WPIAL Class 5A football championship breakdown: Moon vs. Penn-Trafford

By: Paul Schofield
Friday, November 26, 2021 | 3:22 PM

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WPIAL Class 5A football championship

No. 1 Moon vs. No. 2 Penn-Trafford

6 p.m. Saturday, Heinz Field

On the air: TV: WPCW; Audio: TribHSSN.TribLive.com, 1020 AM, 107.1 FM, 92.1 FM, 1230 AM, 99.3 FM, 1460 AM

Winner plays: The winner of the District 3 championship game between Governor Mifflin and Exeter Township on Dec. 3 or 4 at a site to be determined.

WPIAL titles: Moon 1 (1998), Penn-Trafford 0

Moon (12-0)

Player to watch: Ben Bladel

The 6-foot, 235-pound tight end/defensive end recently received a preferred walk-on offer from Pitt. He moved from the offensive line to tight end this season. He now is lining up at running back. He’s also a leader at defensive end. He has caught 18 passes for 230 yards and three touchdowns. He’s also received numerous NCAA Division II offers.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Ty McGowan, 105-162, 1,248 yards, 9 TDs

Rushing: Dylan Sleva, 161-825 yards, 11 TDs

Receiving: Taite Beachy, 41-517 yards, 5 TDs

How they got here: Moon defeated No. 6 seed Woodland Hills, 21-13, in a WPIAL quarterfinal on Nov. 12 and beat No. 5 seed Penn Hills, 14-9, in a WPIAL semifinal Nov. 19.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: Ryan Linn

Offense

QB, 6, Tyler McGowan, 5-10, 195, sr.

RB, 44, Dylan Sleva, 6-3, 225, sr.

RB, 2, Jeremiah Dean, 5-9, 170, sr.

WR, 10, Taite Beachy, 5-10, 150, sr.

WR, 1, Jalen Broxie, 6-0, 185, sr.

WR, 13, Anthony Antoniades, 5-10, 175, jr.

TE, 40, Ben Bladel, 6-0, 235, sr.

LT, 59, Anthony Dines, 6-2, 255, sr.

LG, 71, Jake Hoak, 6-0, 250, sr.

C, 54, Jake Baumgartner, 5-11, 240, sr.

RG, 75, Trent Fraley, 6-3, 290, sr.

RT, 50, Aidan Mazreku, 6-0, 245, sr.

Defense

DE, 40, Ben Bladel, 6-0, 235, sr.

DT, 75, Trent Fraley, 6-3, 290, sr.

DT, 54, Jake Baumgartner, 5-11, 240, sr.

DE, 21, Joe Cotton, 5-10, 200, sr.

LB, 44, Dylan Sleva, 6-3, 225, sr.

LB, 20, Ian Foster, 5-7, 275, sr.

LB, 32, Ryan Hazen, 509, 190, sr.

CB, 2, Jeremiah Dean, 5-9, 170, sr.

CB, 13, Anthony Antoniades, 5-10, 175, jr.

S, 1, Jalen Broxie, 6-0, 185, sr.

S, 30, Caden Newhouse, 5-9, 165, jr.

Special teams

K/P, 14, Jake Wieland, 5-10, 165, sr.

PLS, Dean Shazer, 5-7, 200, sr.

XP-LS, 56, Brian Crawford, 6-0, 220, so.

Notable: Moon hasn’t been in the WPIAL finals since it defeated Blackhawk, 34-7, in 1998. During that season, the Tigers finished third in the Class AAA Parkway Conference behind Blackhawk and West Allegheny, losing to both teams. … The last time Moon played Penn-Trafford was in 1979 in a nonconference game. They won 3-0. … Running back Dylan Sleva, a 6-3, 235-pound senior, has rushed for 842 yards and scored 11 touchdowns. … The Tigers return four of five starting offensive linemen. It would have been all five returning but Bladel moved to tight end. … Kicker Jack Wieland has made 41 of 42 extra points and 4 of 7 field goal attempts. His longest was 39 yards.

Penn-Trafford (10-2)

Player to watch: Cade Yacamelli

Yacamelli, a Wisconsin recruit, fumbled on his first carry of the semifinal game against Pine-Richland. It was his only mistake as he rushed for 208 yards, scored three second-half touchdowns and intercepted a pass to halt a Pine-Richland threat. He’s rushed for 1,498 yards and scored 19 touchdowns. He’s also the team’s leading receiver with 14 catches.

Statistical leaders

Passing: Carter Green, 69-117, 1,024 yards, 9 TDs

Rushing: Cade Yacamelli, 144-1,498 yards, 19 TDs

Receiving: Cade Yacamelli, 14-191 yards, 3 TDs

How they got here: Penn-Trafford defeated No. 7 seed Fox Chapel, 42-14, in a WPIAL quarterfinal Nov. 12 and then knocked off No. 3 Pine-Richland, 24-6, in a WPIAL semifinal Nov. 19.

Probable starting lineup

Coach: John Ruane

Offense

QB, 8, Carter Green, 5-10, 170, sr.

RB, 5, Cade Yacamelli, 6-0, 205, sr.

HB, 19, Jack Jollie, 6-1, 210, sr.

WR, 7, Liam Hileman, 5-10, 165, jr.

WR, 12, Tommy Kalkstein, 6-2, 185, jr.

TE, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

LT, 50, Declan Ochendowski, 6-3, 240, sr.

LG, 60, Luke Jollie, 6-7, 265, sr.

C, 51, Joe Enick, 6-3, 280, jr,

RG, 56, Garrett Moorhead, 5-11, 260, sr.

RT, 75, Zach Tomosovich, 6-6, 320, so.

Defense

DE, 50, Declan Ochendowski, 6-3, 240, sr.

NT, 51, Joe Enick, 6-3, 280, jr,

DE, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

LB, 3, Seth Dunlap, 6-0, 190, sr.

LB, 10, Josh Huffman, 6-0, 205, jr.

LB, 19, Jack Jollie, 6-1, 210, sr.

LB, 21, Daniel Tarabrella, 6-2, 190, jr.

CB, 7, Liam Hileman, 5-10, 165, sr.

CB, 4, Jacob Otto, 5-11, 175, jr.

FS, 8, Carter Green, 5-10, 170, sr.

SS, 5, Cade Yacamelli, 6-0, 205, sr.

Special teams

K, 1, Nathan Schlessinger, 6-0, 190, sr.

P, 10, Josh Huffman, 6-0, 205, jr.

LS, 17, Conlan Greene, 6-4, 240, jr.

Notable: Penn-Trafford is 0-3 in WPIAL championship games, falling to Upper St. Clair, 28-27, in 1997; to Central Catholic, 24-17, in 2015; and Gateway, 21-16, in 2017. … The Warriors lead the all-time series against Moon, 3-2-1. The teams played in the Keystone Conference from 1972-1976. … Quarterback Carter Green has rushed for 1,019 yards and scored 14 touchdowns and has completed 69 of 117 passes for 1,024 yards and nine touchdowns. … Kicker Nathan Schlessinger has made 52 extra points and booted seven field goals. His longest was a school-record 48 yarder. He also plays soccer. … The teams played three common opponents. Moon defeated Woodland Hills (15-0 and 21-13), Peters Township (29-26) and Fox Chapel (42-28). Penn-Trafford defeated Woodland Hills (27-6) and Fox Chapel (42-14) but fell to Peters Township (28-14).

Paul Schofield is a Tribune-Review Staff Writer. You can contact Paul by email at pschofield@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Moon, Penn-Trafford