Nov 3, 2002 By Jim Downey 5 min read

ROSTRAVER TWP. – The Moon offense played keep away in the fourth quarter, scoring two touchdowns while holding Belle Vernon to five offensive plays in the final 12 minutes Friday night to secure a 30-14 WPIAL Class AAA first round playoff victory. With the Tigers holding a slim 16-14 lead in the third quarter, Moon began the drive of the game with 3:13 remaining in the quarter, carrying the momentum into a fourth quarter touchdown.

Belle Vernon kicker Jon Fowler has had a spectacular season and that confidence allowed Fowler to attempt a 56-yard field goal. His kick landed about 10 yards short of the goalpost, giving the ball to Moon on its 20.

The play of the drive occurred on fourth-and-1 at the Moon 29 when Bill Ashburn burrowed through the pile for a 3-yard gain and a first down. The running back tandem of Austin Sykes and Rick Derenda took over from there.

Derenda gained 13 and two yards to end the quarter, and started the fourth quarter with a 3-yard gain. Ashburn found Mitch Morsillo open in the right flat and Morsillo did the rest, slipping through the Belle Vernon defense for 20 yards. Derenda gained three yards to set up Sykes. The senior tailback ran the final 27 yards to cap a 13-play, 80-yard drive that consumed 7:30.

Belle Vernon’s attempt to rally was cut short on the first play of the drive when Mike Yakima stepped in front of a Derek Brletich pass at the Belle Vernon 45. Nine plays and nearly five minutes later Moon put the game out of reach on Sykes’ second touchdown of the game.

Sykes was a welcome addition to the Moon backfield with 85 yards on 21 carries after missing nearly half the season with a knee injury. He was cleared to play on Monday and because of weather didn’t seriously practice until Thursday afternoon.

“We thought he was out for the year,” Moon head coach Mark Capuano said of Sykes. “The offensive line did a heckuva job.”

The Tigers dominated the fourth quarter by holding the ball for 10:40 and running 18 plays. “The fourth quarter was a nice game plan. It was a helpless thing on their side,” Capuano said.

While Moon finished strong, Belle Vernon came out firing from the start. The Leopards shocked the Tigers on the first offense play of the game when, after a Moon defensive offside call, Brletich found Jim Fretz open around the Moon 45-yard line and Fretz did the rest for a 73-yard touchdown reception just 18 seconds into the game. Capuano reminded his defense to beware of a pass play to start the game, unfortunately Capuano was the only one to remember his warning.

Moon responded four minutes later on Derenda’s 15-yard run for the first points the Tigers had scored in eight quarters, and the swinging gate on the extra point produced a two-point play for an 8-7 lead. Derenda added to the Tigers’ lead on a similar run at 9:44 of the second quarter. The senior running back added the two-point conversion for a 16-7 lead.

Brletich and the Belle Vernon offense showed great clock management in the waning moments of the first half to score a touchdown after getting the ball on its own 41 with 1:47 left in the half.

Brletich hit Mike Davis for 29 yards and Fretz for 15 to move the ball to the Moon 15. The senior quarterback found Matt Cyktor open for a completion to the 4-yard line and an illegal substitution penalty on Moon move the ball to the 2.

Brletich snuck in the final two yards to cut the lead to 16-14 with only 18 seconds left in the half.

Outside of Jon Fowler’s 56-yard field goal attempt, neither team was able to do much on offense in the third quarter. Cramer felt the long field goal was worth a shot.

“I thought we’d get at least three points and then try an onside kick,” explained Cramer. “We couldn’t get it clicking in the second half. We didn’t do much right at all. We didn’t execute on running plays. They executed and we didn’t.”

The statistics bear out Cramer. The Leopards gained on 27 yards on the ground, though Brletich completed seven passes for 173 yards with Fretz catching two balls for 88 yards.

Moon played in the tough Parkway Conference, finishing with a conference mark of 3-3 and overall record of 4-5. Capuano believed those games against New Castle, Hopewell and West Allegheny, all first round winners, prepared his squad for the playoffs.

“We’ve been young all year. We took some time to grow up. The team stepped up. Belle Vernon did a great job. Their quarterback did a great job throwing the ball. The kids were determined to win,” Capuano.

Derenda finished with a game-high 119 yards on 20 carries while Mitch Morsillo added 42 yards rushing. Ashburn picked his spots with six completions for 63 yards.

Belle Vernon coach Jesse Cramer was proud of his squad, the 2002 Keystone Conference champions.

“We had a great season. We did well to overcome a lot of adversity. We had some nagging injuries and some injuries where guys were out for the season,” Cramer said.

Moon advances to play New Castle (8-1) while Belle Vernon finishes the season with a 7-3 record.