WARREN, Pa. – Blaine Moses was a force on both sides of the football for Port Allegany, and was a big reason the Gators got within two wins of a PIAA Class 1A title.
And it was that play on both sides of the football that earned the senior fullback/linebacker the 2022 YDL Sports Network/D9and10Sports.com Jim Kelly District 9 Football Player of the Year award powered by the Allegheny Grille in Foxburg
On offense, Moses was the leading rusher and touchdown scorer for the Gators rushing for 1,099 yards on 208 carries with 20 touchdowns. He also caught 16 passes for 149 yards and a score.
Moses was also the defensive leader for Port Allegany (12-2) making 132 tackles (10.2 tackles per game) with one interception and a ½ sack.
Joining Moses in being honored with major postseason awards are two of his Port Allegany coaches and one of his teammates.
Justin Bienkowski is the YDL Sports Network Jim Kelly District 9 Coach of the Year, Gators’ defensive coordinator Chad Saltsman is the YDL Sports Network Jim Kelly Assistant Coach of the Year, and Port Allegany’s Carson Neely is the Offensive Lineman of the Year.
Additional major award winners are Central Clarion’s Jase Ferguson (Offensive Player of the Year) and Ryan Hummell (Defensive Player of the Year), Keystone’s Drew Keth (Rookie of the Year), Punxsutawney’s Payton Hetrick (Special Teams Player of the Year), Clearfield’s Isaac Samsel (Defensive Lineman of the Year), Curwensville’s Dan McGarry (Individual Game Performance of the Year), the DuBois vs. Brockway game (Game of the Year), and Patrick Crats (Unsung Hero Award).
In addition to the major awards, a first- and second-team All-District Offensive/Defense/Special Teams was also named and can be viewed below.
Jim Kelly’s name is used with the permission of Jim Kelly
YDL SPORTS NETWORK JIM KELLY ALL-DISTRICT 9 AWARDS
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Blaine Moses, Sr., FB/LB, Port Allegany
Offense: 208 carries, 1,099 yards, 20 TDs; 16 catches, 149 yards, 1 TD
Defense: 132 tackles (10.2 TPG), 1 interception, ½ sack
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Jase Ferguson, So., QB, Central Clarion
Ferguson, a Clarion-Limestone student, was the leading passer in District 9 with 2,727 yards on 132 of 235 passing. He was also tied for the D9 lead in TD passes with 33 while throwing 15 interceptions. A dual threat, Ferguson ran for 521 yards and seven touchdowns on 122 carries while helping the Wildcats to the District 9 Class 2A title.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa of JB Graphics
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ryan Hummell, Sr., LB, Central Clarion
Hummell, a Clarion-Limestone student, had a District 9-leading 154 tackles (12.8 TPG) to go along with four interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a ½ sack for the District 9 Class 2A champion Wildcats. Making his season even more impressive was the fact Hummell played the entire year with a torn ACL suffered over the summer.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
OFFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Carson Neely, So., Port Allegany
Called the best offensive lineman on his team by his head coach, Neely helped pave the way from his left guard position for a Port Allegany offense that averaged 31.5 ppg (5th in D9), 310.8 yards per game, and 207.9 yards per game on the ground while having eight 100-yard rushers.
Photo by Patrick Crants
DEFENSIVE LINEMAN OF THE YEAR: Isaac Samsel, Sr., Clearfield
Samsel was a one-man wrecking crew from his defensive line position recording 88 tackles (7.3 per game) including 23.5 tackles for a loss and four sacks while recovering one fumble.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR: Drew Keth, So., Keystone
Keth entered the season as the backup quarterback for the Panthers but was thrust into a starting role when starter Rayce Weaver was lost for the season in Week 5.
He responded by going 38 of 69 passing for 513 yards and eight touchdowns and seven interceptions as the starter (on the year he was 49 of 98 for 757 yards, 10 TDs, 9 Ints) while leading Keystone to its first playoff win in 33 years.
But Keth didn’t win the award for just his play at quarterback, he was also a starter in the secondary for the Panthers and had five interceptions to go with 29 tackles.
As a sophomore who played sparingly (he saw limited action in two games as a freshman), Keth was eligible for Rookie of the Year which goes to either a freshman or a sophomore who saw limited or no time as a freshman.
Photo by Patrick Crants
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Payton Hetrick, Sr., Punxsutawney
Hetrick was dynamic as both a kicker and a punte for the Chucks.
