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Upper St. Clair entertains South Fayette

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 4 min read
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Upper St. Clair defenders Tim Speer (17), Nick Chimento (99) and Ethan Hiester (24) celebrate. In their first two conference games, the Panther defense held opponents to only a field goal. In a 17-3 win against West Allegheny, Speer had a key interception. On offense, Hiester rushed for two touchdowns.

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James Smith is one of the many offensive weapons Upper St. Clair plans to use against South Fayette in a key conference match-up set for Oct. 22.

Tradition and heart will be on display when Upper St. Clair entertains South Fayette at 7 p.m. Oct. 22 in Allegheny Six Conference football action.

The Panthers and the Lions are perennial playoff powers with 11 WPIAL titles and four PIAA state championships between them.

In last year’s meeting, USC held on to beat the Lions, 36-32. The Panthers led 23-7 at halftime before SF waged a second-half comeback, scoring 10 points in the third quarter and 15 in the final frame.

“South Fayette has a great winning tradition and because of that their kids never give up,” said USC head coach Mike Junko. Last year’s game was an excellent example of that. They are once again built with an explosive offense and a physical defense which makes them dangerous on both sides of the ball.”

USC proved equally difficult to stop, especially in a 17-3 victory against West Allegheny. The triumph came on the heels of an impressive win against Peters Township, 31-3, in the conference.

Against West-A, Tim Speer and Marco Carone spearheaded the defensive attack. Carone shared top tackling honors with Aidan Besselman. Additionally, his fumble recovery helped shift the momentum in USC’s favor said Junko. Speer had a key interception and three critical tackles.

“Tim and Marco excelled,” Junko said. “Our defense picked up where they left off against Peters Township and put in a very workmanlike performance.”

Brady Erdos engineered the offense. He completed 9 of 13 passes for 103 yards.

Ethan Hiester rushed for a pair of two-yard touchdowns and Bennett Henderson kicked a 27-yard field goal to go along with his two extra points.

In facing the Lions, USC must contain Landon Lutz and his arsenal of receivers. Heading into Oct. 15th’s game against West-A, Lutz ranked No. 5 in the WPIAL with 1,215 yards passing and a half dozen touchdowns.

“Our defense has to find a way to slow down their passing attack,” Junko said. “They do a great job of finding and exploiting weaknesses in defensive coverages.”

Lutz is not SF’s lone weapon. In addition to relying upon receivers like Logan Yater (38 receptions for 333 yards) and Connor Harcarik (25 catches for 283 yards), the Lions depend upon Nate Deanes. A sophomore, Deanes has 19 grabs for 270 yards but also leads the rushing attack with more than 500 yards.

“Their wide receivers are great route runners and Landon really does a good job of getting the ball in their hands,” Junko said.

“Nate Deanes is a very explosive playmaker that seems to find a way to make big plays exactly when they need one,” he added.

An O-line spearheaded by Keogh Johnson, hence, is USC’s primary concern. Its play will determine the outcome of the game, predicts Junko.

“South Fayette has good size up front and they have really improved with each game this season,” Junko said. “They are very disciplined and well coached on both sides of the ball, so we will have our hands full. This game goes to the team that can control the line of scrimmage.”

In WPIAL Class 4A action, Chartiers Valley travels to New Castle for a 7 p.m. kickoff Oct. 22.

The Colts and the Hurricanes trailed Aliquippa in the Parkway Conference standings. In fact, CV suffered a 48-13 loss to the Quips at its homecoming game on Oct. 8.

In the loss, Anthony Mackey played a role in both CV scores. He returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown then connected with Lamont Payne for a 22-yard TD pass.

Payne had five receptions in the game for 41 yards.

Abe Ibrahim also had five catches. He led the Colts in receiving yards with 62.

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