A-K Valley high school notebook: Shady Side Academy’s Moore to face familiar foes

By: HSSN Staff
Thursday, October 5, 2017 | 11:09 PM

As part of Shady Side Academy's homecoming festivities on Saturday, Skyy Moore also will experience a reunion.

The Indians' junior quarterback, a New Kensington native, will face off against his hometown team when Valley visits at 3 p.m.

“I feel excited to go out and compete with the guys I've been playing with my whole life,” Moore said.

Moore is leading the playoff quest for SSA (3-2, 3-2), which is in fourth place in the Allegheny Conference after going winless last season. Moore, who missed much of last season with a broken ankle, has rushed for 710 yards and 10 touchdowns and passed for 577 yards and six scores. He accounted for four touchdowns — two passing, one rushing and another on an interception return in SSA's 35-28 Week 5 victory over defending conference champion Keystone Oaks.

Valley (1-4, 1-2) comes into Saturday's game short-handed after four players were ejected as part of a bench-clearing brawl late in the fourth quarter of last week's nonconference loss to Ellwood City. By PIAA rule, all four must sit out Saturday's game.

The WPIAL also wants Valley coach Muzzy Colosimo to sit out one game for deciding to end the game against Ellwood City after the brawl, with 1:41 remaining on the clock, or else it will ban the Vikings from the postseason.

Many happy returns

Logan Crise ranks among Highlands' top wide receivers, but he's proving just as dangerous in the return game.

Crise returned the opening kickoff 77 yards for a touchdown in the Golden Rams' 30-20 Week 5 victory over Albert Gallatin, giving him two such scores this season. He returned the opening kick 87 yards for a touchdown in Week 1 at Ambridge.

For the season, Crise is averaging 32.7 yards per return. He also has 13 catches for 229 yards and two touchdowns.

Zero hour

Deer Lakes' offensive struggles continued in Week 5, as the Lancers suffered a 40-0 loss to Brentwood.

It marked the third time this season an opponent shut out Deer Lakes (0-5, 0-4 Allegheny Conference). The Lancers, averaging 8.2 points, host Class 3A No. 2 Seton LaSalle on Friday.

Gift from the Hart

Plum transfer Rahmon Hart contributed to Imani Christian's upset over Clairton last week.

Hart caught a touchdown pass for the Saints' first score in their 18-6 win. It was Clairton's first regular-season loss since 2013 and the Bears' second overall in their past 93 games.

Hart has 22 receptions for 376 yards and four touchdowns this season for Imani (4-2, 3-1 Eastern Conference).

Staying grounded

It's not often two teams combine for negative passing yards in a game, but it was just that kind of night for the Riverview and Springdale passing attacks in the 42-13 Dynamos victory last week.

Riverview sophomore quarterback Jared Massack threw 11 passes and completed one, for a 4-yard loss. The Springdale defense intercepted him three times.

“Give Springdale credit,” Riverview coach Matt Bonislawski said. “They used their speed and strength to get pressure on us and take our passing game away.”

The Raiders were not able to generate enough offense from the run, finishing with 95 yards on the ground in the loss.

Springdale's Josh Jones, who threw for 144 yards against Beth-Center and 124 against Leechburg, was held in check, as well.

He went 0 for 6 and was intercepted twice. But the Dynamos' run game was on point to the tune of 278 yards, with 164 and three touchdowns coming from Josh Harmon. Parker Kline added two touchdowns and 47 yards, while Scott Landis tallied 57 yards. Dylan Hargenrader also found the end zone and had 24 yards on four carries.

“We blocked well up front, and the guys ran the ball hard,” Springdale coach Seth Napierkowski said.

Michael Love contributed. Doug Gulasy is a Tribune-Review staff writer.

Tags: Deer Lakes, Highlands, Plum, Riverview, Shady Side Academy, Valley