Panthers Humble Highlanders, 42-0

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Sometimes, the numbers lie. On Friday night at , they didn’t.

Upper St. Clair High dominated visiting in every facet on Friday night during a WPIAL AAAA Great Southern Conference football game and came away with a convincing 42-0 win to show for it.

The Panthers (4-1, 1-0 Great Southern) could do no wrong on their way to a 35-0 halftime lead, and only a running clock brought on by a mercy rule prevented things from getting worse for Baldwin (3-2, 0-1) in the second half.

Upper St. Clair finished the game with a 14-4 edge in first downs and a 383-114 advantage in total yards. 

“They had our number,” Baldwin’s Head Coach Jim Wehner said. “They are a better football team than we are. Bottom line. No excuses made.

“They are better, top to bottom, than we are … We need to get better.”

The Panthers couldn’t have started the game any better, forcing a Baldwin punt after the first three plays from scrimmage and then getting a 24-yard touchdown run by senior quarterback Dakota Conwell three plays later.

Conwell finished the game with 111 rushing yards on just eight carries, including three TDs. He also completed three of five passes for 121 yards and another TD.

The Highlanders, who played most of the game in their wildcat formation with junior running back Dorian Brown handling the snaps, gave the ball right back on the ensuing possession with another three-and-out series.

This time, USC’s senior wide receiver Mike Wilcox returned a punt by sophomore Jared Tuite 66 yards for a TD.

Baldwin moved the ball a bit on its next possession with senior utilityman Zack Denardo rotating in under center. The Highlanders’ drive eventually stalled at their own 39-yard line, though, after back-to-back illegal procedure penalties killed their momentum.

Following another Tuite punt, the Panthers put together a seven-play, 80-yard drive, capped off by Conwell’s 10-yard TD run. Conwell hit Wilcox for a 46-yard completion earlier in the drive.

Wilcox finished the game with two catches for 56 yards.

The first quarter ended with USC up, 21-0, but Baldwin looked to be in business when Brown ran for 58 yards off of the left side to the USC 14 on the first play of the second quarter.

USC’s senior wide receiver/linebacker Carleton Gibson did what seemingly no one else has been able to do this season by catching Brown from behind to save a TD.

Baldwin eventually turned the ball over on downs to end that drive at the USC 8.

“I was really pleased with Carleton Gibson,” the Panthers’ Head Coach Jim Render said. “He showed a little speed of his own in running him (Brown) down. Then, the defense stiffened, and I thought that was a big turning point in the game, really, when they didn’t get in.”

Brown ended up with 81 yards on 17 carries against the Panthers after rushing for a week earlier against Thomas Jefferson High School.

“When Dorian Brown’s hot, we go to the wildcat,” Wehner said. “We need to make a choice now (after Brown was shut down against USC): Are we going to be a wildcat team, or are we going to be an I (formation) team?

“I’m going to make that decision (soon).”

Baldwin finally forced a punt after the Panthers’ next possession stalled at their own 18, but USC’s junior Tim Witenske bailed his team out with a 53-yard kick to the Highlanders’ 29. USC caught a break when Witenske’s punt hit the turf at around the Baldwin 45 and took a favorable roll deeper into the Highlanders’ end.

The teams traded possessions after that, but USC began to put the game away when the Panthers’ sophomore running back/free safety Morgan Lee recovered a fumble at the Highlanders 32 after Baldwin’s senior wide receiver/defensive back Jeremy Joyce misplayed a Witenske punt.

Two plays later, USC’s senior running back Zach Deitrick, who finished with 60 yards on seven carries, ran 32 yards for another score.

Baldwin punted the next possession away, and USC took over at its own 37 with a seemingly harmless 39 seconds left in the first half. That was until two plays later when Conwell ran 57 yards through the right side and into the end zone.

Upper St. Clair took its foot off of the accelerator during the second half but not soon enough to prevent another TD to open the third quarter.

Conwell hit Gibson for a 65-yard score on the first play from scrimmage of the second half before both teams’ reserves began to see much of the remaining action.

The entire second half was played with a running clock necessitated by a mercy rule in effect when one team leads by 35 points or more.

The 65-yard TD by Gibson was his lone reception.

Baldwin’s freshman quarterback Doug Altavilla, who saw limited snaps due his team’s wildcat formation, went 3-for-5 passing against the Panthers for just 11 yards.

Joyce, Brown and senior wide receiver Malon Howell each caught one pass for Baldwin.

Baldwin’s senior quarterback Cory Phillips, who hasn't played this year as he recovers from concussion symptoms, was in uniform for the first time this season, but he did not appear in the game.

The Highlanders’ senior defensive lineman Joe Persichetti led all players with seven tackles against USC (all solo). Denardo racked up five tackles (four solo), including a forced fumble.

The Highlanders’ senior defensive lineman Andrew Bannister did not dress for the game. Bannister is recovering from a lower-body injury suffered against Thomas Jefferson. He expects to play next week.

The Panthers’ senior linebacker Bobby Tuttle and senior defensive lineman Jake Radziukinas both had a team-high four stops (all solo) against Baldwin.

After the game, the Panthers seemed pleased but not overexcited to beat the Highlanders.

“We just kept executing all game,” Conwell said, “so I’m real proud of my teammates … 

“We know that we have to play four quarters of football, and we haven’t done that yet real well so far this year, so we need to just keep improving every week … I think we can still get better.”

“We were a little concerned about Baldwin coming off of a big win against their neighbor and a good opponent in T.J. (the week before),” Render said. “We wanted to come out firing. We wanted to take away their momentum, and I thought we did that.”

Render did not downgrade Baldwin, but he spoke about USC still looking for its first “big win” of the season.

“We haven’t won what I would call a ‘big game,’” he said. “We lost to North Allegheny ( on Sept. 16). West Allegheny (a last week) is a formidable opponent, but it’s still a AAA crossover game … So nobody’s patting each other on the back just yet.

“Certainly, I’m not overwhelmed, and I won’t let the players forget what our mission is either.”

Wehner talked about moving on.

“We’re still in the thick of things,” he said. “We can still win four (games) and be the No. 2 seed in this thing (Great Southern). If we play like we did last week () and not this week, we’ll be OK … 

“We have to get ready for Mt. Lebanon now (Oct. 7 at Baldwin Stadium at 7:30 p.m., another conference game), and that’s what we’re gonna do … You either get better, or you lose the next four. And we’re going to get better.”

USC will travel to for another conference game on Oct. 7, also at 7:30 p.m.