Trib HSSN high school football team of the week for Oct. 20, 2025

By: Don Rebel
Monday, October 20, 2025 | 11:26 PM

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Trib HSSN football team of the week – Moon Tigers

Coach: Ryan Linn (ninth season)

Result: Moon 20, Upper St. Clair 13 (2OT)

Record: 3-1 in Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference, 6-3 overall

#Earned: All Peters Township needed in Week 8 to secure the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference championship was to beat winless Baldwin. However, a key battle for second place in the conference, a playoff spot and likely a top four seed in the upcoming postseason was taking place in the West Hills of Pittsburgh as Moon welcomed Upper St. Clair to Tigers Stadium. The matchup quickly proved points were going to be hard to come by as both teams went to the locker room at the half scoreless. Tigers scored first only to have the Panthers answer with 10 straight to take the lead in the fourth quarter. Moon was able to tie the game and send it into overtime, where both teams settled for field goals to send the game to a second OT. There Moon scored first, then the defense again rose to the occasion in pulling off the huge victory. The win was the Tigers’ second straight as they head into their regular season finale against South Fayette in Week 9.

Statistical standouts: Moon senior quarterback Andrew Cross has not put up gaudy numbers this season, but he has made plays for the Tigers all year when they needed him. On Friday against a strong USC defense, he was 14 of 25 passing for 169 yards, plus he rushed for 48 yards and scored two touchdowns on runs of 12 yards and the game-winner on a 1-yard plunge on fourth down in the second overtime. Senior kicker Evan Senkevich connected on field goals of 28 and 27 yards, the second to tie the game in the fourth quarter. Senior wide receiver Braeden Stuart and junior Savario Vandetti combined for 10 catches for 120 yards. Cross and sophomore running back Dionte Henry combined for 91 yards on the ground. For the season, Antione Arnett leads Moon in rushing with 460 yards and Vandetti leads the team in receiving with an average of 16.5 yards per catch, plus he and Cross lead the Tigers in scoring with four touchdowns each.

Last year: It was a .500 season for Moon in 2024 as the team finished in fourth place in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference. The Tigers started the season with three wins in their first four games, but then finished winning only twice in the final five regular season games, including a Week 8 loss to Upper St. Clair, 35-7. Moon did receive one of the three wild card spots in Class 5A and was given the No. 7 seed in the 12-team postseason field. The Tigers traveled to Penn Hills in the first round and saw their season end in a heartbreaker, 30-27. The loss gave Moon a 5-5 record overall. Andrew Cross finished throwing for 940 yards and 10 touchdown tosses, while Paul Bronaugh led the Tigers in rushing, receiving and scoring.

Remember when: Four years ago, Moon was the top seed in the 2021 WPIAL Class 5A playoffs. Following a first-round bye, the Tigers defeated Woodland Hills in the quarterfinals, 21-13, and then edged Penn Hills in the semifinals, 14-9, to reach the district title game. There, they lost a heartbreaker in the snow at Heinz Field to No. 2 Penn-Trafford, 42-14. It has been 27 years since the only Moon football championship. Sixth-seeded Moon used the “desert swarm” defense to shut out Derry in the first round, 35-0, upset No. 3 Belle Vernon in the quarterfinals, 38-14, stun No. 2 Highlands in the semifinals, 10-0, and then crush top-seeded Blackhawk in the 1998 WPIAL Class 3A championship game at Three Rivers Stadium, 34-7. In the ’98 PIAA playoffs, the Tigers beat Huntingdon in the semifinals in another postseason shutout, 21-0, before falling to Allentown Central Catholic in the state title game at Hersheypark Stadium, 10-0.

Week 8 honorable mention

Pine-Richland

Two of the top football teams in the district squared off in Week 8 and the outcome raised some eyebrows. The fact that Pine-Richland defeated North Allegheny was no big surprise, but how easily the Rams crushed the Tigers was a stunner. Quarterback Aaron Strader was 14 of 20 passing for 223 yards and two touchdowns and Jay Timmons caught seven passes for 153 yards and three touchdowns as Pine-Richland led by 51 points at halftime and cruised to a 67-0 rout.

Montour

It should not come as a shock to high school football fans — or drivers in the region — that the Parkway is a mess. Entering Week 8, four teams were tied for first place in the Class 4A Parkway Conference with New Castle, West Allegheny, Montour and Aliquippa deadlocked at 2-1. Montour rallied twice to remain in first place with a win at Aliquippa. Quarterback Brenden Bennett threw for 125 yards and two touchdowns and Caden Halajcio ran for 117 yards and a score as the Spartans stunned the Quips, 34-20.

Central Valley

Give Central Valley credit. The Warriors survived an 0-3 start to the season and on Friday, clinched a WPIAL Class 3A playoff berth with a victory at Hopewell. Ethan Shearer rushed for 103 yards and two touchdowns and kicker Domenic Pratt booted three field goals, including a 51-yarder, for the Warriors. However, the key to this fifth win in six weeks for CV was the defense, which shut down a Vikings teams that had been averaging nearly 44 points per game in a Western Hills Conference triumph, 23-7.

Laurel

Laurel entered the final two weeks of the regular season in Class A Big 7 Conference showdowns at home against South Side and Neshannock with seven wins in eight games and riding a four-game winning streak in which the Spartans outscored their four conference foes, 240-15. The dominance continued in Week 8 with Laurel quarterback Luca Santini throwing for 153 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Kolton Carlson, who also added a 3-yard run in a runaway win over the Rams, 45-7.

2025 Trib HSSN teams of the week

Week 7 – North Allegheny Tigers

Week 6 – Apollo-Ridge Vikings

Week 5 – Albert Gallatin Colonials

Week 4 – Aliquippa Quips

Week 3 – Avella Eagles

Week 2 – Southmoreland Scotties

Week 1 – Mars Fightin’ Planets

Week Zero – Upper St. Clair Panthers

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