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‘Why change it?’: No. 2 Upper St. Clair rides running game to take down No. 4 South Fayette

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Saturday, October 5, 2024 | 12:24 AM

There wasn’t much mystery around Upper St. Clair’s offense Friday night. The Panthers ran the football 43 times, which is pretty much what they did last week, too.

And, again, it worked.

Upper St. Clair rushed for 342 yards and senior Julian Dahlem scored twice as the second-ranked Panthers defeated No. 4 South Fayette, 17-7, in a battle of unbeaten teams in the Allegheny Six.

Having a defense able to force three turnovers also gave them the luxury of being a little boring on offense. USC completed only one downfield pass, which was one more than last week.

“For games in the future, we’re definitely going to have to complete more passes,” senior lineman Nate Stohl said. “But we’re running the ball and it’s working, so why change it?”

Dahlem rushed for 174 yards on 20 carries, and sophomore John Banbury added 18 carries for 137 yards despite a broken finger injured early in the game. Dahlem scored on a 5-yard run just before halftime, and added a 38-yarder in the third quarter for a 14-0 lead.

They averaged eight yards per carry.

“Our kids have an identity,” USC coach Mike Junko said of playing physical, run-heavy football. “They feel they can do just that. We had like a 95-yard drive. That’s where they’re comfortable. It’s something that, coming out of the locker room, they know we’re going to do it (and) we know we’re going to do it.”

The win keeps Upper St. Clair (7-0, 2-0) undefeated and tied with No. 3 Bethel Park (7-0, 2-0) atop the conference. Those two meet next week at Bethel Park.

South Fayette (6-1, 1-1) visits defending conference and WPIAL champion Peters Township (6-1, 1-1) next week. Even with the loss, the Lions are off to their best start since joining Class 5A in 2020.

“There are no moral victories in football, but I feel confident I can go in there to the locker room and know that our guys are going to battle,” first-year South Fayette coach Marty Spieler said. “Every play, they’re going to hang with whoever they put out there. We have another one next week, and I feel confident that we’re going to compete in this conference. And we’re going to do it for a long time.”

South Fayette cut Upper St. Clair’s lead to 14-7 early in the fourth with a 37-yard pass from junior quarter Drew Welhorsky to sophomore Alex Deanes. The two connected on a fourth-and-8 play to break up the shutout.

Welhorsky completed 11 of 18 passes for 180 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He also rushed for a team-high 76 yards on 18 carries.

South Fayette had a chance for a tying drive later in the fourth until USC’s Charley Bywalski intercepted a pass near midfield, dashing the Lions’ hopes with 4:39 left.

USC linebacker Van Hellman also had a first-half interception.

Upper St. Clair sealed the win with a 31-yard field goal by junior Jacobo Echeverria Lozano with 1:28 left.

“Every week is going to be tight like this,” Junko said. “We’re playing in the best conference in 5A right now. You’ve got to buckle up and go get another one next week.”

Upper St. Clair’s first touchdown drive covered 95 yards in 13 plays, setting a tone with 11 runs for a 7-0 halftime lead. The second scoring drive was quicker, covering 80 yards in five plays. It gave the Panthers a 14-0 edge late in the third quarter.

The versatile Dahlem, listed as a quarterback and wide receiver on the team’s roster, took direct snaps behind center and ran with the ball. But Junko said that doesn’t mean Upper St. Clair has lost confidence in its passing game.

“We need to be able to throw the football,” he said. “That’s something we’ll continue to work on. We threw it well earlier in the season. We’ve run into a two-game patch here where we haven’t been as efficient.”

Penalties were another issue. Each team was flagged 10 times, which took a toll on the game’s tempo. Upper St. Clair had another would-be touchdown run erased by a first-quarter penalty.

Dahlem was quick to share credit for the running game’s success with the teammates blocking for him and Banbury.

“It’s the people up front,” Dahlem said. “Nate Stohl, Mason Geyer, Brock Gillespie, Bobby Fleckenstein, Reese Pirain, Michael Albert and Beck Shields. They work their butts off in practice and work so hard for this team. It’s all because of them.”

Spieler also gave credit to the blocking of Hellman, an H-back, who shook off an early injury to stay in the game.

“We’re a physical football team,” Stohl said, “and it continues to work.”

Chris Harlan is a TribLive reporter covering sports. He joined the Trib in 2009 after seven years as a reporter at the Beaver County Times. He can be reached at charlan@triblive.com.

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