Upper St. Clair beats South Fayette
Panthers remain undefeated thanks to Bywalski
Charlie Bywalski dispelled a myth about the Upper St. Clair defensive secondary.
The senior cornerback picked off a pass with 4:39 to play squashing South Fayette’s comeback hopes in an Allegheny Six Conference clash between undefeated teams. The Panthers went on to beat the Lions, 17-7.
“We take a lot of pride in the secondary,” said Bywalski. “The media says it’s the weak point of our defense, but we proved, after playing two amazing quarterbacks, that we are not the weakest part of our defense. We are good all around. We can make plays. We held two quarterbacks under what they usually throw.”
After upending the Nolan Dilucia-led Indians of Peters Township, 21-7, the Panthers contained SF QB Drew Welhorsky enough to pick up their second conference triumph and remain unbeaten in seven games this fall. DiLucia and Welhorsky rank among the Top 7 signal callers in the WPIAL.
Welhorsky came into the fray with 1,203 passing yards and 11 touchdowns against one interception. He also had rushed for 632 yards.
Against the Panthers, Welhorsky completed 11 of 18 aerials for 180 yards and one scoring strike – 37 yards to Alex Deanes. Welhorsky, who rushed for 76 yards, threw two interceptions.
In addition to Bywalski’s pick, Carter Stein had the other interception. Additionally, Van Hellmann recovered a South Fayette fumble on the penultimate play of the game.
Bywalski credits the entire defensive unit for his heroic play as well as holding the Lions to 13 first downs and 279 total yards of offense.
“(The interception) was a great play because my D-ends put the pressure on and got after (Welhorsky). They forced the coverage. It was really all of them. I just did my job.”
For three years, Bywalski has been a two-way player for the Panthers. He is being recruited by Richmond and Bucknell. He plans to major in business and finance.
“Charlie has really been a good corner for us,” USC skipper Mike Junko said. “It’s great to see in his senior year in a big game like this him coming up with a big play.
“That interception, for us, was the momentum shift we needed at the right time. It was a great play. A big play,” Junko emphasized.
“Charlie came through. He’s a guy we can rely upon and he keeps getting better every week. We are proud of him.”
Junko was also pleased with the rushing attack, which rolled up 342 yards behind the blocking of Nate Stohl, Mason Geyer, Brock Gillespie, Bobby Fleckenstein, Reese Pirain, Michael Albert and Beck Shields.
Julian Dahlem rushed for 174 yards on 20 carries while John Banbury picked up 137 yards on 18 totes.
The contest remained deadlocked with no score until 30 seconds remained in the first half. Dahlem’s 5-yard TD run capped a 13-play, 95-yard drive that consumed 5:49 of playing time.
USC increased its lead to 14-0 on Dahlem’s 38-yard rush in the third quarter.
Jacob Echeverria kicked the extra point. He also added a 32-yard field goal with 3:11 remaining.
South Fayette cut Upper St. Clair’s lead to 14-7 at the 9:56 mark in the fourth quarter. Welhorsky hooked up with Deanes for the 37-yard scoring strike. Luke Gillen kicked the extra point.
Both teams missed field goals earlier in the game. Each were penalized 10 times in the game.