Upper St. Clair 47 Liberty 13 ~ Whew...
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THE CHOPS
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Upper St. Clair 47 Liberty 13 ~ Whew...
Upper St. Clair 47, Liberty 13
12/16/2006,
The Associated Press:
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render was gushing about his team when two beefy linemen picked him up and carried him off on their shoulders.
There was an impressive victory and a state title to celebrate.
Dane Conwell ran for five touchdowns and 169 yards, and Upper St. Clair's swarming defense set records in shutting down Liberty in a 47-13 win on Saturday night to claim the P.I.A.A. Class (AAAA) title.
"This team continues to get better and they played tough every week," Render said to reporters just as his linemen lifted him off the ground. "Put me down. I'm enjoying my interview!"
No such luck. They left for the sideline where giddy fans snapped pictures of the team and the championship trophy. Chants of "U.S.-C! U.S.-C!" streamed down from the Panther faithful.
The final game of the P.I.A.A.'s championship weekend — four state finals in two days — turned out to be over by halftime, with Upper St. Clair leading 26-0.
Conwell scored three times in the first half and benefited from excellent blocking. Upper St. Clair shut down dual-threat quarterback Dan Persa, and Liberty didn't get a first down until early in the fourth quarter.
Upper St. Clair's defense set Class (AAAA) title game records in holding Liberty's offense to 103 total yards, 7 rushing yards and two first downs on the evening.
"Our defense is so simply amazing," said Conwell, who also plays linebacker. "We just stopped them from the get-go. We dominated."
He's not bad on offense either. Conwell had 107 yards rushing on 20 carries by halftime, when he walked off the field flashing a smile and pointing at fans in the stands. With a 26-point lead, the Upper St. Clair crowd was anxious to get the postgame party started.
Persa finished 7-of-12 passing for 96 yards and one interception. He also hit Ahkeem Smith with a 7-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
Upper St. Clair outgained Liberty 346-7 on the ground. Adam Chrissis added 92 yards and a touchdown on three rushes for the Panthers.
Liberty (14-2) returns home to Bethlehem with another stinging defeat in a title game, after having lost 49-10 to McKeesport last season.
"I'm saying the same things I said last year," Liberty coach Tim Moncman said. "We have a great bunch of kids that got back here twice. That's quite an accomplishment, but we wish it was a little bit different of a story."
The Hurricanes did get an impressive 70-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter by Oscar Rivera, cutting the deficit to 47-13.
It was long over by then, though.
Pat McShane led the Upper St. Clair offense to perfection all day. The senior quarterback said that Render got unusually emotional before the game in the locker room, nearly breaking down into tears.
Then the Panthers came out and dominated from the opening series.
Persa threw an incomplete pass, was stuffed on a run on second down, then was sacked after rolling right and running into his own lineman.
Upper St. Clair took over at the Liberty 43 after a punt. Two plays later, McShane hit Taylor Everett on an 18-yard strike before Conwell scored after getting nice blocks from linemen Jeremy Block and Josh Radziukinas in the open field to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Matt Schmoyer flew in from the edge on fourth down to block a Liberty punt, causing the ball to scoot out of bounds and giving Upper St. Clair a safety and a 9-0 edge.
"I didn't think it would be that easy. We came out and just gave it to them from the get-go," McShane said.
Conwell also scored on runs of 9 and 4 yards in less than a five-minute span in the second quarter.
On defense, the Panthers didn't give Persa room to operate — an impressive feat considering the quarterback had passed for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 this season.
Upper St. Clair won its first P.I.A.A. title since 1989.
=========================================================
Liberty-------------Upper St. Clair Stats
The Associated Press:
Liberty 0 0 0 13_13
Upper St. Clair 9 17 14 7_47
First Quarter:
USC_Conwell 14 run (Romanis kick), 9:01
USC_Team safety, 2:10
Second Quarter
USC_FG Romanis 21, 11:09
USC_Conwell 9 run, (Romanis kick) 8:07
USC_Conwell 4 run (Romanis kick), 3:21
Third Quarter
USC_Conwell 1 run (Romanis kick), 7:10
USC_Conwell 13 run (Romanis kick), 3:46
Fourth Quarter
USC_Chrissis 61 run (Romanis kick), 11:42
Lib_Smith 7 pass from Persa (kick blocked), 8:12
Lib_Rivera 70 punt return (Sawyer kick), 3:59
_____________________________________________________________________
BL USC
First downs 2 21
Rushes-yards 22-7 53-346
Passing 96 64
Comp-Att-Int 7-12-1 4-7-0
Return Yards 199 54
Punts-Avg. 6-24.2 3-42.7
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-60 3-35
Time of Possession 18:27 29:33
____________________________________________________________________
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING_Liberty, Mamuzich 2-13, Smith 7-11, Persa 13-(minus-17). Upper St. Clair, Conwell 30-169, Chrissis 3-92, McCullough 7-47, Scheller 4-20, Apfelbaum 2-7, Engel 1-7, McShane 4-3, Hawk 1-3, Cornetta 1-(minus-2).
PASSING_Liberty, Persa 7-12-1-96. Upper St. Clair, McShane 4-6-0-64, Brennan 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING_Liberty, Orlando 3-20, Rivera 1-66, Smith 1-7, Mamuzich 1-2, Rivera 1-1. Upper St. Clair, Everett 2-26, Conwell 1-20, Shine 1-18.
The Chops...
