Upper St. Clair rallies in the second half to defeat Moon

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News

Andrew Schaffer | October 17, 2020

Upper St. Clair was determined to win this game. Twice they came back from 14 down, the second time they trailed by 14 they scored 21 unanswered to beat Moon 42-35. “We had a number of big plays that brought us back from momentum shifts that went against our way, It seemed like every time we lost momentum, we were able to get it back” said Coach Junko.

Moon got the ball first but the drive didn’t go far. On Upper St. Clair’s first drive they went 3 and out. On Upper St. Clair’s second drive is where the first points occurred but it was it not by them, the ball was fumbled and Dawson Snyder scooped it up for Moon and ran it in for a 22 yard touchdown. That made it 7-0 with 3:56 in the first quarter.

On the next drive Upper St. Clair answered back when Ethan Dahlem connected with David Pantelis for a 38 yard touchdown.

In the second quarter Moon took control of the game. They got the lead back with 7 minutes left in the second quarter. It was a drive that took more than 10 plays and it was finished off on a 2 yard run by Dylan Sleva.

Upper St. Clair got the ball back but barely did anything on the drive and eventually they punted it back to Moon. They extended their lead on that drive and it was finished off on a trick play when Lucas Bender completed it to Tyler McGowan for a 7 yard touchdown.

Before the half ended Upper St. Clair came up with a crucial response. After a deep pass they were at the Moon 18 yard line. A couple plays later Dahlem found Luke Banbury for an 8 yard touchdown. The score at half was 21-14 Moon.

Upper St. Clair got the ball to start the second half and it sure was a wild roller coaster wide. They would end up tying it on that first drive when Dahlem found Aidan Besselman for a 51 yard touchdown.

It seemed like Upper St. Clair had all the momentum but 15 seconds after they tied it, Moon got the lead back on a 90 yard kick return by Jeremiah Dean.

Upper St. Clair went 3 and out on their next drive, giving the ball back to Moon. They would extend their lead on that drive when Tyler McGowan ran it in for a 31 yard touchdown.

After that Upper St. Clair turned it on. Ethan Dahlem connected with David Pantelis for a 65 yard touchdown. Pantelis had a big night for Upper St. Clair he had 7 receptions for 187 yards and 3 touchdowns. “Our big time players showed up tonight and made big time plays for us and so credit to those kids to continue to make play after play all night long and it was special to see” said Coach Junko.

On the ensuing Moon drive Upper St. Clair came up with the stop they needed and Moon ended up punting it away. It didn’t take long for Upper St. Clair to tie it when Ethan Dahlem again found David Pantelis for a third time this one being 32 yards. Dahlem was a major factor in the victory. He was 18 of 28 for 362 yards and had 5 passing touchdown and had a sixth rushing. “He’s just such a competitor, he’s been our starting quarterback for 2 years now and he still does things on the football field that amaze me, and he’s a special football player” said Coach Junko.

In the fourth quarter Upper St. Clair completed the come back when Dahlem had his rushing touchdown which was 10 yards. That made the score 42-35 and that ended up being the final score. “Our quarterback was fantastic tonight and he did a great job on the sidelines keeping us on an even key, and keeping our team, knowing we’re never out of it with him out there making plays, give a lot of credit to Ethan Dahlem and our seniors for keeping our sideline in the game” said Coach Junko about the team’s resiliency.

Next week Upper St. Clair has another big time match up in division when they travel to South Fayette. Moon will travel to Bethel Park to finish off the regular season.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews