, sr.

NT, 51, Joe Enick, 6-3, 280, jr,

DE, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

LB, 3, Seth Dunlap, 6-0, 190, sr.

LB, 10, Josh Huffman, 6-0, 205, jr.

LB, 19, Jack Jollie, 6-1, 210, sr.

LB, 21, Daniel Tarabrella, 6-2, 190, jr.

CB, 7, Liam Hileman, 5-10, 165, sr.

CB, 4, Jacob Otto, 5-11, 175, jr.

FS, 8, Carter Green, 5-10, 170, sr.

SS, 5, Cade Yacamelli, 6-0, 205, sr.

Special teams

K, 1, Nathan Schlessinger, 6-0, 190, sr.

P, 10, Josh Huffman, 6-0, 205, jr.

LS, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

Notable: Penn-Trafford is 0-3 in WPIAL championship games, falling to Upper St. Clair, 28-27, in 1997; to Central Catholic, 24-17, in 2015; and Gateway, 21-16, in 2017. … The Warriors lead the all-time series against Moon, 3-2-1. The teams played in the Keystone Conference from 1972-1976. … Quarterback Carter Green has rushed for 1,019 yards and scored 14 touchdowns and has completed 69 of 117 passes for 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns. … Kicker Nathan Schlessinger has made 52 extra points and booted seven field goals. His longest was a school-record 48 yarder. He also plays soccer. … The teams played three common opponents. Moon defeated Woodland Hills (15-0 and 21-13), Peters Township (29-26) and Fox Chapel (42-28). Penn-Trafford defeated Woodland Hills (27-6) and Fox Chapel (42-14) but fell to Peters Township (28-14).

Paul Schofield is a TribLive reporter covering high school and college sports and local golf. He joined the Trib in 1995 after spending 15 years at the Daily Courier in Connellsville, where he served as sports editor for 14 years. He can be reached at pschofield@triblive.com.

Tags: Moon, Penn-Trafford