12/16/2006,
The Associated Press:
HERSHEY, Pa. (AP) — Upper St. Clair coach Jim Render was gushing about his team when two beefy linemen picked him up and carried him off on their shoulders.
There was an impressive victory and a state title to celebrate.
Dane Conwell ran for five touchdowns and 169 yards, and Upper St. Clair's swarming defense set records in shutting down Liberty in a 47-13 win on Saturday night to claim the P.I.A.A. Class (AAAA) title.
"This team continues to get better and they played tough every week," Render said to reporters just as his linemen lifted him off the ground. "Put me down. I'm enjoying my interview!"
No such luck. They left for the sideline where giddy fans snapped pictures of the team and the championship trophy. Chants of "U.S.-C! U.S.-C!" streamed down from the Panther faithful.
The final game of the P.I.A.A.'s championship weekend — four state finals in two days — turned out to be over by halftime, with Upper St. Clair leading 26-0.
Conwell scored three times in the first half and benefited from excellent blocking. Upper St. Clair shut down dual-threat quarterback Dan Persa, and Liberty didn't get a first down until early in the fourth quarter.
Upper St. Clair's defense set Class (AAAA) title game records in holding Liberty's offense to 103 total yards, 7 rushing yards and two first downs on the evening.
"Our defense is so simply amazing," said Conwell, who also plays linebacker. "We just stopped them from the get-go. We dominated."
He's not bad on offense either. Conwell had 107 yards rushing on 20 carries by halftime, when he walked off the field flashing a smile and pointing at fans in the stands. With a 26-point lead, the Upper St. Clair crowd was anxious to get the postgame party started.
Persa finished 7-of-12 passing for 96 yards and one interception. He also hit Ahkeem Smith with a 7-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter.
Upper St. Clair outgained Liberty 346-7 on the ground. Adam Chrissis added 92 yards and a touchdown on three rushes for the Panthers.
Liberty (14-2) returns home to Bethlehem with another stinging defeat in a title game, after having lost 49-10 to McKeesport last season.
"I'm saying the same things I said last year," Liberty coach Tim Moncman said. "We have a great bunch of kids that got back here twice. That's quite an accomplishment, but we wish it was a little bit different of a story."
The Hurricanes did get an impressive 70-yard punt return for a touchdown late in the fourth quarter by Oscar Rivera, cutting the deficit to 47-13.
It was long over by then, though.
Pat McShane led the Upper St. Clair offense to perfection all day. The senior quarterback said that Render got unusually emotional before the game in the locker room, nearly breaking down into tears.
Then the Panthers came out and dominated from the opening series.
Persa threw an incomplete pass, was stuffed on a run on second down, then was sacked after rolling right and running into his own lineman.
Upper St. Clair took over at the Liberty 43 after a punt. Two plays later, McShane hit Taylor Everett on an 18-yard strike before Conwell scored after getting nice blocks from linemen Jeremy Block and Josh Radziukinas in the open field to give the Panthers a 7-0 lead.
Later in the first quarter, Matt Schmoyer flew in from the edge on fourth down to block a Liberty punt, causing the ball to scoot out of bounds and giving Upper St. Clair a safety and a 9-0 edge.
"I didn't think it would be that easy. We came out and just gave it to them from the get-go," McShane said.
Conwell also scored on runs of 9 and 4 yards in less than a five-minute span in the second quarter.
On defense, the Panthers didn't give Persa room to operate — an impressive feat considering the quarterback had passed for more than 2,000 yards and rushed for more than 1,000 this season.
Upper St. Clair won its first P.I.A.A. title since 1989.
=========================================================
Liberty-------------Upper St. Clair Stats
The Associated Press:
Liberty 0 0 0 13_13
Upper St. Clair 9 17 14 7_47
First Quarter:
USC_Conwell 14 run (Romanis kick), 9:01
USC_Team safety, 2:10
Second Quarter
USC_FG Romanis 21, 11:09
USC_Conwell 9 run, (Romanis kick) 8:07
USC_Conwell 4 run (Romanis kick), 3:21
Third Quarter
USC_Conwell 1 run (Romanis kick), 7:10
USC_Conwell 13 run (Romanis kick), 3:46
Fourth Quarter
USC_Chrissis 61 run (Romanis kick), 11:42
Lib_Smith 7 pass from Persa (kick blocked), 8:12
Lib_Rivera 70 punt return (Sawyer kick), 3:59
_____________________________________________________________________
BL USC
First downs 2 21
Rushes-yards 22-7 53-346
Passing 96 64
Comp-Att-Int 7-12-1 4-7-0
Return Yards 199 54
Punts-Avg. 6-24.2 3-42.7
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 1-0
Penalties-Yards 6-60 3-35
Time of Possession 18:27 29:33
____________________________________________________________________
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS:
RUSHING_Liberty, Mamuzich 2-13, Smith 7-11, Persa 13-(minus-17). Upper St. Clair, Conwell 30-169, Chrissis 3-92, McCullough 7-47, Scheller 4-20, Apfelbaum 2-7, Engel 1-7, McShane 4-3, Hawk 1-3, Cornetta 1-(minus-2).
PASSING_Liberty, Persa 7-12-1-96. Upper St. Clair, McShane 4-6-0-64, Brennan 0-1-0-0.
RECEIVING_Liberty, Orlando 3-20, Rivera 1-66, Smith 1-7, Mamuzich 1-2, Rivera 1-1. Upper St. Clair, Everett 2-26, Conwell 1-20, Shine 1-18.
The Chops...