Upper St. Clair hosts Baldwin
Upper St. Clair opens Allegheny Six Conference action entertaining Baldwin in high school football action Sept. 9. Kickoff is at 7 p.m.
Though the Highlanders are new to Class 5A, having dropped from 6A this year, they are a familiar foe for the Panthers. While the Highlanders have not beaten USC since 2009 and have lost their last 11 meetings, they are not the same squad the Panthers faced in the past.
“Baldwin was a team that showed a lot of improvement as the year went along last year. They opened their season with a big win this year,” USC head coach Mike Junko said, referring to that 47-17 victory against Brasher. “So I think they are coming into town with a different attitude.”
The Panthers enter the clash with a confident outlook, particularly after their own season-opening win against Norwin, 42-6. The Knights, like Baldwin, participated at the Class 6A level before dropping down into the Big East 5A Conference.
In the triumph, Jamaal Brown rolled up 152 yards, 65 on a touchdown romp.
Aidan Conn and Julian Dahlem rushed for scores of 3 and 14 yards, respectively. Dahlem also tossed a 91-yard scoring strike to Aidan Besselman.
Defensively, Ty Lagoni had a pair of Pick 6s for 32 and 74 yards. Jacob Hufnagel and Gordon Groninger also had interceptions.
Bennett Henderson converted all six of his extra-point attempts.
While Junko was pleased with the effort against the Knights, he predicts the Panthers will need a flawless performance to dispatch Baldwin.
”There is no room for error in our conference,” he said. “To find success we will need our veteran guys to continue to make plays and lead us in what should be a great atmosphere on Friday night.”
While none of The Almanac’s other area teams are involved in conference clashes on Sept. 9, the schedule nonetheless features some spirited rivalries.
For example, South Fayette hosts Montour while Peters Township entertains Trinity. Kickoffs are 7 p.m.
The Lions already have experience facing familiar foes. They blanked crosstown rival Chartiers Valley, 35-0, in their season opener.
Drew Welhorsky made his varsity debut by throwing for 195 yards. The freshman rushed for one score and tossed a 29-yard TD pass to Mike Gimigliano.
Nate Deanes was the top target with seven catches for 58 yards. He rushed for two touchdowns. Christian Brandi led the ground attack with 54 yards on eight carriers. He also scored on a 14-yard run.
Dom Monz added four receptions for 68 yards. He made five tackles on defense as did Matt Boyce and Talan Mizenko. Connor Cirra and Deanes followed with four each. Boyce had five sacks. Aiden Martincic had an interception.
The Indians also picked up a shutout win in their season opener against Fox Chapel, 56-0.
Richie Woods led the ground game, rushing for 116 yards and four scores of 1, 10, 12 and 58 yards.
Chris Cibrone and Brenden McCullough fueled the aerial attack. Cibrone completed 12 of 16 passes for 236 yards and two TD strikes of 14 and 92 yards to McCullough. McCullough finished with 181 yards on six receptions.
Mark Ripepi returned a fumble 27 yards for a touchdown and Joe Bedillion completed the scoring with by converting the eight extra points.
In other non-conference action, Chartiers Valley hosts Highlands, Mt. Lebanon travels to Moon and Bethel Park entertains Central Catholic.
Lebo saw its 15-game winning streak halted in the first game of the season when the Blue Devils dropped a 21-6 decision to Class 5A powerhouse Gateway.
In the loss, Michael Gevauden threw for 109 yards on 11 completions, Johnny McGhee had six receptions for 48 yards and Beckham Dee scored on a 3-yard rush midway through the third quarter.
Note: Results of games played Sept. 2, including Lebo’s battle against BP, were too late to be published in this edition of The Almanac.