Where were you the last time Ethan Hellmann threw an interception?
Well, if you can remember what you were doing on the night of Sept. 22, 2023, more power to you.
Since that fateful Friday evening nearly two full years ago, Hellmann has quarterbacked Upper St. Clair to 19 victories in 21 games without throwing a single INT. A four-year starter with a career record of 29-4 under center, Hellmann’s remarkable ability to take care of the ball has always been one of his top traits as a QB and a major reason for the Panthers’ success during his career.
Now, with Class 5A No. 3 Upper St. Clair (4-0) undergoing an offensive transformation this fall in order to maximize the strengths of Hellmann and his receivers, the senior signal-caller is off to a nearly flawless start while elevating himself into the upper echelon of the best pure passers in the WPIAL.
“We talked to him in the summertime and told him he was going to have to carry more of the load and that the offense was going to be much more centered around him. That’s something that he’s always wanted,” said Panthers coach Mike Junko, a 1992 USC grad and former standout QB. “I think he felt like he’s had something to prove. Because there were times where it kind of looked like he was just along for the ride. Now, he’s driving the bus.”
To give you an idea of the video-game numbers Hellmann is producing on a weekly basis, consider this — through the first four games of the season, he has already surpassed his previous career highs for both passing yards and touchdowns in a season, and conference play doesn’t even begin for Upper St. Clair until next week.
It’s surely no coincidence, then, that the Panthers lead all of Class 5A and rank No. 2 in the WPIAL with an average of 48.5 ppg. Their defense has been equally effective, ranking No. 1 in Class 5A and No. 3 in the WPIAL while allowing an average of only 5 ppg.
Already the leading passer in the WPIAL entering Week 3, Hellmann authored what may have been the finest performance of his career in a 62-3 rout over Hampton last Friday, completing 15 of 17 attempts for 297 yards and five TDs. For the season, he has now completed 82% of his passes for 1,119 yards and 17 scores without a single turnover.
“I think his best football is ahead of him,” Junko said. “Last year, we had four turnovers overall. We really feel like that’s a way you lose football games. Our kids take great pride in it. We instill in them that if the ball is in your hand, you have our program in your hands.”
Despite losing four offensive linemen from last year’s ferocious group of maulers up front — three to graduation and one to a preseason ACL injury — Hellmann has had plenty of time to throw when he needs to, with the new players in the trenches stepping into their starting roles without missing a beat. Still, Junko has been finding creative ways for Hellmann to get the ball out of his hands quick, taking some of the pressure off his young linemen while knowing his QB can wiggle his way out of a jam if the play breaks down.
As for the receiving corps, senior Nico D’Orazio had already built a rapport with Hellmann as the lone returning starter from 2024 — and the Brown recruit has now established his presence as Upper St. Clair’s clear No. 1 target, racking up 16 receptions for 403 yards and seven TDs already this year.
“[D’Orazio and Hellmann] have developed a great chemistry,” Junko said. “Ethan knows where Nico is going to cut, where he’s going to turn. They have a tremendous feel. And I think Ethan also has built a trust with a lot of these other guys who weren’t a big part of what we were doing last year. He’s not afraid to get them involved.
“[Hellmann] has really uplifted the guys around him. I don’t know if we were really a team that most people had on their radar, but he has kind of willed us into that.”
This week, things will get a bit tougher for the Panthers in their final tuneup before Allegheny Six Conference play gets underway. That’s because the Class 4A No. 3 McKeesport Tigers are coming to town this Friday for a marquee matchup between two of the WPIAL’s premier programs — not to mention a pair of championship hopefuls seeking to end title droughts of 19 and 20 years, respectively.
For Upper St. Clair, though, the real marquee matchup is just around the corner the following week. That’s when the Panthers will travel to Peters Township to take on the Class 5A No. 2 Indians in what has become one of the area’s most heated rivalry games — a game that will surely loom large whenever conference championship plaques are delivered and seeds are handed out for the WPIAL tournament.
“Everyone is well aware that Peters is the biggest game of the season. Especially the way we went out [against them] last year, it hurt,” said Hellmann, referencing a gut-wrenching 7-3 loss against the Indians in last year’s WPIAL semifinals. “It’s been us, Pine and Peters in the top three almost every year since I’ve been in high school. Every time I’ve played those guys in the playoffs, it hasn’t gone my way.
“To go out by beating them in my senior season in a win-or-go-home game when it really matters the most would be awesome.”
At 5 feet 11, 170 pounds, the one thing Hellmann lacks is the prototypical size college coaches look for in an ideal QB. As a freshman, he weighed only 135 pounds, yet still posted a record of 6-1 as a starter while leading Upper St. Clair all the way to the WPIAL Class 5A championship game after taking over for Julian Dahlem midseason.
Dahlem’s older brother, Ethan, starred as the Panthers’ quarterback prior to Hellmann’s arrival, and the similarities between the two go far beyond their first names.
Despite being undersized for the position, both players are as tough as they come and always willing to put their bodies on the line for their team. Neither one is exceptionally fast, yet both are effective scramblers with elite mobility inside the pocket. And above all else, Dahlem and Hellmann will always be remembered for their competitive nature and desire to win at all costs.
“The untold story is that, last season for example, [Hellmann] battled a bad back,” Junko said. “This really began during his freshman year and throughout his sophomore and junior year. He also broke his thumb on his non-throwing hand that he had to play through all of last year. He has battled a lot.
“His numbers are hard to argue with. I wouldn’t trade him for anybody, I’ll tell you that.”
Hellmann said he hopes to continue playing football as a quarterback in college, and while he has yet to receive any official scholarship offers, he remains optimistic that he will find a home by the end of the year. The presence of the transfer portal has made it more difficult than ever for high school quarterbacks to get recruited, but if Hellmann keeps up his current level of play, he should have plenty of suitors coming his way in the near future.
For now, though, his only concern is finding a way to bring Upper St. Clair its eighth WPIAL championship in school history and first since 2006.
“That’s the goal on any team is to bring home a championship,” Hellmann said. “You’ve just got to think about it like, you’re never going to play high school football again. The message you leave is the message you leave. Hopefully mine can be a good one.”
Steve is a sports writer at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but he's currently on strike. Email him at srotstein@unionprogress.com.
