USC beats BP in a thriller, 14-10
Bywalski catches game-winning TD
Charlie Bywalski never doubted himself. Despite dropping several passes, including one in the end zone, and failing to hang onto an interception, the senior responded when Upper St. Clair needed him most.
With 48 seconds to play and while double covered, Bywalski pulled in a pass from Ethan Hellmann for a 24-yard touchdown that propelled the Panthers’ to victory, 14-10, against Bethel Park in a battle between two undefeated clubs in Allegheny Six Conference football action.
“No matter how many people are on me, I am coming down with it,” Bywalski said.
Bywalski noted that he had “run that route a lot” during off-season workouts with Hellmann. He has also had three previous game-winning touchdowns last year against Norwin, Moon and Canon-McMillan.
“So this is nothing new for me and Ethan. We are on the same page. We have confidence in each other.”
USC head coach Mike Junko has so much faith in the pair that he said the Panthers were going to call that same play no matter what, even though Bywalski dropped the ball three plays earlier in the end zone.
“Charlie had a tough game. He had some drops,” Junko said. “All credit to him for hanging in there and making a huge play and for Ethan for making a phenomenal throw.
“It was a great job by Charlie to hang in there and get the ball. He has a way of coming up in big moments and making plays.”
By erasing from his memory the previous drops, Bywalski was able to recover and perform the heroics the Panthers needed. He heeded Junko’s advice, which is also espoused by Ted Lasso in the sports comedy-drama television series.
“Coach Junko tells us to be like a gold fish. Gold fish are dumb. They don’t remember anything,” Bywalski said. “So I had to forget about it. Keep my head up. Stay on top of things and focus on the next play.”
Hellmann has remained composed while calling the signals. He drew kudos for sticking to USC’s offensive strategy.
In rolling up an 8-0 record, the Panthers have seldom relied on the pass. Hellmann has completed 24 of 49 aerials for 578 yards and nine touchdowns this fall.
In fact, in a 21-7 win against Peters Township, which is the defending WPIAL Class 5A champion, USC gained all of his offensive yards on the run. rushing for over 400 yards. Additionally, in a 17-14, win against South Fayette, the Panthers racked up 342 yards rushing
“I tip my hat to Ethan as well,” Junko continued. ‘Here’s a quarterback who has to come in and out of the game. Often, it’s hard to find a rhythm. When you need him on a big play, on a team that runs the ball a lot, to go out there and make a play and put that ball perfectly in there, well, I am so proud of him.”
The pride of the Panthers is the offensive line, which features Princeton recruits Nate Stohl and Michael Albert as well as Brock Gillespie, Mason Geyer, Reese Pirain and Bobby Fleckenstein. Behind their blocking, USC has plowed a path to victory.
In the win against Bethel Park, Julian Dahlem and John Banbury both reached the century mark for rushing.
Banbury powered his way to 102 yards on 19 carries. Dahlem gained 100 yards rushing on 13 carries. He also accounted for USC’s other touchdown that occurred with 2:10 remaining in the first quarter.
While Hellmann, who completed 3 of 9 aerials for 67 yards, said there’s a “frustration” in a quarterback not being able to throw, at the end of the day, he “trusts’ Junko and his game plans.
“We run the ball well but whenever he needs that passing, we are going to be here for him when he does. We’ll run until they stop us and then we’ll pass.”
Junko prepared to pass against the Black Hawks. He said he knew the Panthers were going to get into a game where they would be required to throw the ball.
“We talked that we were going to be in a tight game. So we were going to have to throw the ball and we had to make a play when it happens.
“We never lost faith in our ability to throw the ball,” he continued. “It was great to see us make a play by throwing the football.”
Junko was also delighted to see the Panther defense respond. The Black Hawks came into the game with both the No. 1 passing leader as well as rusher in the WPIAL. They also boasted the best offense in the district, averaging 50 points per game.
“To hold those guys to 10 points is amazing,” Junko said. “I sat there in awe.
“We toughened up in the red zone and made plays down the stretch,” added Junko. “It seemed they were on the field the entire second half. For us to keep fighting, when we were bruised and battered, it was a sight to see how hard our kids and staff fought.”
The defensive front of Stohl, Albert, Geyer and Austin Middleton applied the pressure while the middle of Van Hellmann, Carter Stein, Banbury and the secondary of Bryce Jones, Nico D’Orazio, Dahlem, Bywalksi and Randy Yan contained both the passing and rushing attack.
Ja Vaughn Moore was held to 98 yards on 27 attempts after having rolled up 1,251 yards for a 9.3-yard average in BP’s previous games. Moore scored BP’s lone touchdown on a 7-yard rush.
Tanner Pfeuffer completed 11 of 28 attempts for 141 yards.
BP, which owned the edge in time of possession (25:57 to 21:15) took a brief lead, 10-7, with 3:59 to play when Jackson Friday kicked a 36-yard field goal.
Jacob Echeverria, who kicked the extra points, had a chance to expand USC’s margin in the first half but Mitchell Paschl partially blocked the ball, which ended up hitting the cross bar.
“There were a couple of big-time emotional swings in the game,” said BP skipper Phil Peckich. “Th blocked kick was big in that it did not make it a two-possession game for us. We were able to regroup in the second half.”
Peckich acknowledged USC’s game-winning score was heartbreaking.
“We had two of our better players over there and felt good about it,” he explained. “They made a great play but we will get better from this.”
The Black Hawks will only improve in their final regular season contests, which includes South Fayette at home this Friday, Oct. 18 and Peters Township on the road on Oct. 25, as they returned Ryan Petras to the lineup,
An all-state performer and previously conference Player of the Year, missed the first seven games because of surgery for a torn labrum in his right shoulder. Petras is a Princeton recruit, who will play both football and baseball for the Tigers.
In the loss to USC, Petras caught five passes for 85 yards. The senior also returns punts and starts in the defensive secondary.
“He did a great job of what we asked him to do. There was a little rust but he will continue to grow. You saw glimpses but he will get back to being Ryan Petras,” Peckich said.
The Black Hawks expect to cross paths with the Panthers in the playoffs as they did in 2022. During that season, BP had won the conference only to fall to the Panthers in the semifinals of the WPIAL Class 5A tournament.
“There is a good chance we’ll see them again. They are a quality opponent,” Peckich said. “We knew that coming in.
“We have to play better as a team in these environments. We can be critical and disappointed but the kid made a pretty good play in tight coverage there. We just didn’t finish when we needed to against a really good team. We’ll learn from this and get better.
“You always want to win, especially against a rival, but sometimes this can rally a team. We’ll find out a lot about ourselves.”