Upper St. Clair visits Bethel Park
Upper St. Clair enters hostile territory Oct. 9 when the Panthers visit Bethel Park for an Allegheny Six Conference football showdown. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
“Bethel Park does a great job of making their place a difficult place to play,” said USC skipper Mike Junko. “They have great community support and regardless of their record their fans come out to support the team. It seems like the fans get a little more intense when we come to town. So, it should be another great Friday night atmosphere over there.”
Despite their 2-3 start, which included a Homecoming loss on Sept. 25 to Chartiers Valley, 27-24, as well as a loss to West Allegheny, 33-13, on Oct. 2, the Black Hawks are a threat to USC’s plans for a conference championship and not just because this is a rivalry matchup.
Bethel Park boasts talented, game-changing personnel such as Nate Cirincionne, Santino Nowozeniuk, Brady Bruckner and Will Sabatos not to mention Max Novak, a newcomer at quarterback that possesses a ton of pedigree.
“Bethel Park has some elite skill kids. In many ways they will be the best group of skill kids that we have seen so far this year,” said Junko. “They have speed on the edge and a solid scheme to complement their talent.
“You have to know where guys like Sabatos, Cirincione, Bruckner, and Nowozeniuk are at all times because those guys can hurt you,” Junko continued. “Their quarterback also has done a good job in his first year as a starter and you can see him getting better every week.
“So, I think they have a good nucleus of kids that can cause problems.”
USC, meanwhile, has punished opponents during the non-conference season. The Panthers posted a 5-0 record heading before blanking Peters Township, 42-0, on Oct. 2 in the Allegheny Six Conference opener. Their win against South Fayette, 31-7, was an example of their dominance.
The Panthers, who have outscored the opposition, 201-38, allowed the Lions just 57 yards rushing. Andrew Gaither recovered a fumble, Anthony Bunn forced another and John Banbury led defense with eight tackles and a sack for a loss of 13 yards. Linemen Sam Bunn and Ryan Robbins applied their share of pressure and contributed as leaders as well in tackles alongside Wyatt Serdy and Anthony Rozzo.
In approaching the Bethel Park battle, Junko said that the Panthers need to stick to the formula that has been worked all season.
“Stop the run, limit explosive plays on defense, run the football on offense and find ways to attack teams with our passing game,” he said. “We also need to be better caretakers of the football. We have turned it over more than I would like recently.”
Penalties, a fumble, an interception by Gavin Schmitz and lack of focus prevented the Panthers from putting the Lions away until scoring 21 points in the final frame.
In the win, Luca Coury rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown while Banbury picked up 60 and another score. Max Ligier also rushed for a touchdown.
Josh Snyder, who rushed for 61 yards, completed 11 passes for 124 yards and a scoring strike of 4 yards to Gaither.
Cam Smith, who converted four extra points, also contributed a 31-yard field goal.
Meanwhile, Bethel Park scored a variety of ways in the loss to the Colts. Sabatos rambled 89 yards for a touchdown. Bruckner pulled in a 54-yard scoring strike from Novak, who completed 13 aerials for 258 yards, Tyler Miller rushed for a 3-yard TD and Luke Yimin kicked a 22-yard field goal.
“Bethel Park does a great job of attacking all parts of the field offensively,” Junko said. “We are going to have to defend the entire field to slow them down. Their run game has been solid so we need to find a way to limit their ground attack.”
In addition, Junko added, the Panthers need to stack first downs on offense and find more explosive plays.
In an unwelcoming environment, Junko also cautioned that the Panthers also must maintain their composure.
“The other element that we need to control is our emotions,” he said. “This game can get heated and we need to strike a balance between the intensity this game naturally brings and the undisciplined mistakes that can be made when emotion takes over your thought processes.”
PT HOSTS TRINITY
In other Allegheny Six Conference action set for Oct. 9, Peters Township hosts Trinity.
The Indians completed non-conference play with an upset victory, 20-10, against McKeesport, which is ranked No. 3 in Class 4A behind South Fayette and Montour.
Jaden Blair dominated the action for the Indians. He rushed for 178 yards on 30 carries and two scores of 1 and 53 yards. Additionally, he made three catches for 56 yards.
Tyson Antosh contributed two field goals for the Indians, converting from 22 and 21 yards.
CLASS 4A
In Big Six Conference action set for Oct. 9, South Fayette travels to Albert Gallatin while Chartiers Valley hosts Laurel Highland.
The Lions, who finished non-conference action with a 4-1 record after its loss to USC, are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A of the WPIAL.
Jacob Bostian stood out in the loss to the Panthers. He caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Logan Dedes, who started at quarterback for the injured Braedon Plasko. Bostian had five tackles on defense and a sack on defense.
Other defensive standouts included: Bryce Watkins (10 tackles); Luca Romanelli (9), Owen Keener (7), Jaxon Tallerico (7) and Joey Kreuer (6).
Meanwhile, the Colts finished non-conference play with 2-3 mark after the triumph against Bethel Park.
In the CV victory, Luke Waldron kicked field goals of 25 and 31 yards. Braylen Bogats returned a fumble 82 yards for a touchdown. Owen Wagraff, who was 19 of 27 for 223 yards, completed scoring strikes of 9 and 12 yards to Liam Franchick and Chace Glover.
CLASS 6A
After dropping a 22-3 decision to Norwin in the Quad County Conference opener, Mt. Lebanon slipped to 0-4 overall. Josh Huff kicked a 37-yard field goal to account for the Blue Devil scoring.