Upper St. Clair stays undefeated with victory over Peters Township

By: Mitch Montani
Saturday, September 24, 2022 | 12:56 AM

Upper St. Clair outlasted Peters Township in a defensive struggle Friday night with a gritty, 17-10 win in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference.

The victory was led by the Panthers defensive unit, which held the Indians out of the end zone until the game’s final minute.

“I thought they did a pretty good job up front on us,” Indians coach TJ Flack said. “They gave us fits all night. We weren’t able to run the ball.”

Peters Township (4-1, 1-1) struck first with a Joe Bedillion field goal. This was followed by 17 unanswered points for No. 3-ranked Upper St. Clair (5-0, 2-0). The Panthers turned the ball over with three fumbles in the second half, including two on muffed punts. Despite this, the Indians’ offense was held at bay by the impressive defense effort.

“We didn’t want to lose the momentum,” Panthers coach Mike Junko said. “Every time (Peters Township) had a shot at momentum, our kids seized it back. Credit to our guys up front. Those guys played phenomenal.”

After the teams were tied 3-3 at halftime, Panthers running back Jamaal Brown scored on a 5-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. It was the senior’s fifth touchdown of the season.

The usual starting quarterback for the Panthers, Julian Dahlem, was unable to make the start due to feeling under the weather. Ethan Hellman made the start in his absence, throwing a fourth quarter touchdown pass to Aidan Besselman. He didn’t throw an interception.

“He did a great job of not turning the ball over,” Junko said. “He managed the game on a big stage.”

As for Dahlem, he’ll be back next week after sitting out Friday.

“It was a tough decision,” Junko said. “But I think it was the right decision for our program and for him. He’s been great for us.”

Peters Township made a mid-game change at quarterback. Chris Cibrone got the start, but Nolan DiLucia took over in the second half. DiLucia ran for a 4-yard touchdown late in the fourth.

“(Cibrone) got banged up in the first half,” Flack said. “He wasn’t able to get out of the pocket. That limited him a little bit. We weren’t able to muster anything up.”

Peters Township will take on Baldwin in another conference game next week.

“We have some things to improve,” Flack said. “This hurts because we believe we can win and we believe we’re a good team. But it’s where we’re at and we need to get better.”

Now 2-0 in the Allegheny Six Conference, the Panthers will look to keep building. They’ll face Mt. Lebanon, the defending Class 6A champs, next Friday.

“There’s going to be a lot of nights like tonight,” Junko said. “This was our first four-quarter football game. It was a new experience for our kids and we’ll build on it.”

Watch an archived broadcast of this game on Trib HSSN.

Tags: Peters Township, Upper St. Clair