close

South Fayette, USC advance to WPIAL semifinals in football

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 5 min read
1 / 3

Eleanor Bailey

Noah Plack is wrapped up and tackled but not after making the reception for South Fayette. The senior tight end leads the Lions in receiving with 778 yards and 11 touchdowns. He is also one of the team’s leading tacklers with 75.

2 / 3

Eleanor Bailey

Jack Hansberry makes his way through an opening cleared by his linemen Phil Elias (No. 60) and Jack Burton (No. 50) during Upper St. Clair’s 6-3 win against Franklin Regional in the opening round of the WPIAL Class 5-A football playoffs.

3 / 3

Eleanor Bailey

Colin McLinden escapes the grasp of a Franklin Regional defender during Upper St. Clair’s 6-3 victory in the opening round of the WPIAL football playoffs.

Incorporating different approaches, South Fayette and Upper St. Clair advanced to the semifinals in the WPIAL football playoffs.

While the Lions employed their high-powered offense to steamroll past West Mifflin, 35-0, the Panthers utilized defense to squeeze out a 6-3 victory against Franklin Regional.

For South Fayette (11-0), the victory set up a showdown with Montour (8-2) at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 10 at West Allegheny. The teams met on the last day of the regular season, Oct. 27, with the Lions posting a 49-21 victory.

“A rematch is always tough,” SF skipper Joe Rossi said. “No one has an advantage. We know each other and we know each other’s plays.”

Noah Plack made the play that made the difference in the team’s first encounter. His one-handed TD reception brought the Lions back from a 7-0 deficit and set the tone for the Lions’ triumph. A Delaware recruit, Plack leads the Lions with 778 yards receiving and 11 touchdowns. He also ranks second on the team with 75 tackles. He has recorded five sacks. Plack had two TD receptions of 23 and 39 yards in the win against West Mifflin to total five catches and 134 yards.

Drew Saxton proved the catalyst in the triumph. The senior signal caller should play a pivotal role against the Spartans. With 259 yards passing against West Mifflin, Saxton improved to 7,162 for his career. He is now the fifth quarterback in WPIAL history to surpass the 7,000-yard milestone. In addition to the two strikes to Plack, Saxton tossed a 33-yard score to Peyton Tinney for his 31st TD of the season.

Andrew Franklin rushed for two scores, measuring 3 and 9 yards. Franklin is the team’s third-leading rusher behind Johnny Beck (887 yards and 15 TDs) and Johnny Obenour (362 yards, 5 TDs).

“Obviously, we’ve got to take care of Drew and run the football,” Rossi said of the Lions’ strategy against the Spartans.

Montour will incorporate a similar approach. The Spartans are led by Kavon Morman. He has thrown for 1,367 yards, including 199 in last week’s win against New Castle, 35-31. Morman tossed two TD aerials to raise his season totals to 14. He also rushed for two scores in the victory that show the Spartans recover from a 21-point, third-quarter deficit.

The Spartans are coached by Lou Cerro. The Bethel Park resident led the Spartans to a WPIAL title in 2011. He also coached Seton LaSalle to district championships as well.

“He is a championship-level coach. It’s pretty special to do what he has done at two different places,” Rossi said.

At South Fayette, meanwhile, Rossi has guided the Lions to three WPIAL championships since 2010 and back-to-back PIAA titles in 2014 and 2015. For both Montour and South Fayette a trip to the finals is on the line. The WPIAL Class 5-A title will be played Nov. 18 at Heinz Field.

“All the players dream of playing at Heinz Field,” said Rossi. “We’re both one step away and I suspect everybody is going to give their all. Their best effort,” he added.

USC vs. West Mifflin

Meanwhile, USC’s best efforts, under Jim Render, have resulted in several trips to the final, resulting in a handful of WPIAL titles since 1988, including a narrow, one-point win against Penn-Trafford, this Friday’s opponent at 7:30 p.m. at West Mifflin.

The Panthers improved to 8-3 overall with their three-point win against Franklin Regional (6-4). The Warriors, who shared the Big East Conference title with Gateway, is 10-1 after outlasting Fox Chapel, 28-21. As a result, USC is considered the underdog in the contest.

“We are in the final four and we have opportunity,” Render said. “A lot of teams would like to trade places with us.”

Render continued regarding his 1988 championship team that beat Gateway, Mt. Lebanon and Central Catholic in the Quad-A playoffs. “The experiences that I have had and I use that year as an example to my players is that we were the fourth-place team in the conference. I’m not sure if anybody picked us to accomplish anything in the playoffs. What it comes down to is who get hot and who makes the fewest mistakes.”

In edging Franklin Regional, the Panthers made a few, uncharacteristic mistakes, but survived. They fumbled their first possession on the opposition’s 5-yard line, dropped a sure pass in the end zone and had a score called back because of a holding penalty. Yet, a 16-yard scoring strike from Jack Hansberry to Chris Pantellis stood up as the decisive blow in the game.

Hansberrry led the team in rushing (110 yards) and in passing (139 yards). He has thrown for 1,515 yards and 10 scores. He is second behind Colin McLinden (798 yards, 11 scores) in rushing with 636 yards and 10 tallies.

While Pantellis and Dom Cepullio are the top targets with 400 and 502 yards respectively for six and three scores, USC relies heavily on its defense, which allows just 17.9 points per game. Jack Burton spearheads the defense with 82 tackles followed by McLinden, James DeIuliis and Harvey Rauch, all with over 70.

“We’ve had several goal-line stances and we’ve have some great defensive games. We’ve always preached going to the ball and we have had positive results with moving against the ball than any time this season.”

While the Panthers have had favorable results in the past playing at West Mifflin, they are concerned with the Warriors, who are the top seed, despite losing to McKeesport in the final regular-season game.

“They’ve got a lot of beef,” Render said of P-T’s size, “and they are well-coached. The proof is in the pudding as they have been playing very well the whole season. They have a veteran line and good skill guys. They are similar to us in that a lot of their best players go both ways, too.

“So the key, like all playoff games, is you have to take care of the ball and take care of the opportunity that you have.”

CUSTOMER LOGIN

If you have an account and are registered for online access, sign in with your email address and password below.

NEW CUSTOMERS/UNREGISTERED ACCOUNTS

Never been a subscriber and want to subscribe, click the Subscribe button below.

Starting at $/week.

Subscribe Today