USC shakes off South Fayette late
UPPER ST. CLAIR – The scoreboard really doesn’t do it justice.
South Fayette went into Upper Saint Clair – one of the top teams in a classification one above the Lions – without their starting quarterback.
Yet, South Fayette found itself down by just a field goal late in the third quarter with the ball in USC territory and a golden chance to take the lead.
But Upper St. Clair showed why it is one of Class 5A’s best and held on and then pulled away for a 31-7 victory Friday night in a non-conference football game.
South Fayette coach Marty Spieler believes his team can benefit greatly from playing a Class 5A squad like USC.
“These kids all know each other,” he said. “All the kids play against each other. All growing up, they all play AAU basketball games together,” he said. “So it’s nice to get a good game and great atmosphere for those guys to play in, for us to have really good competition going into conference, and we have a really big one next week with Chartiers Valley.
Upper St. Clair scored on its first possession with a 30-yard field goal by Cam Smith.USC scored again on its next possession, ending on an 8-yard TD pass from Josh Snyder to Andrew Gaither.
It stayed 10-0 through the end of the first quarter. South Fayette responded midway through the second quarter on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Logan Dedes – filling in for the injured Braeden Plasko – to Jacob Bostian, who recently received an offer from Pitt.
An interception by Gavin Schmitz midway through the third quarter gave South Fayette its golden chance to take the lead. But it didn’t cash in.
Nobody scored in the third quarter, but on the second play of the fourth, John Bandbury’s 3-yard TD run and the ensuing kick put Upper St. Clair up by double digits.
Luca Corey buried the Lions on the next possession with a 10-yard run to make it a three-score game. Courey eclipsed the century mark, going unofficially for 113 yards and a score on 17 carries.
On Upper St. Clair’s next possession, Max Ligier scored from three yards out to make it a four-score game.
Plasko is expected to be back next week, according to Spieler.
Despite the loss, USC coach Mike Junko sees South Fayette as a team that could go all the way in 4A.
“No doubt,” he said. “No doubt about it. Yeah. You know, that’s a team that, for three quarters of this football game, without their starting quarterback, played us straight up, tough, physical and I think you know their kids fought the entire time. So I think that leaked wide open, and I would definitely put them in the conversation as a team that has a very good chance of getting down to Acrisure (Stadium).”
South Fayette will begin conference play against Chartiers Valley at home next Friday.