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Upper St. Clair hosts Mt. Lebanon during Rivalry Week

By Eleanor Bailey 9 min read
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Seton-La Salle’s Nolan Abbiatici (No.10) and Paris Ford (No.1) break up a pass intended for South Fayette’s Dan Trimbur (No. 14). The Lions overcame three first-half interceptions and a 14-0 deficit and defeated the Rebels, 17-14, for their 40th win in a row.

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Nick Ponikvar (No. 2) returns a punt some 60 yards but the touchdown was negated because of a penalty during South Fayette’s Century Conference battle against Seton-La Salle

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Mikey Speca (No. 1) is called for interference on a pass intended for Dalaun Samuels. The call set up a scoring strike for Seton-La Salle in its Century Conference showdown with South Fayette.

Regardless of records, the final game in the regular season for high school football represents bragging rights for the winner because it is Rivalry Week. Neighbors like Mt. Lebanon and Upper St. Clair will battle. Bethel Park and Baldwin will spar. And, Keystone Oaks and Seton-La Salle will contest ownership rights to McNeilly Road.

While he has coached in many classics, legendary coach Jim Render offered his outlook on the upcoming fray Oct. 30 against Lebo. “I suppose there have been a lot of (great games) but I am not a good recall person,” he said. “It’s fun to beat them. That much I know.”

Render is also aware that his assistant coaches are sharpening their math skills in preparation for Friday’s 7:30 p.m. kickoff at Panther Stadium. USC (5-3, 4-2) is tied for third place with Bethel Park (5-3, 4-2) in the Southeastern Conference behind undefeated Woodland Hills and Lebo (7-1, 5-1).

“They are doing all these calculations because we still have a chance for home-field advantage in the playoffs,” explained Render. “I just want to beat Mt. Lebanon. There is no other reason to show up Friday night.”

Render hopes citizens of the community also feel that way. Since he took the head coaching position back in 1979, he has watched interest fade and crowds dwindle even during Rivalry Week.

“I wish we would get the crowds like we did in the old days. I haven’t seen evidence of them at either place. It’s a little sad. I’m not sure why the crowds are down. But two communities side by side with storied traditions, where else would you want to be on a Friday night?” he asked.

For this week, Lebo is “ignoring” the hype, recovering from its disappointing defeat to Woodland Hills, 21-17, and focusing on the task at hand.

“The USC game is the next game on the schedule and we will prepare accordingly,” said Lebo head coach Mike Melnyk. “I lost a tough game there last time we traveled to USC but past games have no bearing on this one. We need to ignore the noise and focus on our performance, no matter the opponent.”

According to Melnyk, the opponent, USC, boasts a Hall-of-Fame coach and a team that has gotten better every week as expected. The Panthers have won three straight, including last week’s 34-21 decision against highly-regarded Montour. In the triumph, Thomas Vissman rolled up 223 yards rushing and three touchdowns. He has gained 1,210 yards and scored 16 TDs on 182 carries this fall.

“Vissman is as complete a back as there is in the league and we need to stop him,” said Melnyk.

Render agreed that Vissman has been “outstanding” but he has been particularly pleased with the development of his offensive line, which includes guys like Brandon Ford, Matt Fennel, Josh Schlichting, Jay Miller and Jay Pollock. “We have never been healthy since Penn Hills. We’ve never had the guys who started all back, nor will we,” Render said of that opening-day victory, 17-0, “but on the positive side, our line has played well, closer to my pre-season expectations.”

As expected, last week, both Lebo and USC encountered tough battles that prepared them for this week’s fray. In the loss to Woodland Hills, Eddie Jenkins completed 10 of 16 passes for 225 yards. Jack Young had three catches for 146 yards. David Harvey scored on a 33-yard fumble return. Pat Kimball caught a 37-yard scoring strike from Jenkins. Garrett Montilla kicked a 21-yard field goal.

“The Woodland Hills game was disappointing because we went there expecting to win and came very close, but we do not play for moral victories,” Melnky said. “We played hard, but we play hard every week and I expect the same will be true (against USC).”

Thanks to Montour, USC is prepared for Lebo. In addition to Vissman’s performance, Gunnar Lund rushed for a 2-yard touchdown and Dom Cepullio returned an interception 45 yards for another score. After surrendering 21 first-half points, USC’s defense, led by Eli Grape, held the Spartans scoreless.

“We beat a pretty good team in AAA that was picked to win at the beginning of the season. Plus, Montour is a tough place to play,” explained Render. “Our kids hung in there.

“Yes,” he added, “I think the game helped us prepare for Lebo because there are some similarities between the two teams. They have a quarterback that can scramble and throw on the run. They have good-sized linemen and run similar defenses. Both teams have good receivers. So it was good preparation, very good preparation,” Render emphasized.

KO-SLS a playoff tune-up

In addition to it being a cross-street rivalry, Keystone Oaks hosting Seton-La Salle at Dormont Stadium will be good preparation for the Eagles, who will be experiencing post-season play for the first time in more than five years.

With a 56-26 win against Sto-Rox, KO clinched a playoff spot in the Century Conference. The Golden Eagles are tied for third place in the division with the Rebels, who are also 5-2 after dropping a 17-14 decision to South Fayette. SLS is 6-2 overall while the Golden Eagles are 5-3.

