Penn-Trafford beats Moon in Instant Classic to win first WPIAL Championship (Gallery) @PTWarriors @PennBoosters @Benbladel30 @Moon_Football

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | November 28, 2021

For the first time in Penn-Trafford history, they’re WPIAL Champions. It sure wasn’t an easy win but Penn-Trafford held onto win 24-21 in thrilling fashion over Moon. It was a game that featured a lot of twists and it came down to the final seconds. “It puts a stamp on all the hard work these kids have done, I just couldn’t be happier” said Coach Ruane.

Penn-Trafford got the ball to start the game they started with the ball at their own 46 yard line. After just one run they were down to the Moon 43 yard line. They got as far as inside the Moon 20 yard line but ended up settling for a 34 yard field goal by Nathan Schlessinger giving Penn-Trafford a 3-0 lead with 8:30 in the first quarter.

Moon started their first drive on their own 24 yard line. A couple plays after they got past midfield Tyler McGowan found Ben Bladel for a 44 yard touchdown which gave Moon a 7-3 lead with 4:31 in the first quarter. The drive took up close to 4 minutes in the quarter.

Penn-Trafford started their second drive at their own 40 yard line. They went three and out on that drive and had to punt it away. The score at the end of the first quarter was 7-3 Moon.

Moon started their second drive at their own 48 yard line. Again they marched right down the field. On the drive they converted a crucial fourth down, and then a couple plays after that Ben Bladel scored on a 2 yard run. That gave Moon a 14-3 lead with 10:44 in the second quarter. Bladel was one of the big players for Moon scoring 3 total touchdowns.

10 seconds after Moon’s second touchdown, Penn-Trafford answered right back on the first play of the following drive. It was a 53 yard run by Cade Yacamelli. “When you can call a play and hope it goes to the house it’s fun, he’s a tremendous kid” said Coach Ruane.

Moon got the ball back on their own 29 yard line. On the third play of the drive Tyler McGowan completed a pass down to the Penn-Trafford 25 yard line. Eventually the drive stalled on penalties and the ball was turned over on downs.

Penn-Trafford started that drive on their own 5 yard line. On third down Carter Green found Cade Yacamelli for a 92 yard touchdown pass. “It was third down and eight they had us trapped deep in our own territory and he made a great read and a great throw” said Coach Ruane. That gave Penn-Trafford a 17-14 with 3:39 left in the first half. “We made some big plays in the first half to stay in it” said Coach Ruane. Yacamelli was the player of the game he 17 carries for 136 yards and had that catch for 92 yards.

Moon wasn’t done just yet. They started with the ball on their own 29 yard line. It only took 2 plays to get into Penn-Trafford territory. After several more plays Moon gained the lead back on a 2 yard run by Ben Bladel. The score occurred with 18 seconds left in the first half. That made the score 21-17 at the half.

Moon got the ball to start the second half. On the second play of the drive Moon fumbled it and Penn-Trafford recovered. They started with the ball on the Moon 38 yard line. On the fourth play of the drive Penn-Trafford took the lead back on a 29 yard run by Carter Green that made 24-21 Penn-Trafford. “That was one of the biggest plays of the game, it was the momentum shift we needed” said Coach Ruane.

The second half didn’t feature a lot of points but it did have plenty of twists. One of those twists came later in the third quarter. Moon decided to take a risk and go for it on fourth and short. The run was literally one inch short of the first down. “Thank goodness our defense played as they did in the second half, as they typically do” said Coach Ruane. That gave the ball to Penn-Trafford around midfield. That drive didn’t go anywhere and they punted it away. The score at the end of third quarter remained 24-21 Penn Trafford.

The next Moon drive was a long one and featured a lot of plays, it lasted 12 plays but yet only went 20 yards it took up 5 minutes and 37 seconds of the clock. But yet the drive didn’t result in any points.

Penn-Trafford started the next drive with a little under 8 minutes remaining in the game. This drive also took up a lot of time and took a lot of plays in lasted a little over 5 minutes and was 10 plays long. A penalty is what stalled the drive.

Moon had one last shot to win it they started with the ball at their own 20 yard line with 2:45 left in the game. It was looking like a good drive they just marched down the field eventually they attempted a game tying field goal with only seconds left and the kick was no good. “The kids responded at halftime, we challenged them and said this is the most important 24 minutes you’re ever going to play, and they played like that I thought.” said Coach Ruane.

Penn-Trafford advances to the PIAA 5A Semifinals next week and they will take on Exeter Township at a time and site to be determined.

Pics via Michael Longo Jr. and DEACON BLUES BLOG