South Hills showdown pits Upper St. Clair against Bethel Park
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Mark Banbury (55) puts the hit on Richie Woods (22) during Upper St. Clair’s 17-10 victory against Peters Township. Banbury along with Zach Ehasz and Nate Stohl anchor the Panther defensive line and will play a pivotal role as USC hosts Bethel Park at 7 p.m. Oct. 7 in a key Allegheny Six Conference clash.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Nolan DiLucia (17) eludes Ivory Travers (11) during football action this autumn. The Peters Township freshman has been named Almanac Rookie of the Year.
Jeff Donati has been on both ends of the Upper St. Clair-Bethel Park rivalry as a player and a coach.
A 1990 Bethel Park High School graduate, he played football and baseball for the Black Hawks. After stints as an assistant football coach at BP as well as Mt. Lebanon, Donati is now the baseball manager at USC. He is also a varsity defensive assistant on Mike Junko’s football coaching staff.
“Jeff and I have been together for a long time,” said Junko, who once taught and coached at Lebo as well. “We can practically finish each other’s sentences at this point.
“He loves to tell stories about his times at Bethel,” added Junko, a 1992 USC graduate.
As the Panthers prepare to host the Hawks in an Allegheny County Six Conference showdown set for 7 p.m. Oct. 7, Donati reminisced about the rivalry between the two schools.
For Donati, the history dates back to elementary school when he played football alongside Phil Dunn and Kevin Orie at St. Thomas More. Dunn, a star lineman, and Orie, a future MLB player for the Chicago Cubs, played on USC’s 1989 district and state championship club. Because of his relationship with the two Panthers, Donati also met his future bride, Brooke Dent, who was a USC cheerleader.
“From grade school all the way through, Phil and Kevin were among my best friends until it came to the week Bethel and USC played each other. Until that Friday night,” Donati said. “Then we went at it.”
The results were always the same. Though the Hawks had the better baseball players as evidenced by their WPIAL runner-up finish in Donati’s senior year, the Panthers possessed the better football players.
“We always lost to USC. We never beat them,” Donati said. “I remember playing them in ninth grade at Boyce Middle School and thinking we had a chance. Then they gave the ball to Doug Whaley and they murdered us.”
Whaley, who was an NFL football executive before becoming the current senior vice president of player personnel for the XFL, three years later had one of his best games against BP.
“Bethel used to play their homecoming games on Saturdays in the afternoon back when I played,” said Junko, who was a sophomore quarterback on USC’s PIAA winner. “They have a great fanbase over there and I always thought that was a great tradition.
“I remember Doug had a huge game for us. As players, it was one of our fondest memories from that season. We really rode the momentum from that game into the state championship.”
For years, USC, under head coach Jim Render, held the upper hand against the Hawks. Once Jeff Metheny took the helm at BP, the gap closed.
“For a long time, USC was the hammer and BP was the nail,” said current BP coach Brian DeLallo. “But over the past two decades, this rivalry has been much more even because Jeff worked to get Bethel to the level where it could compete with USC on a consistent basis.”
Donati recalls his early days of coaching at BP. He spent 12 seasons with Metheny, who resigned in 2019 after 25 years. Metheny was 205-144 overall but 164-104 at BP with a WPIAL title and PIAA runner-up banner in 2008.
“Jim (Render) took a run at BP such that the games were not so competitive. Not even a rivalry,” Donati said. “By winning 8 of 10 games against USC, Jeff closed the gap and brought the rivalry back.
“It was unbelievable. It was everything if you were Bethel to beat USC. That was Jeff’s baseline. The first four years, they whipped us and then we went over there and finally beat them. We got to the mountain. It took a long time but once Bethel got there, they wanted more and more.”
In 2008, BP posted one of its most memorable victories against the Panthers. DeLallo recalled the Hawks were supposed to be USC’s homecoming opponent but there was a water main break at the school that Friday. Since the stadium was unavailable on Saturday, the game was moved to Bethel at the last minute.
“It was still treated as a USC home game,” DeLallo said. “So they played their homecoming game at BP. It was a typical BP-USC game, won by BP, 10-6.”
Typical times
Expect a similar encounter when the two teams meet Friday night for a pivotal conference matchup.
“The Bethel kids bring toughness and discipline to the table and we have a great deal of respect for that,” said Junko. “They have always had a culture that emphasizes grit and determination.”
The Panthers ran their record to 5-0 with an impressive 17-10 win against Peters Township while the Hawks ravaged Baldwin, 36-7, in their conference opener.
