Petras the man at Bethel Park
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Ryan Petras (No. 1) fends off Zachary Salapow (No. 3) on his way to a big gain during Bethel Park’s 22-10 victory against Upper St. Clair. The junior rushed for 146 yards and a touchdown. He also picked up 61 more yards on five receptions in the triumph.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Bethel Park defensive back Mitch Paschl (No. 5) wraps up an Upper St. Clair ball carrier and forces a fumble during an Allegheny Six Conference Clash. The Black Hawks defeated the Panthers, 22-10. Paschl is one of 22 players in a talented junior class for BP.
At Bethel Park High School, Ryan Petras is a man for all seasons.
In autumn, he excels on the football field. In winter, he shines on the track. In spring and summer, he stars on the baseball diamond.
Add a 4.2 GPA in the classroom and the junior is a unique individual.
“Ryan does it all,” said BP football coach Phil Peckich.
“He’s excellent,” said Mike Junko after Upper St. Clair’s 22-10 loss to the Black Hawks.
In the contest, Petras scorched the Panthers’ defense for 207 yards – 146 on the ground and 61 on five receptions. He scored the game’s first touchdown on a 64-yard romp and set up one of David Dennison’s two TDs on another 77-yard scamper.
Petras, who is a three-year starter at defensive back, also registered 128 yards on four punts for a 32-yard average.
An all-state performer, Petras leads the Black Hawks after seven games in receiving with 33 catches for 425 yards as well as in scoring with 44 points. He also ranks third in rushing behind primary ball carriers Ja Vaughn Moore and Dennison.
“Petras is a Power-5 player. He’s going to be playing on Saturdays,” Junko predicted.
When informed Petras has already made a verbal commitment to play baseball at Northwestern, Junko said, “He can do that, too, if he wants.”
Thus the dilemma begins for Petras.
If such football offers come his way, then Petras has decisions to make.
“I would definitely think about it and talk about it with my family,” he said. “You just gotta go day by day and see what happens.
“Honestly, I just play what I love to play,” he continued. “I like (baseball and football) both and I just have fun with it.”
Before he began making a mark in football, Petras started in center field on BP’s state championship baseball squad in 2022. As a freshman leadoff hitter, he batted .407 with seven doubles, 12 stolen bases and 15 runs. Last spring, he moved to shortstop and led the Black Hawks to the district finals and the state quarterfinals by batting .495 with 8 eight doubles, 19 steals, 13 RBI and 25 runs.
In between those seasons though, Petras earned co-Offensive Player of the Year honors in the Allegheny Six Conference in 2022. He picked up 1,437 all-purpose yards and scored 17 touchdowns. He had 578 yards rushing and 578 yards receiving on 44 catches. He added 309 yards on 10 returns before teams stopped kicking to him. He did not play in the postseason because he separated his shoulder in the last regular season contest.
BP won the Allegheny Six Conference last fall and finished 11-2 overall after losing in the WPIAL semifinals.
“We’ve brought Ryan along slowly because we want him to be healthy for the stretch run ,” Peckich said. “What he did against USC is really important, but he can do that on any given night. When you have a kid like him, you have to give him the ball enough. He makes plays when it matters. Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games.”
Petras makes plays for two reasons — his speed and his teammates.
While his father, Dave, played football and threw the shot put at Baldwin and Geneva College, Petras inherited his quickness from his mother, Nancy, who was a sprinter on the Duquense University track team. Petras increased his pace by running indoor track, where he qualified and competed in the Adidas Track Nationals.
“My speed,” said Petras. “That is what I do best. I just beat players with speed. Make moves and follow my blockers,” he continued.
“Honestly, I couldn’t do it without them. My teammates make great blocks.”
Peckich agreed. Just as Petras did, he noted the play Kahanuolo Kuewa made that created BP’s first score against USC.
“Ryan is just a great player but guys around him do a great job of executing their jobs,” Peckich said.
Dennison made the most of his assignment, filling in for Moore, who was hobbled by an ankle injury.
Thanks to the blocking of Clancy Orie at end, Frank O’Mara and Santino LaMolinare at the tackle spots, Dylan Prindle and Jacob Brown at the guard slots as well as Hunter Goelz at center, Dennison also rushed for over 100 yards against USC. He scored twice on 4- and 8-yard runs. Thomas Bova kicked the extra points.
“We knew David was a very good player,” Peckich said of the sophomore. “He has been getting good carries.”
The BP defense has also excelled. Against USC, Mitch Paschl forced and recovered a fumble. Orie and Nate Tietz recorded sacks and recorded five or more solo tackles as did Christian Davis and Nicholas Howryl. Jovian Smith, Denzel Meyers, Randall Bergia, Kaden Wetzel and Kuewa also made significant contributions.
“Our defense does a great job,” Peckich said. “The kids have responded. We know week in and week out that this is a tough conference and we are treating all games as playoff scenarios in which we have to win.”
Although losses to Mt. Lebanon, Central Catholic, Canon-McMillan and Penn Hills, Peckich noted those non-conference games have helped prepare BP for the home stretch. Undefeated at 2-0 in the conference heading into a clash at Moon on Oct. 13, the Black Hawks, who have only 10 seniors on the roster, will also battle South Fayette and Peters Township on Oct. 20 and 27, respectively.
“Our record is skewed by the non-conference opponents that we played. We were in a lot of those games but we did not make the plays down the stretch,” Peckich said. “Our guys are getting better every week and with our youth, we have not scratched the surface of what we can do.
“Part of the non-conference schedule was to find out who we were. We had some ideas. We have identified what our strengths and what our weaknesses are and hopefully we can continue to get our playmakers the ball.”