As a kicker, he was 2 of 6 in the field goal department with a long of 42 (a couple of his misses were from over 40) while also going 27 of 29 on PATs. He added a pair of touchbacks on 47 kickoffs with his kickoffs averaging to the opponent’s 17-yard line.
Hetrick may have been even better as a punter finishing with the highest average per punt in District 9 among punters with at least 20 boots at 36.3 yards per punt. He placed four of his 26 punts inside the 20-yard line.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
COACH OF THE YEAR: Justin Bienkowski, Port Allegany
Bienkowski led Port Allegany to its third District 9 title (the others were in 2011 and 2012 also in Class 1A) and to the PIAA semifinals for the second time in school history (the other time was in 2012).
The Gators showed a six-win improvement from a year ago going from 6-5 in 2021 to 12-2 in 2022. Those were Port Allegany’s first two winning seasons since finishing 6-5 in 2015 and marked the first time since having four straight winning campaigns from 2009-12 that the Gators had back-to-back winning seasons.
Photo by Patrick Crants
ASSISTANT COACH OF THE YEAR: Chad Saltsman, Port Allegany
Saltsman was in charge of the Port Allegany defense which allowed a D9-leading 11.8 points per game with two shutouts and eight games holding opponents to less than 10 points.
Photo courtesy of Port Allegany School District
INDIVIDUAL GAME PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR: Dan McGarry, Sr., Curwensville, Sept. 2, 2022
In a 36-15 win at Juniata Valley, McGarry had a performance to remember accounting for 448 yards of total offense and five touchdowns, including a defensive score.
Three of those touchdowns came in the game’s final 6:38 to help turn a 15-all tie into a three-score blowout.
First, McGarry intercepted a pass and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown with 6:38 to play to break the tie. Then, with 2:54 to go, he threw a 19-yard touchdown pass. Finally, with 1:26 left, he ran for a 67-yard score.
On the night, McGarry was 19 of 37 passing for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception while rushing 13 times for 115 yards and two touchdowns. On defense, he made eight tackles and added the pick-6.
Photo by Jared Bakaysa
GAME OF THE YEAR: DuBois 27, Brockway 26, Sept. 2, 2022
In a game that saw three lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, it was a defensive play as time ran out that gave DuBois a 27-26 win.
Trailing by the point and with its kicker having been lost to an injury earlier in the game, Brockway was forced to go for the touchdown from the DuBois 5-yard line with just seconds left on the clock having driven from its own 31.
Brayden Fox hits Alex Carlson with a slant pass, but DuBois’ Garret Frantz tackled Carlson at the 1-yard line to preserve the win.
Watch the final play via Big Foot County’s Facebook feed of the game
DuBois entered the fourth quarter trailing 20-18 before turning a Brockway fumble and then a Rover penalty into a 31-yard field goal by Cullen McAllister to take a 21-20 lead early in the quarter.
Brockway answered back when Fox hit Carlson with a 12-yard touchdown pass with 7:43 to play to put the Rovers back in front, 26-21.
It took DuBois less than three minutes to go in front for good when Kaden Clark scored on a 6-yard flip pass from Cam-Ron Hays with 5:05 to play to take the 27-27 advantage.
Austin Henery ran 15 times for 74 yards and two touchdowns to lead DuBois with Hayes adding 15 carries for 85 yards to go with the touchdown pass.
Fox was 20 of 30 passing for 236 yards and three touchdowns for Brockway with Carlson catching eight passes for 89 yards and two scores.
UNSUNG HERO: Patrick Crants, Photographer
To say Crants loves high school sports and the athletes would be an understatement.
The unofficial/official photographer of Port Allegany sports for many years, Crants takes pictures of every Gator sport in every season and goes beyond just photographing varsity sports doing a number of junior varsity and junior high contests and younger ages.
And it’s not just about Port Allegany athletes.
Crants takes photos of both the Gators and their opponents at every event, and during football season even goes to the length of making sure both bands have pictures taken.
While Crants sell high-resolution copies of his photos and has a hand in the senior banners made for the Gators, he also posts all his photos (low-resolution) on Facebook for community use (including for use by the YDL Sports Network).
Crants care and love for all in the Port Allegany area is unmistakable.
