Austin Caye makes impact on offense, defense as Bethel Park tops North Hills

By: Mitch Montani
Saturday, August 27, 2022 | 1:22 AM

Defense was key for Bethel Park in its 22-10 win over North Hills on Friday night.

Led by senior Austin Caye’s pair of interceptions, the Black Hawks’ defense kept the Indians from scoring an offensive touchdown en route to the season-opening victory.

“He’s tough to defend,” Bethel Park coach Brian DeLallo said of North Hills QB Jon Green. “He’s going to cause people problems. We were able to get some turnovers, and that was the difference in the game.”

Caye contributed heavily on both sides of the ball. With the Black Hawks holding a narrow 6-3 lead late in the first half, the senior intercepted Green. On the very next play, he caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Tanner Pfeuffer. He added another interception in the fourth quarter, which helped to put the game away.

“We used him too much,” DeLallo said. “We need to do a better job of limiting his volume so that he’s more fresh in the fourth quarter. He’s a warrior. He played his butt off.”

The timely scoring and takeaways by Bethel Park proved to be the difference in the game.

“I felt like we had chances to make some plays and left them out there,” North Hills coach Pat Carey said. “We had it in the red zone several times but were unable to capitalize. They played really good defense, but we didn’t take advantage of opportunities.”

Although surrounded by 17 returning starters, Pfeuffer was making his first career start at quarterback. Despite a collection of early incompletions, the sophomore thew for a pair of touchdowns, including a late 39-yard pass to Dinari Clacks.

“I think he probably was a little anxious,” DeLallo said. “He settled down and played well. He’ll improve a lot from this week to next week.”

Ryan Petras scored the game’s first touchdown with a 17-yard run in the first quarter. With the Caye touchdown before the half and a field goal early in the fourth quarter, the Black Hawks held a 16-3 lead. North Hills then provided its biggest moment of the night, with Mike Hoskey returning a kickoff 95 yards for a touchdown.

Despite Green’s efforts, North Hills wasn’t able to complete its rally. The senior will continue to anchor a young surrounding cast.

“He’s a very athletic and charismatic kid,” Carey said. “I think he threw the ball pretty well. It’s the first week, so we’ll improve.”

Carey hopes his young team will continue to grow and develop each week.

“We have a lot of young guys who played their first varsity snaps tonight,” Carey said. “We’ve got to take the good things and teachable moments. Having lost a game like this will hopefully give us a chance to find out about ourselves.”

The Black Hawks will continue to be tested early on when they take on defending PIAA Class 6A champion Mt. Lebanon next Friday.

“We like the challenge,” DeLallo said. “We’re going to play three 6A schools in the next three weeks. If we say that we’ll go play anyone, we have to back it up. We have to prepare and go play.”

Tags: Bethel Park, North Hills