Moon Tigers vs. Peters Township Indians

Preston Moore, Moon Sports Beat Writer

The Moon Tigers (2-5, 1-4 ) traveled to Peters Township to take on the Peters Township Indians (5-2, 4-1) for a conference match-up. The offensive attack from the Indians was too dominant for the Tigers defense and ultimately led to a 33-21 victory for the home team.

Moon started out the game with nothing to show for. They went three and out and would not have a first down until the second quarter. Peters Township struck first with a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Ryan Magiske which made the score 6-0. Later in the quarter, the Indians passing dominance started with a 37-yard passing touchdown to Josh Casilli, which extended their lead to 13-0.

In the beginning minutes of the second quarter, Moon began a drive where they converted on two fourth downs, but they were eventually shut down by the Indians defense who forced a turnover on downs near their own goal line. The Indians next drive resulted in a touchdown after Logan Pfeuffer heaved it down the field to Casilli for a 60-yard touchdown adding on to their lead to make it 21-0. Pfeuffer proved to be a key factor in the Indians offense because of his arm and unbelievable accuracy downfield.

At the seven minute mark in the second quarter Moon finally answered to the Indians three touchdowns and scored off a screen pass to Jamal Littlejohn for 45 yards making it 21-7. The next five minutes of the quarter was a series of three and outs by both teams.

With two minutes left in the quarter, the Indians tried to run away with some points before halftime. The very first play of the drive was a 35-yard pass to Casilli. A couple plays later the drive ended in a 40-yard passing touchdown to Casilli which increased their lead to 27-7.

After halftime, the Indians came out flat and turned the ball over on downs. Moon took over at midfield with great field position. A few plays later, Clay chucked the ball downfield, into triple coverage, to Malcolm Johnson. The ball was swatted into Logan Young’s hands who then waltzed into the end zone for a 32-yard touchdown that tightened the score, 27-14.

Just when it seemed that Moon was coming back into the game, a 30-yard touchdown pass to Jackson McClosky of Peters Township all but put the game out of reach for the Tigers. The Tigers would later block a punt that was returned for a touchdown, but it was for nothing as time was not on their side.

The game ended in a 33-21 victory for the Indians. This loss for the Tigers essentially eliminated them from playoff contention in a competitive conference.

Next week, the Tigers will travel to Upper St. Clair to take on the Panthers (6-1,3-1) in a conference match-up.