Upper St. Clair football team clinches playoff spot

UPPER SAINT CLAIR, Pa. — It’s almost unheard of that a two-loss team misses the playoffs, but last year’s Upper St. Clair team learned the hard way that it can happen.

Though the Panthers were 8-2 in 2023, they missed the postseason on tiebreakers in a crammed and competitive Allegheny Six conference.

Head Coach Mike Junko tells Channel 11 he saw his team respond almost immediately.

“It was two days after our season ended, our weight room was filled up with kids anxious to get back out there and get to work, and they’ve been dedicated ever since.”

Much of the same group is on this year’s team, and entered the season focused on making sure their playoff hopes don’t wind up in the hands of anyone else.

That feeling of disappointment still serves as motivation almost a year later.

“It’s been with us all season,” said senior lineman Nate Stohl. “I think it’s really fueled us this year, trying to make a statement throughout the WPIAL to show that we deserve to be in the playoffs.”

That mentality has paid off.

The Panthers are undefeated through eight weeks and already clinched a playoff spot.

For a team that reached the playoffs for 23 straight seasons before last year, this group understands the expectations are much higher than just making it.

“It’s just something this group has always wanted and what we’ve dreamed of,” said senior Julian Dahlem of a potential championship run. “It’s one thing I want to do for them, and hopefully they want to do for each other.”

Upper St. Clair’s playoff miss last season partially fueled big changes to the WPIAL playoff format this year.

Instead of relying on tiebreakers, a committee will select 16 wild card teams across five of the six classifications.

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