Moon going ‘old school’ on offense
In this day and age, spread offenses are becoming more and more prevalent at the high school level as teams seek to exploit mismatches and rack up points with quick passing plays down the field.
Those high-flying passing attacks are fun to watch, no doubt, and they sure are effective when executed properly. But there’s still something special about a throwback, physical, in-your-face style of football — and nobody in the WPIAL fits that mold better than the Class 5A No. 4 Moon Tigers.
Yes, Moon was once the laughingstock of its conference, putting together only one winning season from 2007-18. But ever since Ryan Linn took over as head coach in 2017, there has been a noticeable shift in the way the Tigers play the game. Although Moon (1-0) rarely has a noticeable size advantage up front, the Tigers have embraced a punishing style of play that can’t quite be replicated in practice.
“You can’t be one of those finesse teams in practice and then want to play physical,”
Linn said. “So we’ve adopted more of a style that fits our kids, which is a physical style. With what’s coming up through our system, I don’t see it changing a ton over the next couple of years.”
Led by its standout offensive line with four returning starters, Moon gashed Class 6A No. 4 Seneca Valley for 324 rushing yards in its impressive season-opening 3821 road win. The game was hardly as close as the score indicated — the Tigers dominated time of possession and held the Raiders to only 164
total yards, and they led, 3814, late in the fourth quarter.
Moon did so while employing its trademark “sledge” offense for much of the second half, with two tight ends and four running backs lined up in the backfield after quarterback Tyler McGowan left the game with muscle cramps. It’s a formation rarely seen in today’s game, and Seneca Valley had no answer for it.
“Our offensive line coach on Friday — you should have heard him,” Linn said. “After a big run play, ‘Oh, did you see that push?’ And we go back and watch the film on Saturday. There was a play Jake made, where we’ll pull him around on some of our run plays. He was one-on-one with a corner. He just flattened this kid. Steamrolled him. They must have rewound it half a dozen times just to rewatch it.”
The foundation of the Tigers’ success lies in the continuity, experience and veteran leadership provided by the big boys in the trenches. It starts with senior center Jake Baumgartner (5-11, 245), a four-year starter who plays much bigger than his size indicates.
“He’s been one of the best leaders I’ve had in the last five years,” Linn said. “He works hard. He doesn’t say too much. It’s always positive with the guys to get them going, just encouraging them.
“He goes as hard as he can every play, and he’s fun to watch.”
Baumgartner and senior right guard Trent Fraley (63, 290) both earned all-conference honors a year ago. Fraley, a Marshall recruit, is the son of former NFL lineman and current Detroit Lions offensive line coach Hank Fraley. He wears the No. 75, which is not handed out to just anybody at Moon. Most recently, 2019 Fabulous 22 selection Brenden Luffey sported the No. 75, as did 12year NFL veteran A.Q. Shipley before him.
Senior tackles Anthony Dines and Aidan Mazreku are also returning starters on the line, and senior tight ends Dante Docchio and Ben Bladel also play key roles in the Tigers’ smash-mouth style of offense. Bladel started on the line last year but is now in more of a multipurpose role as the H-back/ tight end.
Docchio was an all-conference pick last year on offense, and Bladel is Moon’s unquestioned leader on defense. A 6-foot, 230-pound defensive end, Bladel racked up 22½ sacks as a sophomore in 2019 and has 32½ in 29 career games. Linn said nobody embodies the old-school nature of the Tigers’ program more than him.
“He’s the guy that people are game planning around defensively,” Linn said. “He plays so well defensively that it’s hard to not account for him play in and play out.”
Of course, Moon has plenty of talent at the skill positions as well. Look no further than senior running back Dylan Sleva, who carved up the Raiders’ defense for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries in Week 0. At 6 feet 3, 225 pounds, he is one of the toughest running backs to tackle in the area, and Seneca Valley found that out the hard way.
Meanwhile, fellow senior Jeremiah Dean rushed for 95 yards on only 11 carries, giving the Tigers a potent 1-2 punch in the backfield.
Only two years removed from a conference title, Moon will certainly be a contender for another Allegheny Six crown in 2021. But with so many senior starters on both sides of the ball and a downright demoralizing style of play, there may be no better chance than now for the Tigers to raise their first WPIAL championship banner in 23 years.
“You don’t want to look ahead, but when you look at a group like this, you start to kind of look at what possibly could be with the kids you have and the positions you have back,” Linn said. “But in any of those moments, you have to stay healthy and you have to take it one week at a time. The moment you start looking too far ahead, things catch up to you a little bit.
“We talk to these kids all the time about potential and leaving a legacy, and this is a great chance to leave a legacy.”