JaVaughn Moore sported a noticeable limp as he made his way to the Bethel Park locker room after the game Friday night at Mars.
Moore suffered a severe cramp late in the first half and never returned to the game, but the teen wearing the white No. 6 jersey was in a jovial mood as he spoke to a reporter.
“I’ll be good in the morning,” he said, smiling.
But on Friday night, the standout running back was better than good. And if he and running mate David Dennison keep gouging defenses as they did against Mars, this Bethel Park team could go a long, long way this season.
Moore, Dennison and the Bethel Park rushing attack had their way Friday night against the Mars defense as the Black Hawks, ranked No. 4 in Class 5A by the Pittsburgh Union Progress, piled up 372 yards on the ground and scored six rushing touchdowns on their way to gaining a 49-13 mercy rule win against the Class 4A Planets.
Moore, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound senior, collected 197 yards and 3 touchdowns on 11 carries — all of the damage being done before the half — while Dennison, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior, added 140 yards and 2 touchdowns on 19 carries.
“We felt really good about it coming in,” Bethel Park coach Phil Peckich said. “Those guys really took their game to the next level throughout the course of the offseason, dedicating hard work from January to where we are now. They’re very selfless. It’s never about how many carries they get or what we ask them to do. There’s multiple packages where we ask them to be featured blockers, and they never blink an eye or pout about anything. It’s a testament to them.”
Moore and Dennison put on a show against Mars (1-1), using their speed and strength to power Bethel Park (2-0) to a 35-13 halftime lead. Moore, a two-year starter, was the headliner, scoring on runs of 7, 79 and 58 yards on three consecutive possessions in the second quarter. Dennison added a 7-yard touchdown run in the final minute of the half, and his 28-yard scoring run invoked the mercy rule less than a minute into the final quarter.
“We’re a very dangerous package,” Dennison said. “The O-line did its job. They blocked good every play. It was just fun.”
The two backs praised an offensive line they called the best they have ever played with. The starting group Friday night included seniors Hunter Goelz and Frank O’Mara, junior Santino LaMolinare and sophomores Ryan Bergia and Nate Purcell.
Bethel Park repeatedly struck quickly against Mars. The Black Hawks had first-half touchdown journeys of one play for 52 yards, six plays for 99 yards, one play for 79 yards, and one play for 58 yards. They put up 35 unanswered points after Mars took a 7-0 lead less than three minutes into the game. Quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer hooked up with Mitch Paschal for a 52-yard touchdown to get Bethel Park on the board and added a 5-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
In Pfeuffer, a 6-foot-6 senior, the Black Hawks have a talented veteran quarterback who had thrown for 245 yards and three touchdowns in a Week 0 win against Seneca Valley. But as the Black Hawks exhibited Friday, this team can throttle foes with the run game, as well.
“Dangerous,” Moore said of the running back tandem. “Nobody expected us to be a 1-2 punch, but everything I can do he can do.”
Moore dazzled on his two long touchdown runs, the lengthier of which he scurried to his right before reversing field and storming down the left sideline for the score. Moore played at Central Catholic as a freshman and then at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart his sophomore season before coming to Bethel Park last season. Moore missed two games due to an ankle injury last season when he was ruled ineligible for the playoffs due to transfer rules, but still finished with team-leading totals of 936 yards and eight touchdowns. Moore opened this season by running for 112 yards and three scores against Seneca Valley. He also had two catches for 81 yards in that one.
Moore believes he might have surprised some people who watched Friday’s performance.
“Everybody probably thought I was all right,” he said, “but they were waiting on me to dance around, and I just hit the hole and went.”
Added Peckich, “JaVaughn has really come into his own and done some really special things over the course of these first two games.”
But so has Dennison, who ran for 80 yards on 12 carries in the season-opening win before taking his first carry Friday 63 yards to set up Moore’s first touchdown. As a sophomore, Dennison finished with 358 yards — third best on the team — as Moore’s backup.
“He’s got really good vision,” Moore said of Dennison, who then praised Moore for his “juice” and his heart.
Talented duos sometimes have nicknames, and Bethel Park’s impressive tandem is no different. Dennison said one of the team’s coaches calls him “Wind” and dubs Moore “Fire.”
But that begs the question, is there an “Earth,” too?
“No. 12 [sophomore William Sabatos] is ’Earth.’ He’s dangerous, too,” Dennison said.
Chimed in Moore, “Next year they’re going to be the 1-2 punch for sure.”
But it was this year’s 1-2 punch that knocked out a Mars team that features a new mascot — the Fightin’ Planet! — that is equipped with boxing gloves. And with Moore and Dennison on its side, this multi-dimensional Bethel Park team could have many more knockouts in its future.
Brad is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at beverett@unionprogress.com.