Upper St. Clair hosts South Fayette in conference clash
Upper St. Clair welcomes South Fayette at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in The Almanac’s Game of the Week.
If history is any indication, then the contest should be a real cat fight between the Panthers and the Lions.
“For the past decade, this game has been played consistently between the two schools. It always seems to be a close game,” said USC skipper Mike Junko. “They have a good mix of talented new faces and some veterans that have played a lot of Friday night football.”
Drew Welhorsky is among those most talented and experienced players.
A senior, Welhorsky ranks among the top passers in the WPIAL, connecting on 52 of 76 aerials for seven scores and 721 yards through the first five games of the season. He also has racked up 460 yards and six touchdowns on the ground.
In a recent win against Belle Vernon, 28-7, Welhorsky completed 10 of 17 passes for 150 yards and a 37-yard scoring strike to Braeden Plasko.
“I don’t know if you can stop the quarterback,” Junko said. “He has a way of making you pay if you don’t respect his arm and legs.
“You can tell that their guys love playing for him and he has really grown into their system,” Junko added. “You have to play disciplined football on the defensive end or he will hurt you.”
Junko also noted the Lions have no problems putting points on the scoreboard.
For example, Daniel Speca returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown against the Leopards. Aayden Wright rushed for another score. Wright also added a Pick 6 for 78 yards.
“They have been able to score points on everyone they have played this year because of their ability to have a balanced attack,” Junko said.
With Ethan Hellmann calling the signals, USC spreads the wealth as well on offense.
After five weeks of football, Hellmann led the WPIAL in passing with 1,273 yards and 18 touchdowns. He has completed 68 of his 90 attempts and thrown just one interception.
Nico D’Orazio and Bryce Jones have been the top targets with 16 and 13 receptions but Randy Yan, Drew Sanderson, Dante Coury, Evan Smirniw, Anthony Rozzo, John Banbury, Josh Snyder, Logan Lapinski, Max Nofi, Beck Shields and Luca Coury are in USC’s stable of receivers.
In a 17-14 win against McKeesport, Hellmann hooked up with Jones for the game winner, a 49-yard scoring strike. Hellmann, who was 9 of 18 for 152 yards, also rushed for a touchdown and Jacobo Echeverria Lozano kicked a 39-yard field goal.
Defensively against the Tigers, Yan had an interception. Anthony Bunn recorded two sacks. Shields had a sack and tied Nevin Shegan-Si with a team-high seven tackles. Mason Geyer followed with six, five of them solo.
Junko also acknowledged the play of sophomore Will Stohl and junior Ryan Robbins as well as veteran Mason Geyer.
“We have had some unsung heroes that have really done a nice job for us this season,” he said. “Will has really improved on the defensive line and Ryan continues to get better with every start on the offensive line. Mason continues to anchor our line. He is a gritty kid that just shows up to play every Friday night.”
The Panthers will need that type of purpose from a unified force to contend with the Lions on this particular Friday night.
“When we have success we are able to win all three phases of the game,” Junko said. “Our kids understand it is a long season and games like this can get away from you if you are not fully focused on the task at hand.”
CLASS 6A
Mt. Lebanon journeys to Wexford to face North Allegheny in Quad County Conference action at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 3.
The Tigers started the season with five straight victories before tackling Central Catholic on Sept. 26 while the Blue Devils were winless before visiting Seneca Valley. (Results unavailable at press time.)
“NA is a solid team,” said Lebo skipper Greg Perry. “As the weeks move on, they are improving. Very solid run game and an efficient pass game,” he added.
“We need to score some points because NA is able to score and can control the clock with their run game.”
In their first five games, the Blue Devils have been able to muster just 38 points. They have suffered two shutouts, including a 57-0 drubbing against Central Catholic. They scored just once in a 21-6 loss to Canon-McMillan.
Patrick Smith rambled 42 yards for the first score of the game but the Big Macs responded with three unanswered touchdowns. Smith finished with 196 yards rushing. Maxton Siegel was the top receiver with four grabs for 37 yards.
Perry noted the play of Smith as well as Kris Kambitisis. “They have been solid and good football players on both sides,” he said.
Perry also praised Jackson Steiner. The senior is a 6-4, 250-pound lineman.
“Jackson is playing very well on both of our fronts. He has become a good leader for our team. A solid kid and player. The kind of player who makes coaching worthwhile,” Perry said.
BP AT HOME
Bethel Park will host Baldwin at 7 p.m. Oct. 3 in Allegheny Six Conference action. The game comes on the heels of the Black Hawks’ conference opener at Moon.
The Black Hawks entered conference action with a 4-1 record and came off a 51-35 triumph at Trinity. In the game, David Dennison rushed for 317 yards and a school-record six touchdowns, measuring 34, 51, 41, 5, 25 and 16 yards. (See related story.)
Xavier Jackson racked up the extra points as well as kicked a 32-yard field goal while Evan Devine tossed a 25-yard scoring strike to Brady Bruckner against the Hillers.
“With a young and inexperienced team because of graduation and key players lost from last year, we wanted to get off to a quick start,” said BP skipper Phil Peckich. “We started hot against a talented Seneca Valley team but didn’t handle that success well as a team. We made errors and allowed Mars to stay in the game we lost. We did not execute. The game was a learning experience and we implemented things that we learned. As a result, we did good things against Armstrong and Trinity.”
As the young players develop, Dennison has emerged as the “featured” back and Devine has excelled at quarterback. While Dennison is No. 3 rusher in the WPIAL, Devine ranked No. 6 with 58 completions for five touchdowns and 994 yards.
Additionally, Peckich has been pleased with Bruckner in the defensive secondary – he has three interceptions against Armstrong – as well as Jack Johnson at linebacker along with Nate Purcell and Jedidiah Johnson on the line. Will Sabatos and Santino LaMolinare are also in new positions on offense and performing well.
“We are excited about some of these guys we have been able to roll in but we still have a lot of work to do,” Peckich said.
Dennison agreed. “We could have been 5-0 but we’ve learned from the loss. We are on a good path. Trinity was a good stepping stone into the conference but being physical is important because the most physical team always wins. I think Bethel Park is a physical team on both sides of the ball.”
PT VS MOON
In other Allegheny Six Conference action, Peters Township hosts Moon at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.
The Indians completed non-conference action with a 28-0 shutout against West Allegheny, the team’s third of the season. PT had given up just 26 points in the first five games.
In the win over West-A, Cole Neupaver rushed for 166 yards and two scores, measuring 12 and 27 yards. Nolan DiLucia completed 13 of 24 passes for 202 yards and two scoring strikes of 15 yards to P.J. Luke and Lucas Shanafelt. Nicholas Maiello converted the four extra points.
CV HOSTS BV
Chartiers Valley hosts Belle Vernon at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.
The Colts improved to 4-1 overall after a 22-13 win against Hampton.
Luke Miranda completed 13 passes for 137 yards while Damien Holloway pulled in seven aerials for 62 yards and one score.
The Colts scored a safety on defense and Julius Best had a Pick 6 for 67 yards. Michael Lawrence also rushed for a 2-yard touchdown.