Skyy’s the limit for Shady Side Academy two-way standout

By: HSSN Staff
Sunday, July 15, 2018 | 4:18 PM

Skyy Moore likes having the ball in his hands as Shady Side Academy’s dangerous dual-threat quarterback. But what he really enjoys is taking it from the other team.

“I’m definitely a defensive guy,” he said. “I think corner’s my natural position. I like interceptions. I still want the ball. I just want to take it.”

After stealing the ball from opposing quarterbacks four times last season, Moore wants more — as in triple the picks. And with a WPIAL championship his top priority, he figures he can average an interception a game to get to his clean dozen.

“Whatever the record is, I want the record,” he said. “I think it’s like 12. We’re planning on playing a lot of games.”

To do that, Moore will need to lead Shady Side Academy to the playoffs for the first time in his career. After missing the bulk of his sophomore season because of an ankle injury, Moore took the Indians to the cusp of the postseason in 2017, but they finished on the outside looking in. A narrow Allegheny Conference loss to Freeport proved the difference.

Even as Moore compiled nearly 3,000 total yards on offense, earning Allegheny Conference Offensive Player of the Year and Co-Defensive Player of the Year honors, staying home in November stung.

“I was kind of angry,” he said. “I was happy with where I was individually, but for us as a team, not making the playoffs, I felt hungry to come back for this season. We’ve got a chip on our shoulder this year.”

Along with fellow senior Dino Tomlin, Moore forms one of the most dynamic duos in the WPIAL. And with a host of other returning skill players and a drop from Class 3A to 2A, Shady Side Academy has the look of a WPIAL championship contender.

With that in mind, Moore spent much of the summer working on every facet of his game, offense and defense, and especially conditioning given his two-way play. After a slow start to his recruiting process, Moore racked up 13 offers between April and mid-June, bringing his total to 14. He impressed at camps at Duke, Michigan and Pitt.

He plans to make his decision sometime late in the season, perhaps not until after it’s over. And if Moore has his way, colleges might need to wait until after he raises a trophy or two.

The Skyy’s the limit when Moore is running the show.

“I like when the ball’s in my hands and I determine what happens,” he said. “I’m in charge.”

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