Shady Side shows off efficiency in rout of Apollo-Ridge

By: HSSN Staff
Saturday, September 29, 2018 | 10:48 PM

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Many highly ranked teams don’t like to show much of their offensive repertoire with key opponents coming up on the schedule.

But Saturday afternoon, Shady Side Academy wasn’t shy about opening its playbook as the Indians, rated No. 1 in Class 2A, rolled past Apollo-Ridge, 63-21.

Shady Side (5-0, 3-0) scored 22 points on its first 12 plays from scrimmage before a large homecoming turnout at Michael J. Farrell Stadium.

Dino Tomlin scored five touchdowns: three rushing touchdown on three carries and two more on passes from Skyy Moore.

Moore passed for 156 yards, scored on a 75-yard run and intercepted a pass that led to a second-quarter touchdown in the Allegheny Conference game.

“They definitely showed all their weapons today. There’s no doubt,” Vikings coach John Skiba said. “They’ve got enough of them. But we were in a position to make plays sometimes, and we just didn’t make them.”

Shady Side only needed 19 plays from scrimmage to score 42 points on its first six possessions.

“We definitely think regardless of the situation, we have the ability to crack it open and make some big plays if need be,” Indians coach Chuck DiNardo said. “I thought sometimes, too, instead of making big plays, we can methodically put together a little bit of a drive.”

Shady Side took a 9-8 lead in the all-time series.

One bright spot for the injury-riddled Vikings (2-4, 1-3) was the play of sophomore Klay Fitzroy, who threw for 257 yards despite often needing to escape a ferocious Shady Side rush.

Fitzroy was sacked six times.

Skiba is the last coach to make excuses, but Apollo-Ridge has key players injured such as Logan Harmon, Alex Gamble and Lucas Yard. Lineman Jacob Clark suffered a leg injury with two minutes left in the first half, and it’s unclear when he will return.

“We went out in the second half without a kid who has actually played running back,” Skiba said. “So that was a good lesson as we had to try to figure out what to do moving forward. We’ll hopefully get some kids back this week.”

Versatile Billy Frohlich had a big day for the Indians. He returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown, had a sack, a partially blocked punt and a 41-yard scoring run on an end sweep.

“Billy gets a lot of attention for his offensive prowess, going down and stretching the field and making some big plays,” DiNardo said. “But he’s also developed as an outstanding safety and linebacker. His size and speed makes him a tough matchup, and every week he continues to get better.”

Alex Bellinotti had two sacks and ran for 97 yards. His rushing total would have been more, but he had a touchdown called back because of a penalty.

One area Shady Side has to work on is penalties. The Indians were whistled for 11 penalties for 110 yards.

George Guido is a freelance writer.

Tags: Apollo-Ridge, Shady Side Academy