UPPER ST. CLAIR, Pa. — Bethel Park’s defense shut out Upper St. Clair in the second half of its 27-14 win over the Panthers on Friday night. USC had only 38 yards rushing in the second half and minimal success through the air. Albeit Upper St. Clair only ran 12 plays in the second half, as Bethel Park dominated in time of possession with a lethal rushing attack. Upper St. Clair quarterback Julian Dahlem completed just four passes in the game, but two of them went for touchdowns of 53 and 20 yards in the first half.
Senior cornerback Jack Reilly played a big part in the Blackhawks’ stout pass defense. Reilly is one of three Division-I recruits on Bethel Park’s roster. Linebacker Gavin Moul has already committed to Delaware. Standing at 5-foot-9, 160 pounds, Reilly isn’t a big cornerback, but he plays the position with toughness and tenacity. And, for the most part, he kept Division-I recruit Adam Besselman in check.
“We knew they were going to try to go deep. So mainly, we just tried to stop all that,” Reilly said. “They like to run their quarterback and everything, so we game planned for that.”
“It means everything,” Reilly said about Bethel Park’s win over Upper St. Clair. “We work for games like these. It was big for the community to get this win, and we got it done.”
Reilly has Dayton and Fordham at the Division I level and Cal U (Pa.) and other Division II schools looking at him. He hasn’t visited Dayton’s campus yet but will on Oct. 22.
“I visited Fordham, and I’m going to visit Dayton in a couple of weeks,” Reilly said. “I’m actually visiting (Cal U) on Saturday for the Coal Bowl Game (against IUP).”
Reilly really liked Fordham’s urban campus in the Bronx. “It’s beautiful, I loved it out there,” he said.
Heading into Friday night’s game, Upper St. Clair and Bethel Park ranked No. 1 and No. 2, respectively, in the WPIAL Class-5A classification. Both teams are now 6-1 on the season. Reilly wouldn’t be surprised if they met Upper St. Clair again in the playoffs.
“Absolutely, we just got to take it one game at a time,” Reilly said about a potential rematch with Upper St. Clair. “Every game is a new game, and we are just going to go out there and win.”
