Upper St. Clair facing a tough road to a title
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
South Fayette quarterback Nico Lamonde attempts to elude tacklers while rushing for yardage in a recent Allegheny Six Conference game. In a game with playoff implications, the Lions hosted Upper St. Clair on Oct. 28.
By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
An excited Nate Deanes (1) celebrates with Wesmyn Wright (6) after scoring a touchdown for South Fayette but the thrill did not last long as the Lions dropped a 28-9 decision to Bethel Park.
The WPIAL Class 5A football title is up for grabs as eight talented teams embark on their championship quest Nov. 4.
“It is a deep field of teams and first-round games will be very competitive,” said Upper St. Clair coach Mike Junko. “I think the entire playoff field has a chance to play for the championship.”
Junko’s Panthers included. On one condition though. They must play mistake-free football.
Heading into the regular season finale, USC was 7-2 overall. The Panthers were tied with Peters Township for second place in the Allegheny County Six Conference. Both had 3-1 slates before battling South Fayette (2-2, 5-4) and Bethel Park (4-0, 8-1) respectively on Oct. 28.
“In games that we have lost this year, we have given up big plays on special teams and lost the turnover battle,” explained Junko. “We need to eliminate those errors if we want to have a chance in the playoffs.”
In games that USC has won this fall, the Panthers have dominated offensively and defensively. They had been averaging 32.9 points per game while allowing just 12.8.
USC has relied on youthful quarterbacks to operate the offense.
In a recent 43-6 win against Moon, Ethan Hellmann completed 10 of 14 passes for 142 yards and two scoring strikes to Ivory Travers (30 yards) and Tyler Lagoni (12). A freshman, Hellmann has completed 28 of 45 passes for 501 yards and seven scores.
A sophomore, Julian Dahlem has completed 61 of 97 attempts for 954 yards and 15 scores. He also is the team’s second leading rusher with 382 yards and three scores in nine games.
”Both of our quarterbacks have played in big games and have proven that they can compete on the big stage,” Junko said. “Julian has made a number of big plays for us and Ethan has proven to be a solid decision maker that can attack defenses throwing the football.”
Jamaal Brown, Aidan Besselman and Mason Chambers add to the diversity of USC’s offense. Brown and Chambers, who had touchdown runs against Moon. are No. 1 and 3 on the team in rushing with 962 and 137 yards respectively and 10 scores collectively. Besselman is the leading receiver with 32 catches for 670 yards and nine TD receptions. Ty Lagoni, who had a scoring grab against Moon, and Cody Marn enable USC to have balance among the receiving corps.
Defense was an asset against the Tigers as it has been all season. The Panthers allowed just 75 yards of offense. Additionally, they scored points on a safety and touchdowns by Cameron Phillips and Lagoni on punt returns. Bennett Henderson converted all the extra points.
”We have been more efficient on offense and have done a better job of stopping the run on defense,” Junko said. “Those things will help us heading into the playoffs.”
With a playoff field limited to eight teams, the top two in each of the three conferences and two wild cards, some squads may meet for the second time.
“That could be a reality,” said Junko, whose team beat Peters Township and North Hills but lost to Bethel Park. Facing a familiar foe he added, “can always be a challenge.”
Peters Township faced challenges during its final regular season games.
The Indians dropped a 26-7 decision to Canon-McMillan, scoring only on a 5-yard scoring strike from Chris Cibrone to Carter Shanafelt, before completing Allegheny Six Conference action on the road against league-leading Bethel Park on Oct. 28. Cibrone completed 14 of 15 aerials for 106 yards against the Big Macs.
In Class 6A, Mt. Lebanon needed a win against Canon-McMillan to gain a playoff berth.
Previously, the Blue Devils posted a 41-0 win against Baldwin in non-conference play.
David Shields spearheaded the attack. The sophomore completed 7 passes for 159 yards. He tossed a 7-yard scoring strike to Michael Beiersdorf and rushed for two touchdowns.
In the win, Nata Sala rushed for a 39-yard score and Alex Gevaudan hooked up with Garrett Pavlick and Matthew Nguyen for 21- and 41-yard scoring strikes.
Chartiers Valley hung up the gear after playing Ambridge on Oct. 28 in its Parkway Conference finale. The game came on the heels of a 61-7 loss to Aliquippa.