Upper St. Clair wins thriller over Gateway
Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs
Andrew Schaffer | November 5, 2022
Photo by Wm Spicher
It was a game that was expected to be a good one and it certainly lived up to the hype. Upper St. Clair came away with a 24-21 victory in the final minutes of the game. Upper St. Clair trailed most of the second half but found a way to win on the final drive.
Gateway got the ball to start the game and on the first play of the drive the ball was fumbled and Upper St. Clair recovered. The drive started at the Gateway 35 yard line. Luckily for Gateway the defense stepped up and held Upper St. Clair to a field goal. A 34 kick by Bennett Henderson gave Upper St. Clair a 3-0 lead with 8:32 in the first quarter.
Gateway got the ball for a second time and on the second play of the drive the ball was intercepted and Upper St. Clair had another opportunity. That drive didn’t go anywhere and Upper St. Clair punted it away.
Gateway had their opportunities but didn’t really capitalize on them. The third drive was an example of that. They marched down the field and were inside the Upper St. Clair 20 yard line. Gateway attempted a game tying field goal but the kick was blocked and the score remained 3-0 Upper St. Clair.
On Upper St. Clair’s next drive Jamaal Brown busted a big run down to the Gateway 29 yard line. But in the end Gateway’s defense came up with a stop when a pass fell incomplete on fourth down. Gateway got the ball back again and was marching right down the field but in the end the drive didn’t result in any points.
Upper St. Clair started the next drive at their own 20. On the second play Jamaal Brown was off to the races and scored on a 80 yard touchdown run. That gave Upper St. Clair a 10-0 lead with 9:07 in the second quarter. Brown was a big factor in the Upper St. Clair win. He rushed for 160 yards on 21 carries. “He played phenomenal for us tonight” said Coach Junko.
Now down 10-0, Gateway needed an answer and they did just that. The drive started on their own 28 yard line. A key moment of the drive was a pass that was completed for a first down on a 3rd and 17. Later in the drive Gateway tried to run it into the end zone but couldn’t do it. On fourth down they decided to go for it and Brad Birch completed a pass to Malachi Moore for a 1 yard touchdown. That made it 10-7 Upper St. Clair with 3:32 left in the first half.
Later in the quarter, Gateway started another drive at their own 36 yard line. On first down a pass was completed and after a late hit Gateway was at the Upper St. Clair 31 yard line. After that a pass interference call moved it down to the Upper St. Clair 16 yard line. The drive was finished off when Brad Birch found Dallas Harper for a 16 yard touchdown. Gateway now had a 14-10 lead with 51 seconds left in the half.
Believe it or not that wasn’t the last score before the half ended. Off of a Gateway turnover, Bennett Henderson kicked a 47 yard field goal with 1 second left. “We have a lot of faith in Bennett Henderson and he’s a kid when you show him faith, he’ll come through for you” said Coach Junko. That made the score 14-13 Gateway at half.
Upper St. Clair got the ball to start the second half and they were inside the Gateway 25 yard line. The drive stalled and they attempted a field goal and the kick was blocked and Anez Jordan scooped it up and ran 58 yards for a touchdown. That made the score 21-13 Gateway.
Upper St. Clair answered back on the following drive on a third field goal by Bennett Henderson this one being 25 yard kick to make it 21-16. After that both defenses came up big. “Our defense played phenomenal in the second half and made huge stops” said Coach Junko.
Late in the fourth quarter Upper St. Clair started a drive at their own 35 yard line. For the last drive Julian Dahlem took over at Quarterback. “We needed a spark, we needed something to get us going and he provided that” said Coach Junko.
It was a long drive that lasted 11 plays. After a big run they were at the Gateway 25 yard line. On fourth and 11, Julian Dahlem completed a pass to Aidan Besselman for a 26 yard touchdown. After the successful 2 point conversion the score was 24-21 Upper St. Clair with 2:22 left in the game. “Aidan Besselman has been on the end of some miraculous stuff for me over the years, he just seems to find a way to make plays in big moments and it is just another example of him making a big play in a big moment” said Coach Junko. “Go down the field and make a big catch, that’s all I can do” said Besselman. “I just put it up to my receiver and he went up and got it” said Julian Dahlem.
Gateway had one last chance but they ended up turning the ball over on downs and that made the final 24-21 Upper St. Clair.
Up next Upper St. Clair plays rival Bethel Park for a second time this season in the WPIAL 5A semifinals. “We gotta find a way to match their physicality, they’re our next door neighbor and big rival that game will match the intensity of this one I’m sure” said Coach Junko.
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