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Turnovers troublesome for South Fayette in loss to USC

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Drew Franklin follows his blockers for a big gain in South Fayette's Week Zero game against Upper St. Clair.

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Charley Rossi is congratulated by his teammates after his 57-yard TD reception.

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Charley Rossi breaks forth for Week Zero action. He had a breakout game, scoring a 51-yard TD in the first half against Upper St. Clair.

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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Dom Thomas makes a big hit on Upper St. Clair’s Danny Harkleroad.

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Eleanor Bailey

Joey Audia darts down field after making a reception.

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Charley Rossi is off to the races after making a reception.

McDONALD – It was a game of hot potato.

And in that kind of game, South Fayette High School football coach Joe Rossi knows how each mistake can quickly add up.

Rossi doesn’t have to study the tape to find the glaring mistakes made by the Lions Friday night.

One turnover after another – the Lions had five – for South Fayette kept its usually potent offense out of rhythm as it fell to Upper St. Clair, 27-13, in a Week Zero game.

“You can never win a football game when you have that many turnovers,” Rossi said of the one fumble and four interceptions. “You can’t have five turnovers. We have to get better at ball security.”

With a tired Lions defense, Upper St. Clair went on scoring drives of 81 and 85 yards in the second half, then cemented its victory by converting on a fourth-and-two with a 24-yard touchdown pass from Ethan Dahlem to Mateo Cepullio with 1:31 remaining in the fourth quarter.

The final touchdown was set up by the fourth, and final, interception. USC’s Brandon Shearer jumped in front of a short pass over the middle intended for Charley Rossi and tipped it to himself for the takeaway.

Four plays and a little over two minutes later, the game – now 27-13 – was out of reach.

“To play against an offenses as prolific as South Fayette, get turnovers and be able to take advantage of a few of those was key,” said USC coach Mike Junko, who won his first game with the program.

Junko took over for longtime USC coach Jim Render who retired in January.

“The kids stayed the course,” Junko continued. “It was the type of game where a big play can happen any time with (South Fayette’s) offense. All the credit goes to our defense.”

Fourteen of USC’s 27 points were scored off turnovers. The Panthers outscored South Fayette 20-3 in the second half as many Lions – despite the tame temperatures – lay prone on the turf because of cramps.

South Fayette lost the lead for good after a backbreaking play on 3rd-and-20 in the waning moments of the third quarter. Dahlem, failing to find anybody open after dropping back to pass, spotted a wide open middle of the field and ran for a 26-yard touchdown to give USC a 14-10 lead with 3:52 left in the third quarter.

Dahlem completed 13 of 19 passes for 160 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also had 104 yards on 19 carries, helping the Panthers fend off their three first-half turnovers.

“Ethan is an excellent runner and does a great job of making defenses have to account for him,” Junko said. “He made some pretty big plays in some tough situations.”

Three of the four touchdowns USC scored were longer than 20 yards.

“Defensively, we played a really good first half,” Rossi said. “We bent too much in the second half. Big-plays, those home runs, we can’t give up home runs.”

The night started well for South Fayette, which took a 3-0 lead with a short field goal less than four minutes into the first quarter. They then took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter when quarterback Naman Alemada found Charley Rossi for four consecutive completions, including a 51-yard touchdown pass where Rossi beat the defensive back from the slot.

Charley Rossi had 11 receptions for 144 yards.

In his first start, Alemada completed 34 of 53 passes for 360 yards with one touchdown and the four interceptions.

“We are still trying to find out who we are,” Joe Rossi said. “That’s why we play the game, to see what we have. We had a lot of new faces out there but we will be OK.”

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