“There is some excitement back in the hallways, which is great for school morale,” said KO skipper Greg Perry. “I am excited for our seniors because they finally made it into the playoffs. They have worked hard and deserve it. I am grateful to my coaching staff for helping these boys achieve their goal of experiencing the WPIAL playoffs.”

Alex Smith’s right arm facilitated the accomplishment. The junior completed 16 of 19 passes for 278 yards against Sto-Rox. He tossed TD aerials of 13 and 7 yards to Leo Palmer, 20 yards to Nick Hrivnak and 38 yards to Dylan Knorr. Stephen Kazalas-Kelley and Dan Holland rushed for scores of 31 and 23 yards. Smith also ran 29 yards for a touchdown and Dan Black returned an interception 13 yards for another KO score.

Regarding Smith, who has thrown for 1,700 yards this season, Perry said, “Alex is playing well and progressing into a very promising quarterback. His future is very bright as he matures. Along with Hrivnak and Knorr, there is reason for optimism.”

Though the Golden Eagles have a big challenge ahead of them this week, Perry is optimistic regarding facing a familiar foe. He has gone from being a KO player and alumni to spending 20 years on the opposite sideline as a coach at Seton-La Salle. Now, two years later, he is playing against some of his former players, such as Michael Martuccio, Zach Devenney, Andrew Lease and Billy O’Malley not to mention Liam Sweeny and Nico Popa.

“Those kids have really matured and won a lot of football games. Ed Feeney would be proud of his boys,” Perry added of his former SLS line coach, who passed away after their sophomore year. “Those guys, particularly Sweeney and Popa, have grown into big threats and they will pose problems for us. So we need to clean some things up.”

SLS meanwhile must do a little housekeeping. After falling to South Fayette, they must learn how to maintain a lead. They led the Lions, 14-0, and were set to strike again before the first half ended when Luke Meindl intercepted. Meindl and Hunter Hayes added to second-half picks as the Lions roared back for the 17-14 victory. Meindl also recovered a fumble that resulted in the decisive field goal, 28 yards by Dan Trimbur. Trimbur and Noah Plack caught 4 and 8 yard scoring strikes from Drew Saxton in a 14-point third quarter.

For the Rebels, Paris Ford, Daluan Samuels and Popa had first-quarter interceptions. Ford caught a 7-yard TD aerial and Popa pulled in a 4-yard scoring strike from Nolan Abbiatici for SLS’s touchdowns.

In the game, Hunter Hayes rushed for 102 yards on 24 carries. He gained 76 of those yards in the second half.

SF streak at 40

With the victory, 17-14, over Seton-La Salle, South Fayette stretched its winning streak to 40 games. The Lions clinched the conference championship.

“What a time to be a football fan of South Fayette,” said Joe Rossi. “We saw 71 players fight for four quarters and face adversity that they had not seen all season. They were challenged to play the way they were capable of. They won the game because of the way they are challenged. We saw a group of young men come together on all sides and will themselves to victory. We have never been down 14 points, which made this win so special.”

The Lions will host Summit Academy in their regular season finale. The game kicks off at 7 p.m.

Baldwin at BP

Though the Hawks are in the playoffs and the Highlanders are 1-7 overall and winless in the conference, this is a natural rivalry game for the two teams as streets often times separate the boundaries of the communities.

During his 22 seasons at the helm, Jeff Metheny said there have been some “good games” over the years. “OT playoff wins. The comeback at Baldwin, 37-36. That was Joe Freedy and those boys,” he said. “Baldwin is always a concern. They have a nice quarterback and good receivers and we have to find a way to get healthy.”

In beating Peters Township, 35-12, a healthy Levi Metheny rushed for three scores. He also tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Charlie Davis. Davis also returned a punt 65 yards for a touchdown and John Doleno rushed for approximately 170 yards.

For the Indians, who dropped to 2-6 overall and 2-5 in the conference, Jake Cortes completed 25 of 45 passes for 270 yards. He threw a TD aerial and scored on a 5-yard run. Alex Mundy hauled in 10 receptions for 112 yards and Adam Cisney had seven grabs for 92 yards and one score.

Meanwhile, Baldwin is coming off a 28-14 loss to Canon-McMillan. For the Big Macs, Bryan Milligan rushed for a single-game record of 301 yards on 38 carries. He scored three times on runs of 8, 15 and 20 yards. Jordan Smith caught an 8-yard TD pass from Dom Eannace.

Class A ball

In Class A action, Bishop Canevin dropped a 20-0 decision to undefeated and top-ranked North Catholic and will close out the regular season hosting Brentwood at 2 p.m. Oct. 31 at Dormont Stadium. The Crusaders are tied for second place with Avonworth in the Black Hills Conference. Both are 4-2 while Canevin is 5-3 overall.

Chartiers-Houston (4-4, 3-3) visits Fort Cherry at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 30. The Buccaneers are coming off a 35-28 loss to Neshannock. In the defeat, Ty Wormlsey caught 10 passes for 155 yards and Ethan Shober had eight receptions for 79 yards. T.J. Hohnston completed 26 of 32 aerials for 316 yards and three scores. He also rushed for a 4-yard touchdown.

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