Upper St. Clair hosts Mt. Lebanon in football opener
The 2026 high school football season gets underway with two of the WPIAL’s storied programs butting helmets in the Battle of the South Hills when Upper St. Clair hosts Mt. Lebanon at 7 p.m. Aug. 28.
“This is a great way to start the season,” said USC skipper Mike Junko. “Both towns really show up in support of their teams. There is no better atmosphere in the WPIAL.”
Bruce Fronk concurred. An Upper St. Clair resident and an educator in the Mt. Lebanon School District, Fronk is in his first year as Blue Devils head coach. He served as an assistant during Lebo’s state championship run in 2021.
“It’s an exciting start,” Fronk said. “The tradition and history surrounding this rivalry is what makes high school football awesome.”
The Blue Devils own eight WPIAL championships and one PIAA banner. The Panthers have seven district crowns and two state titles, coming in 1989 and 2006.
Junko played on that 1989 squad as a back-up quarterback and punter. He also competed on WPIAL football and baseball championship clubs during his tenure at USC before making headlines at Akron.
“Mt. Lebanon really got the better of us in the early days of this rivalry,” explained Junko.
Junko noted that dominance shifted in 1988 when the Panthers defeated a talented Lebo squad,14-0, in a semifinal playoff game at Baldwin High School.
“Mt Lebanon had a great team that year and that win helped propel Upper St. Clair into becoming one of the most dominant teams in the old Quad-A in the 80’s and 90’s,” Junko said. “Pete Habib, Doug Whaley, and Phil Dunn had big nights that carried us into the championship game against Central Catholic.”
USC shut out the Vikings, 7-0, to win the WPIAL Class 4A title at Three Rivers Stadium.
Jim Render, whom Junko succeeded, once told him that he was hired with the understanding that he would build a program that could beat Mt. Lebanon. During Render’s run, the Panthers did. They would win three more district titles in 1989, 1992 and 1997 while Lebo would not return to a WPIAL final until 2000 and then again in 2021.
“This game is very important to our town and our players understand the expectations that go along with being a part of this game,” Junko said.
Fronk added that there are a lot of good memories involving these two teams, that are separated by less than four miles and are both situated just off Route 19.
“Great battles that are normally centered around two teams playing passionately and that are well coached,” he said.
At Mt. Lebanon, there is enthusiasm heading into the season even though Fronk is the fifth different head coach during Junko’s eight-year tenure at the helm at USC. In fact, Junko is only the fifth head coach in the history of USC’s program.
“It has been a challenge to deal with a number of coaching changes at Mt. Lebanon over the last few years,” Junko said. “We usually play this game the first week of the season and we are always guessing how they will attack us on offense and defense.”
Nevertheless, Junko added that there is a lot of excitement at Mt. Lebanon. In addition to the new head coach, “the program’s heading in a new direction,” he said. “They also have a number of talented players on their roster so we will need to play our best football to have a hope to win the game.”
The Panthers are hoping that veterans like Ryan Robbins, John Banbury and Will Stohl steady the ship as their younger players, including Josh Snyder, get their legs under them.
Robbins and Stohl anchor the offensive and defensive lines and Banbury is a veteran, punishing running back. Robbins is a Penn State commit while Banbury is a Richmond recruit.
Snyder moves into the starting quarterback slot, filling the position vacated by Ethan Hellmann, who matriculated to Fairmont State after becoming the all-time passing leader in program history.
“We are breaking in a new starter at quarterback and we need to get solid play out of that position,” Junko said.
“We also have a number of young players that are probably not on anybody’s radar yet. We need to get those kids to find ways to make big plays on both sides of the ball. We are excited about their potential and progress thus far.”
Fronk is excited about Lebo’s prospects. However, he is not putting too much emphasis on a non-conference clash that in essence is for bragging rights rather than playoff positioning.
“For us, we are definitely looking forward to this game but we are focused on us, stacking great reps and plays,” Fronk said. “A season is not made or broken by the first game of the year. It’s a great opportunity to start the season.”
The Blue Devils look to play error-free ball when they step onto the turf at Panther Stadium.
“The key to victory is playing a clean football game,” Fronk said. “Coach Junko always ensures his teams are well coached and well prepared. They have great talent there as well. Those two things always make USC a tough opponent.
“We will look to put our players in positions to succeed and minimize our mistakes,” he concluded.