Brandon Lawhorn Moore has been a dominating force in the trenches for Kiski Area since his freshman year. As one of the top lineman in the WPIAL, he has garnered countless offers to play football at the Division I level from both FBS and FCS schools. The 6-foot-5 290-pound senior recently made his decision to continue his standout football career as a Redhawk for Miami of Ohio.

“I decided to go there because of the coaches and the culture," Lawhorn Moore explained. "I just really enjoyed what they had to offer me. I just believe that I’ll also have the most success there.”

Lawhorn Moore, affectionately known as “Beef” to his teammates and coaches, has been earning offers dating back to the start of last year, when Buffalo reached out to the all-state lineman. The four-year starter for the Cavaliers found comfort knowing that he would be joined at Miami (OH) by several former WPIAL standout linemen Evan Azzara from Plum, South Fayette's Ryan O’Hair and Corban Hondru of Peters Township.

“I met some of them after I took a visit there," he said about the trio. "It showed me people that were around me and that are from the same area. It really inspired me to be with guys from the WPIAL and to make my decision to go there.”

The recruiting process was not easy for Lawhorn Moore as he had to deal with the challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic season. Despite the issues that came with the pandemic filled year, he was able to persevere and was eventually named as a 2020 Valley News Dispatch first-team all-star and to the Northeast Conference Class 5A first team.

“The recruiting process was hard, not being able to go out and see coaches in person," Lawhorn Moore said. "It was really hard to see what different schools had to offer. The season overall was really hard. Covid stopped us from having a training camp, it affected everything.”

Coming into this season, Lawhorn Moore immediately noticed a difference in the way his team was able to prepare for the season compared to last summer. Because of that extra preparation, Kiski Area saw new heights as it posted its best start in decades, opening the year with five straight wins.

“It was a very big difference," Lawhorn Moore said about having more time to prepare. "Having that camp week that we didn’t have from last year, it really helped prepare us for our first game against Butler. Last year, we really only had a week to prepare ourselves for Connellsville. It was a big difference from this year to last year.”

"Beef" is aware that the work does not stop here, and that he will have to continue to improve if he wants to see the same amount of success that he’s had over the last few seasons.

“Strength and technique-wise I need to get better. I definitely think I can get better strength-wise on my bench. Technique-wise, there’s lots of techniques I need to learn before I get to Miami of Ohio and compete at a different skill level. I’m going to get some help by my coaches that have been at that level before to help me get where everyone else is at Miami of Ohio.”

Westmoreland Recruiting News

• Greater Latrobe's Jenna Tallman signed to play softball at Pitt-Johnstown. Tallman, a senior, is a utility player for the Wildcats.

• Norwin senior girls lacrosse player Kayla Clark has committed to Juniata College.