It may have taken overtime to finish the job, but The Upper St. Clair Panthers ultimately got the result they hoped for on Friday. They won a game that couldn't have been any closer, slipping by Moon Area 43-42. This was one game where the offenses had no trouble playing at a high level.
Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Upper St. Clair to victory, but perhaps none more so than Mason Chambers, who rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns. The team also got some help courtesy of Ethan Hellmann, who threw for 146 yards and two touchdowns.
When it comes to explaining why Moon Area lost, one person who can't be blamed is Paul Bronaugh. Despite the final result, he rushed for 234 yards and three touchdowns on only nine carries. Bronaugh's longest rush was for an incredible 86 yards. Josh Bladel was another key contributor, rushing for 68 yards and two touchdowns.
Upper St. Clair's win was their sixth straight at home (dating back to last season), bumping their overall record up to 7-2. That said, the team wasn't facing the toughest opposition over that stretch, as it included 0-9 Fox Chapel and 2-7 Norwin (their opponents had an average overall winning percentage of 36.1% over those games). As for Moon Area, they now have a losing record at 4-5.
Upper St. Clair will head out on the road to face off against South Fayette at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. South Fayette will be hoping to continue their three-game streak of scoring more points each contest than the last. As for Moon Area, they will be playing at home against Baldwin at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Baldwin has now lost eight straight, and the team is hunting for their first win since August 25th.