Photo by Chris Rossetti
JIM KELLY YDL SPORTS NETWORK MAJOR AWARDS POWERED BY THE ALLEGHENY GRILLE IN FOXBURG
Player of the Year: Blaine Moses, Sr., Port Allegany
Offensive Player of the Year: Jase Ferguson, So., Central Clarion
Defensive Player of the Year: Ryan Hummell, Sr., Central Clarion
Rookie of the Year: Drew Keth, So., Keystone
Offensive Lineman of the Year: Carson Neely, So., Port Allegany
Defensive Lineman of the Year: Isaac Samsel, Sr., Clearfield
Special Teams Player of the Year: Payton Hetrick, Sr., Punxsutawney
Individual Performance of the Year: Dan McGarry, Sr., Curwensville (Sept. 2, 2022)
Coach of the Year: Justin Bienkowski, Port Allegany
Assistant Coach of the Year: Chad Saltsman, Port Allegany
Game of the Year: DuBois 27, Brockway 26, Sept. 2, 2022
Unsung Hero: Patrick Crants
JIM KELLY YDL SPORTS NETWORK ALL-DISTRICT 9 TEAMS POWERED BY THE ALLEGHENY GRILLE IN FOXBURG
FIRST TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Jase Ferguson, So., Central Clarion
RB – Brady Collins, So., Clearfield
RB – Kyle Nellis, Sr., Keystone
WR – Alex Carlson, Sr., Brockway
WR – Ashton Rex, Sr., Central Clarion
TE – Tommy Smith, Jr., Central Clarion
OL – Josh Beal, Jr., Keystone
OL – Eric Myers, Sr.,, Clearfield
OL – Isaac Samsel, Sr., Clearfield
OL – Carson Neely, So., Port Allegany
OL – Miska Young, Jr., Port Allegany
All-Purpose Back – Dan McGarry, Sr., Curwensville
All-Purpose Back – Noah Archer, Sr., Port Allegany
FIRST TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Isaac Samsel, Sr., Clearfield
DL – Miska Young, Jr., Port Allegany
DL – Brandon Ross, Jr., Redbank Valley
DL – Alex Lukaschunis, Sr., St. Marys
LB – Ryan Hummell, Sr., Central Clarion
LB – Addison Plants, Sr., Kane
LB – Matt Martino, Sr., Moniteau
LB – Blaine Moses, Sr., Port Allegany
DB – Alex Carlson, Sr., Brockway
DB – Noah Peterson, Sr., Brookville
DB – Brayden Kunselman, Sr., Brookville
DB – Tyler Albright, Sr., Keystone
FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
Place Kicker – Thomas Uckert, So., Central Clarion
Punter – Payton Hetrick, Sr., Punxsutawney
Returner – Matt Pyne, Sr., Brockway
SECOND TEAM OFFENSE
QB – Brayden Fox, So., Brockway
RB – Jendy Cuello, Jr., Brockway
RB – Zeke Bennett, Sr., Punxsutawney
WR – Aiden Ortz, Sr., Redbank Valley
WR – Carter Chadsey, Sr., St. Marys
TE – Joe Tettis, Sr., Elk County Catholic
OL – Reese Yahner, Jr., Brockway
OL – Johnny Varischetti, So., Brockway
OL – Baily Miller, Sr., Brookville
OL – Jimmy Kerr, So, Central Clarion
OL – David Anderson, Sr., Elk County Catholic
OL – Waylon Wehler, Sr., St. Marys
All-Purpose Back: Cam-Ron Hays, Sr., DuBois
All-Purpose Back: Tyler Albright, Sr., Keystone
SECOND TEAM DEFENSE
DL – Reese Yahner, Jr., Brockway
DL – Kyle Dunn, Sr., Coudersport
DL – Brock Champlivier, Jr., Keystone
DL – Waylon Wehler, Sr., St. Marys
DL – Landon Chalmers, Sr., Union/A-C Valley
LB – Tanner Guaglianone, Sr., Brockway
LB – Seth Stewart, Sr., Brockway
LB – Jack Knapp, Jr., Brookville
LB – Caden Adams, Jr., Redbank Valley
LB – Aiden Sell, Sr., Keystone
DB – Jase Ferguson, So., Central Clarion
DB – Nate Garing, Sr., Karns City
DB – Drew Evens, Sr. Port Allegany
DB – Justin Miller, Sr.,, Punxsutawney
SECOND TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS
Place Kicker – Josh Beal, Jr., Keystone
Punter – Braylon Button, Jr., Port Allegany
Returner – Chris Fegert, Sr., Curwensville
