• Upper St. Clair, ranked No. 1 in Class 6A, hopes its long wait is over.
The raucous crowd at Robert Morris’s UPMC Events Center. Ethan Morton and friends celebrating on the court after another miraculous comeback win against Upper St. Clair. Panthers players, coaches and fans streaming out of the arena in disbelief.
All are lasting images from one of the best state playoff games in recent memory, which also happened to be one of the last high school sporting events held before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the PIAA to shut down the remainder of the winter and spring seasons. It’s also the last time Upper St. Clair played a game together, as most local summer and fall leagues fell by the wayside — another casualty of the pandemic.
The next time the Panthers take the court to open up the 2020-21 season, more than nine months removed from a pair of crushing playoff defeats against Butler, they’ll do so as the Post-Gazette’s No. 1 team in Class 6A — but that’s not the title they’re after.
“We’ve kind of been underdogs the last few years, and we kind of like that, because it kind of puts a chip on our shoulder day in and day out for practice,” said standout senior Luke Gensler. “We’re always battling to show everyone they’re wrong. But honestly, the rankings right now mean nothing.
“Obviously, we’re going to have a pretty good team and compete to be a WPIAL championship team, but we just want to play. And as of now, our only focus is next Monday. We’ll see where it goes.”
It has been 15 years since Upper St. Clair last hoisted a WPIAL championship trophy, and with three starters returning from a 21-win team that reached the WPIAL semifinals a year ago, this could be the Panthers’ best chance yet to make it back to the title game.
It all starts with Gensler, a three-year starter who averaged a team-high 15.6 points last year. The 6-1 guard played a key role in helping Upper St. Clair rack up 40 wins in 49 games over the past two seasons.
“He can play any guard position for us,” said Panthers coach Danny Holzer, entering his 26th season at the helm. “He’s been our catalyst, and it’s his senior year, so I’m excited for him. He’s worked really really hard, got himself stronger and got in the weight room and got better physically as well.”
Gensler is joined in the starting rotation by a trio of football standouts in 5-10 senior guard Ethan Dahlem, 6-1 senior guard David Pantelis and 6-3 senior forward Luke Banbury.
“David, Ethan and Luke [Gensler] — all three of them can play point guard or wing. And all of those guys can handle it and shoot and are leaders,” Holzer said. “It’s exciting. Ethan really worked on his 3-point shooting in the offseason. He’s shooting the ball really well. And David is just a tremendous athlete with skill. He jump-starts our defense.”
The mystery going into the season is who will earn the fifth starting spot alongside Gensler, Dahlem, Pantelis and Banbury.
Porter Rauch, a 6-7 junior forward, could be a natural fit under the rim as a lowpost protector surrounded by the Panthers’ talented wings. Holzer also pointed to 6-1 senior guard John Sukernek and 6-0 junior guard Tanner O’Grady as leading candidates to crack the starting lineup.
Also in the mix are 5-11 junior guard Mike Pellicci, 6-2 sophomore guard Aidan Besselman and 6-1 freshman guard Devin Hall.
“The kids battling for those next spots are working really hard and practice is really good, because they want to be part of that rotation,” Holzer said. “And they know those spots are available and there’s a lot of kids I’m excited about.”
Upper St. Clair has been a model of consistency in Holzer’s 25 years as coach, having reached the playoffs 21 times and captured a pair of WPIAL titles. Still, there’s been one major roadblock standing in the Panthers’ path over the past two years.
In the 2018-19 season, Upper St. Clair entered the playoffs with a 19-3 record before getting sent home by Butler in the WPIAL quarterfinals, 75-70. After another 19-3 regular season in 2019-20, the Panthers advanced to the WPIAL semifinals, where the Golden Tornado stormed back from a five-point deficit with 40 seconds remaining to force overtime and win, 83-78.
Upper St. Clair again ran into Butler in the second round of the state playoffs and lost an unforgettable 7773 thriller after taking a 10point lead into the fourth quarter.
“With our seniors coming back in particular, they still remember it, there’s no doubt about it,” Holzer said. “But Butler was a really good team. As a coach, it was two great games. I was glad we were part of it. Butler was just a little bit better than we were both times.
“That’s kind of fueled our fire a little bit, so we want to try to get back to that position to play for a WPIAL title.”