Trib HSSN June Madness semifinals: A.Q. Shipley, Moon vs. Tyler Boyd, Clairton

By: Don Rebel
Tuesday, June 16, 2020 | 9:00 AM

Over the course of the next week, June Madness will determine who fans believe is the WPIAL Athlete of the Century.

HSSN has put together two 32-player brackets, one for the boys and one for the girls, of WPIAL alumni. Outside of a few exceptions, the field is made up of former district players who excelled in more than one sport.

Each weekday, June Madness will have one matchup each day with a little background info on each athlete found in a daily tale of the tape.

Starting at 9 a.m. Tuesday and running through 9 a.m. Wednesday, vote on the HSSN twitter page on the two athletes featured in this semifinals matchup.

Check the HSSN website at noon Wednesday for the matchup’s final results.

Here is the contest for the boys. Round 4, Day 1:

A.Q. Shipley vs. Tyler Boyd is a final four battle of current NFL players. Shipley, the pro center, has knocked off three quarterbacks to reach the final four while Boyd, the pro receiver from a small high school, has knocked off three straight big school players to reach the semis.

Allan Quay Shipley — Moon Class of 2004

(Football, basketball, wrestling)

• Defeated Terrelle Pryor of Jeannette in the quarterfinals, 74-26%.

• Defeated Phil Jurkovec of Pine-Richland in the second round, 81-19%.

• Defeated Adam DiMichele of Sto-Rox in the first round, 65-35%.

• 2004 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 all-star.

• Four-year starter for Moon at center and also saw action at tackle.

• Helped Moon qualify for the WPIAL Class AAA playoffs all four years as the Tigers reached the quarterfinals in his sophomore season and made trips to the semifinals in his junior and senior seasons.

• In his senior year, Moon finished 10-2 overall and had won nine in a row before falling to Thomas Jefferson in the semifinals.

• Three-year starter at center/forward for the Moon basketball team.

• Helped Moon to a 29-3 record his senior year in basketball as the Tigers beat Knoch to win the WPIAL Class AAA championship and Holy Ghost Prep to win PIAA gold three weeks later.

• Member of the Moon wrestling team for one year as a heavyweight and in his first varsity match, pinned the defending state champion.

• Inducted into the WPIAL Hall of Fame in 2018.

• Played college football at Penn State and has played in the NFL as an offensive lineman for Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Indianapolis, Baltimore and Arizona.

Tyler Boyd — Clairton Class of 2013

(Football, basketball, baseball)

• Defeated Pat McAfee of Plum in the quarterfinals, 64-36%.

• Defeated Ayden Owens of North Allegheny in the second round, 71-29%.

• Defeated Justin King of Gateway in the first round, 76-24%.

• 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review football player of the year.

• 2012 Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Terrific 25 football all-star.

• Despite seeing time as a wide receiver and quarterback in his four years at Clairton, Boyd finished as a running back and was fifth on the all-time WPIAL rushing list with 5,755 yards, including a gaudy 11.9 yards per carry and 2,567 yards his senior year.

• Broke the WPIAL record with 117 career touchdowns.

• After losing his very first varsity game at Clairton, Boyd and his teammates won the next 63 games over his four years in black and orange while claiming four straight WPIAL and PIAA Class A championships.

• Played in the 2013 US Army All-American Bowl and the 2013 Big 33 all-star football games. Boyd was MVP of the Big 33 Classic after accounting for five touchdowns on two scoring receptions, a touchdown run, a TD pass and a 91-yard kickoff return for a score.

• An all-section basketball player his senior year as he helped the Bears reach the WPIAL championship game.

• Came out for the Clairton baseball team his senior year and was the starting shortstop.

• Played wide receiver at Pitt and currently is a wide out in the NFL for Cincinnati.

A.Q. Shipley – @aqshipley
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Tyler Boyd – @boutdat_23

— TribLive HSSN (@TribLiveHSSN) June 16, 2020

Tags: Clairton, Moon