USC’s defense excelled against the Indians, limiting them to 133 total yards and picking off three passes, by Aidan Besselman, Jacob Hufnagel and Tim Speer. Nathaniel Stohl and Mark Banbury led the defense. Each had four tackles and Stohl had 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for losses.
Zach Ehasz also excelled on USC’s defensive line and Stohl was pressed into extra action because Marco Carone took ill before the game. A senior captain, Ehasz also centers the ball on offense.
“Zach is a fine young man that is extremely strong. He really does a great job of setting the edge of our defensive line and allowing our linebackers to fill the rest of the gaps,” Junko said.
“Nate did a great job of disrupting Peter’s run game and collapsing the pocket. He is just a sophomore so we are looking for him to continue to grow in our system over the course of the season.”
Offensively, Bennett Henderson kicked a 25-yard field goal, Jamaal Brown rushed for a 5-yard touchdown and Ethan Hellmann hooked up with Besselman for a 70-yard scoring strike. Hellmann started in place of the sick Julian Dahlem and completed 6-of-11 passes for 103 yards.
Meanwhile, in BP’s win against Baldwin, Tanner Pfeuffer completed 13 of 17 passes for 109 yards. Pfeuffer also connected with Aidan Currie for a two-point conversion.
Ryan Petras, who hauled in eight passes for 84 yards, caught scoring strikes of 24 and 30 yards. He also rushed for a 15-yard touchdown.
Gavin Moul ran for two TDs of 33 and 31 yards and added a two-point conversion run. He finished with 129 yards rushing.
“This is the best Bethel Park team that we have seen in a number of years,” Junko said. “They really stress you on offense because they use multiple formations and they are dedicated to running the football. Their young quarterback has really grown and matured as the year has progressed. Defensively, they are led by their middle linebacker (Moul) and he is one of the best guys you will see playing in the WPIAL. They have beaten a number of really good teams this year and they are just a few plays away from being undefeated. So we expect a great game.”
DeLallo also anticipates a typical USC-BP game.
“They have tough kids, who are well-coached,” he said. “They play great defense, very sound special teams, and have explosive playmakers on offense. JB Brown and Aidan Besselman are special players, and both QBs are very athletic.
“Mike is one of the best playcallers I have coached against. Over the years, he always has new wrinkles and you know he’ll be prepared to attack our defense.”
So getting the W will take a concerted effort on both sides.
“We have to contain their run game and not allow them to control the tempo of the game,” Junko said. “On offense we need to be patient against a really good defense. They force you to snap it and do a great job of limiting big plays. They have great team speed and we have to work to contain their playmakers in all three facets of the game.”
DeLallo said, “We have to play great defense and be clean on special teams. We have to limit their playmakers, or it will be a long night. We have to take care of the football and limit our penalties.”
Bethel Park versus Upper St. Clair is not the only big football game on tab Oct. 7.
In Class 6A, North Allegheny will host Mt. Lebanon at 7 p.m. in a key Tri-County Five Conference.
The Tigers are undefeated in the league after edging Central Catholic, 7-3, while the Blue Devils slipped to 1-1 after a 24-6 loss to Seneca Valley.
In the defeat, Beckham Dee rushed for Lebo’s only score. The 2-yard TD pulled the Blue Devils to within, 10-6, at halftime.
In other action scheduled for Oct. 7, Peters Township looks to recover from its 17-10 defeat at the hands of Upper St. Clair when the Indians travel to Moon for a 7 p.m. kickoff.
In the loss, Joe Bedillion kicked a 22-yard field goal and Nolan DeLucia rushed for a 4-yard score. Richie Woods had four receptions for 37 yards.
In other Oct. 7 action, South Fayette hosts Plum and Chartiers Valley visits New Castle.
The Mustangs are SF’s second non-conference foe in three weeks. Previously, the Lions dropped a 21-17 decision to Canon-McMillan.
In the loss, Nico Lamonde completed 17 of 24 passes for 200 yards and TD strikes of 13 and 62 yards to Nate Deanes and Aiden Martincic.
Deanes had seven receptions for 77 yards while Wesmyn Wright finished with five grabs for 50 yards. Tyler Nicholson kicked a 31-yard field goal to give the Lions a 17-15 lead but CM scored a late, fourth-quarter touchdown to decide the outcome.
Meanwhile the Colts dropped to 0-5 after a 33-16 loss to Blackhawk.
The loss negated two stellar performances by the CV tandem of Austin Efthimiades and Gavin Owens.
Efthimiades rushed for 127 yards. He scored both touchdowns, on a 45-yard reception and a 31-yard rush.
Owens completed 11 of 16 passes for 216 yards. Joseph Heckroth was his top target, pulling in four receptions for 54 yards.