Moon was driving early in the fourth quarter when Tigers quarterback Andrew Cross scrambled on third-and-9 from the Penn-Trafford 34.
Warriors linebacker Landyn Stikkel punched the ball out from behind and it came loose from the quarterback’s hands and hit the turf. Instead of an apparent fumble and recovery by Penn-Trafford, however, Cross was ruled down.
No. 5 seed Moon extended the drive, went in for the go-ahead score and posted a 20-13 victory over the No. 4 Warriors in a WPIAL Class 5A quarterfinal Friday night at Warrior Stadium.
Neither team had a turnover, but Moon almost did.
“I thought I was down,” Cross said. “I was down. We kept the drive alive. Tonight was about execution for us.”
The Tigers were down a few times on the way to their fifth straight win.
Cross capped the 62-yard drive with a 15-yard scoring pass to Savario Vandetti as the Tigers (9-3) moved into the semifinals for the third time in five years to face No. 1 Pine-Richland (10-1).
After another physical matchup, which has become all too common against the Tigers, Penn-Trafford ended a promising season at 9-2.
Moon had lost three straight to the Warriors, including the 2021 WPIAL championship, 24-21.
“They have always found a way to beat us,” Moon coach Ryan Linn said. “Tonight, we found a way. I thought we turned it up in the second half a little bit.”
The Warriors, coming off a first-round bye and riding a six-game winning streak, moved the ball efficiently on the ground with Ben Grabowski and Cody Yacamelli but couldn’t finish drives like they normally do at home.
They were seeking their first semifinal since 2021.
“It wasn’t about (the questionable fumble),” Warriors coach John Ruane said. “We should have scored more than 13 points. We had chances before the half. You have to score more points. Credit Moon, they executed. We need to find a way out of the quarterfinals.”
Penn-Trafford had to rally to beat Moon earlier in the season, 25-24. There was much less scoring this time, as the teams traded field goals before the Tigers found success through the air to pull ahead.
The Warriors took a 10-3 lead into halftime after a 25-yard field goal by Jack Miller in the final seconds of the second quarter.
Moon had first and goal from the 5 late in the third, but two penalties and a sack by Grabowski forced Evan Senkevich to kick his second field goal, a 43-yarder, to cut it to 10-6.
“Evan has been awesome all year,” Linn said. “He kicked a 47-yarder against South Fayette. And Blake (Wilmot) put all of his kicks in the end zone tonight.”
After a Warriors’ punt, Cross delivered a 38-yard touchdown to Jayden Revis, the son of NFL Hall of Famer Darrelle Revis, and the Tigers went ahead 13-10 with 3:53 left in the third.
“Andrew took a shot,” Linn said. “He hits him in the end zone to put us up seven. He made some big throws tonight.”
Penn-Trafford was held to a field goal on the ensuing possession, as Miller connected from 41 yards to tie it 13-13 early in the fourth.
Moon converted a fourth-and-1 on a short run by Kent State commit Daiveon Taylor, drew a pass interference penalty on the Warriors, and saw Cross convert on the non-fumble. Then, Cross hit Vandetti on a crossing route for a 20-13 lead with 3:23 left.
“They have some guys who can run and go get it,” Ruane said. “At the beginning of the third quarter, we had two pathetic drives and never gained our footing after that. You have to finish in the playoffs.”
The Warriors came up empty on their final drive, giving it back on downs with two minutes to go, and Moon worked the clock. Cross found Jared Moyer for a 13-yard gain on third-and-10 — Moyer’s first catch of the season — to ice it.
“We played with a lot of heart tonight,” said Cross, a Penn State baseball commit who finished 9 of 13 for 120 yards and two scores.
“You’re not thinking about an end-of-season speech,” Ruane said. “We’re not expecting to lose. We don’t think about losing so when it happens it’s a gut punch.”
Moon took a 3-0 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Evan Senkevich before Warriors quarterback Nate Desmond scored on a 1-yard sneak for a 7-3 lead after one quarter.
Jamison Yurt blocked for Grabowski on a fourth-and-1 to extend a 14-play, 80-yard drive.
Grabowski ran for 79 yards, Yacamelli added 67 — both on 16 carries — and Desmond was 8 of 18 for 80 yards.
Revis had two catches for 81 yards.
Neither team committed a penalty in the first half.