Bethel Park pulls away from Moon in Allegheny 8 Conference victory

By: HSSN Staff
Friday, September 28, 2018 | 11:12 PM

Bethel Park lost leading rusher and scorer Jehvonn Lewis to injury in last week’s nonconference loss to Central Catholic.

Junior Sean McGowan found out Saturday morning he would get his first varsity start at tailback.

So much for being overwhelmed.

McGowan carried 24 times for 202 yards and a pair of touchdowns as the Black Hawks scored 24 second-half points to defeat Moon, 38-14, in a Class 5A Allegheny 9 Conference game Friday night.

“Coach (Jeff Metheny) let me know Saturday morning during film and we started practicing right away,” McGowan said. “I played running back in previous years, so I kind of knew the plays and that helped me get into the right mindset.”

McGowan started the scoring for Bethel Park with a 32-yard run.

After Moon’s Jamal Littlejohn capped off a 15-play, 93-yard drive to tie the game at 7-7, Bethel Park senior Luke Surunis scored his first of three touchdowns on a 26-yard run with 2:26 left in the second quarter.

But Littlejohn intercepted Anthony Chiccitt and returned it 41 yards for a score with 33 seconds left before halftime to tie the game at 14. The defensive touchdown was the fourth in five games for the Tigers.

McGowan said the Black Hawks’ talked ball security in the locker room at halftime.

“We told each other we have to take care of the ball and keep pushing,” McGowan said. “We’re a second-half team, and that’s what we do.”

That’s also what Bethel Park did Friday night. Surunis scored on a 3-yard run, John Gummo kicked a 22-yard field goal and after a Moon turnover, Surunis added a 2-yard run 1:07 later to give the Black Hawks a 31-14 lead.

“Luke is such a hard runner,” McGowan said. “He’s quick, moves good with the ball and makes things happen.”

McGowan capped of his big night with a 2-yard run with just over 2 minutes remaining to make the final score 38-14.

“It’s big (to get a conference win),” he said. “But we have to focus on trying to win our next game, and maybe win the conference while getting into the playoffs.”

Bethel Park (3-2, 2-1) heads to Chartiers Valley for an Allegheny 8 Conference next week. Moon junior quarterback Dante Clay completed 12 of 22 passes for 106 yards and was intercepted once. Moon (3-3, 1-2) visits Peters Township next week.

Bob Orkwis is a freelance writer.

Tags: Bethel Park, Moon