Moon beats Upper St. Clair in double overtime, moves into 2nd place in Allegheny Six

By: Sean Saputo
Friday, October 17, 2025 | 11:44 PM

In a battle of cats to take hold of second place in WPIAL Class 5A’s Allegheny Six Conference, it came down to two overtimes and a Myles Turner interception that punctuated Moon’s 20-13 victory over Upper St. Clair on Friday night.

“We went out and played our game,” Moon coach Ryan Linn said. “If we go out there, get at it, play physical and get after it, we’re in a good place and we found a way to finish it.”

The Tigers surely got after it, limiting an Upper St. Clair offense that averaged 425 yards per game entering the contest to just 103 total yards. They limited the WPIAL’s leading passer, Ethan Hellmann, averaging 243 yards per game, to just 72 passing yards.

“We talked about being physical, and our kids embraced that,” Linn said. “We controlled the line of scrimmage, we beat them with speed, confused them in the back and were able to get pressure on Ethan which teams haven’t been able to this year.”

It took nearly 27 minutes of game time before either team hit the scoreboard, as Andrew Cross’ 12-yard touchdown run gave Moon a 7-0 lead on its first drive.

“(Cross) has gotten so much better as the year has gone on,” Linn said. “He stepped up in the pocket and his feet gives us a whole different dimension.”

Moon held the lead for nearly eight minutes, but a wild sequence boosted Upper St. Clair to tie the game at 7 in the third with 1:44 remaining.

Having reached inside the Tigers’ 30-yard line, the Panthers looked doomed, losing yardage back to their own 49-yard line and facing a third-and-39. A surprise pooch punt was muffed by Moon at its own 21-yard line, setting Upper St. Clair back up to eventually punch it in from 2 yards out on a John Banbury run.

The Panthers added a 38-yard field goal with 4:57 remaining in the fourth quarter from Jacobo Echaverria, but with the game on the line, Moon followed with a drive to set up kicker Evan Senkevich for a 27-yard field goal with 19 seconds remaining to force overtime at 10-10.

In the first overtime, Echaverria connected on a 41-yarder only to be countered by Senkevich’s 28-yarder to force the second overtime.

On the Tigers’ second overtime drive, Upper St. Clair looked to get a stop at the goal line on fourth-and-2, but jumped offsides, allowing Moon a second chance. Cross scored his second touchdown of the night to take a 20-13 lead.

Needing a touchdown, the Panthers elected to take a shot at the end zone, but Turner ended the night with the interception.

The Tigers (6-3, 3-1 Allegheny Six) clinched a playoff spot with Bethel Park’s victory over South Fayette. Next week, Moon hits the road to face South Fayette.

“We have to be able to get pressure on the quarterback,” Linn said. “We need to make them have to use their other guys, and offensively we need to maintain the clock like we did tonight and keep them off the field.”

Upper St. Clair (7-2, 2-2) closes the regular season on the road against Baldwin.

Tags: Moon, Upper St. Clair