Each Wednesday, the PUP high school sports staff will preview the game of the week.
Between the hash marks
Who: Upper St. Clair (7-0, 2-0) at Bethel Park (7-0, 2-0)
Where: Bethel Park High School
When: 7 p.m. Friday
The coaches: Mike Junko (Upper St. Clair); Phil Peckich (Bethel Park)
When they last met: On Oct. 6 last season, when Ryan Petras and David Dennison combined to run for 271 yards and three TDs as Bethel Park beat Upper St. Clair at home, 22-10.
On deck: Upper St. Clair returns home to take on Moon, while Bethel Park will host South Fayette in another pivotal Allegheny Six Conference showdown.
This and that: For the second week in a row, Class 5A No. 1 Upper St. Clair hits the road to take on an undefeated conference rival in our PUP game of the week. Last Friday, the Panthers traveled to South Fayette and knocked off the Lions, 17-7, in a defensive slugfest. That came one week after handing defending WPIAL Class 5A champion and then-No. 1 Peters Township its first loss, 21-7, in another low-scoring affair. This week, Upper St. Clair’s punishing defense will face its stiffest test yet against No. 3 Bethel Park, the highest-scoring team in the WPIAL at an average of 51 points per game. … The Black Hawks have looked downright unstoppable on offense, scoring at least 45 points in all seven games this season. Senior quarterback Tanner Pfeuffer has completed 91-of-137 attempts for a WPIAL-leading 1,667 yards and 23 touchdowns with only two interceptions. Senior running back JaVaughn Moore has been equally superb, ranking third in the WPIAL with 1,251 yards on 135 carries to go with 13 receptions for 252 yards and 21 total TDs. Meanwhile, Mitch Paschl has 30 catches for 546 yards and 11 TDs, and Jack Bruckner has 20 receptions for 403 yards and five scores. … As if Bethel Park didn’t have enough firepower already, the Black Hawks offense will be bolstered by the return of dynamic slot receiver Ryan Petras. According to coach Phil Peckich, the Princeton recruit is slated to make his season debut on Friday after recovering from a torn labrum. … The Panthers have embraced a run-heavy approach on offense this season, with senior Julian Dahlem (58 carries, 692 yards, 11 TDs) taking center stage following an injury to Dante Coury. Dahlem shined in a 185-yard, three-TD performance against Peters Township on Sept. 27. … Upper St. Clair ranks No. 3 in Class 5A in both scoring offense (37 ppg) and scoring defense (10 ppg), while Bethel Park ranks fifth in Class 5A in scoring defense (13.8 ppg) to go with its top-ranked offense.
Expert picks (records in parentheses)
Brad Everett (5-2): Bethel Park 28, Upper St. Clair 17
John Santa (4-3): Bethel Park 28, Upper St. Clair 13
Steve Rotstein (3-4): Bethel Park 34, Upper St. Clair 28
On the radar
Clairton at Leechburg, 7 p.m. Friday
The Class 1A Eastern Conference crown will almost certainly be up for grabs in this battle of unbeatens that is sure to generate plenty of buzz in Leechburg, where the Blue Devils are off to their first 7-0 start in 43 years. As for Clairton, the Bears are back in top form and approaching unheard-of levels of dominance while outscoring opponents by 48 ppg, bringing back memories of their legendary dynasty that won 66 consecutive games from 2009-13. Clairton coach Wayne Wade was the defensive coordinator on those teams, but he believes this might be his best defense ever — and the Bears are certainly making a compelling case. With six consecutive shutouts, they have allowed only seven points all season — and those came on a fumble return in the season opener against Steel Valley.
Fort Cherry at Bishop Canevin, 7 p.m. Friday
These two Class 1A title contenders collided twice last season, including a memorable 48-41 affair in which Fort Cherry star Matt Sieg accounted for seven touchdowns. The No. 1 Rangers then went on to defeat the Crusaders again in the WPIAL semifinals, 33-21, en route to winning their first WPIAL title and finishing 15-1 overall. Now off to a 7-0 start while outscoring opponents by an average of 33.5 ppg, they appear to be firing on all cylinders in their bid for back-to-back WPIAL crowns and another trip to the state title game. No. 3 Bishop Canevin, on the other hand, has only lost one game — and it came against the top-ranked team in Class 2A, Seton LaSalle, in a 21-14 road defeat in Week 0. The winner is all but guaranteed to win the Black Hills Conference championship.
McKeesport at Mars, 7 p.m. Friday
Two teams with lofty expectations coming into the year, McKeesport and Mars both stumbled out of the gate with identical 1-4 records at the midway point of the season. Still, each team played a handful of non-conference games against top-notch foes from higher classifications, and both have rebounded with back-to-back wins to set up a marquee matchup for first place in the Greater Allegheny Conference. The Class 4A No. 4 Tigers feature sophomore star Kemon Spell (69 carries, 650 yards, 12 TDs), while the Class 4A No. 5 Planets have turned to senior Eric Kasperowicz Jr. (111 carries, 720 yards, 10 TDs) as the focal point of their offense following quarterback Luke Goodworth’s season-ending injury.
PUP ‘underdog’ to watch
North Catholic (hosts Beaver at 7 p.m. Friday)
This season hasn’t been up to the Trojans’ usual standards, but don’t write them off yet. North Catholic is only 3-4 overall, but still right in the thick of the playoff chase with a 2-1 record in the loaded Class 3A Western Hills Conference. Coming off a 46-38 shootout loss to Class 3A No. 3 Central Valley and a 48-28 defeat to Class 3A No. 1 Imani Christian, the Trojans are capable of putting up points in bunches with red-hot quarterback Joey Felitsky and wide receiver Ryker Kennedy, who leads the WPIAL with 62 catches for 796 yards. Expect another high-scoring game against the Class 3A No. 4 Bobcats on Friday.
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
