TJ 49 Moon 14 Playoffs

Kemp carries Thomas Jefferson to convincing victory over Moon

It was same old, same old for Thomas Jefferson on Friday night. And there's nothing wrong with that.

The Jaguars relied on their season-long formula of power running and suffocating defense to beat No. 15 Moon, 49-14, in a WPIAL Class AAA first-round playoff game at TJ Stadium.

Big 9 champion Thomas Jefferson (10-0), which now has won 57 consecutive games at home dating back to Oct. 8, 2004, will play No. 10 Mars in the quarterfinals next week.

“When you're in the playoffs, anything can happen,” TJ coach Bill Cherpak said. “I told our kids everything is elevated, because it can be over just like that. I was pleased with a lot of the things we did.”

TJ running back Austin Kemp, who sat out last week with a separated shoulder suffered in Week 8, rushed for 224 yards and three touchdowns — all in the first half.

Kemp finished the regular season as the WPIAL's leading scorer (200 points) and likely would have won the rushing crown, but the shoulder injury kept Kemp on the sidelines in TJ's 52-20 win over rival West Mifflin in the season finale.

Kemp's availability was a game-time decision.

“You mean when did (Kemp) decide?” Cherpak joked. “He was driving me nuts all week.”

Sophomore Quinton Hill relieved Kemp as the wildcat quarterback in the second half, giving the Jaguars the chance to show off their running depth. Hill rushed for 58 yards and a touchdown on TJ's first possession of the second half to give the Jaguars a 42-7 lead.

The TJ attack was too much for Moon (4-6), which was making its second-straight playoff appearance after missing the postseason for six straight years.

“(TJ) is a really good program,” Moon coach Mark Washington said. “One thing I love about our guys is that they fought, and they stayed with it. I'm proud of my men, my coaches, and the entire Moon community for coming out to support us.”

Both teams had explosive starts, combining for 21 points in the first 1:33 of the first quarter. Hill opened the scoring for TJ, rushing for a 48-yard touchdown on the Jaguars' opening play.

Moon answered on the very next play from scrimmage, as Noah Angelo ran for an 80-yard touchdown to tie the game 7-7. Angelo finished with 129 rushing yards and a TD.

The pattern continued, as Kemp took the snap on TJ's next play and went 50 yards to give TJ a 14-7 lead as the Jaguars scored 35 unanswered