JACKSON TWP - Seneca Valley had the first laugh.

But by the end of the first quarter, the chuckling was coming from the other side of the field.

Upper St. Clair rebounded from an early 2-0 deficit to score 28 points in the span of six minutes of the first quarter on its way to a 42-2 drubbing of SV Friday at Raider Stadium.

"It's like a broken record," said Seneca Valley coach Ron Butschle. "We've started out strong in a couple of games this season, but from there it's all downhill."

Panthers quarterback Pat McShane slipped in his own end zone for a safety on USC's first possession, giving the Raiders a 2-0 advantage with three minutes gone in the first quarter.

USC (7-1, 5-1) retaliated by scoring three touchdowns in the span of four offensive plays on touchdown runs by Dane Conwell (34 yards), and Ramy Nubani (48 and 2) to put the Panthers ahead 21-2.

Taylor Everett scooped up a fumble by Raiders quarterback Kevan Smith later in the quarter and returned it 57 yards for a score.

Panthers wideout JonPaul Zelik capped the flurry of points in style with a 56-yard punt return early in the second quarter to make it 35-2.

The dominating performance was a welcomed sight to USC coach Jim Render, who watched his team lose in heartbreaking fashion to North Hills last week, 21-17.

"The kids wanted to get back on the winning track tonight," he said. "Plus, we want to be able to play a home playoff game, so winning tonight was very important for us."

The Raiders (1-7, 0-6) were simply overmatched. Even their offense, capable of big plays from time to time, was held to just five yards rushing and tallied a season-low 103 total yards.

The unit also committed six turnovers.

Four of those miscues were interceptions of Smith passes.

The senior ended the game completing 12 of 26 passes for just 89 yards, with the vast majority going to Zach Duggan, who tallied 11 receptions for 86 yards.

Seneca Valley experimented with four- and five-wide receiver sets on offense. That proved to be unsuccessful.

"It was something we put in this week, just trying to give (USC) a different look," said Butschle. "But that left minimal protection up front and it showed."

Smith was sacked seven times for a combined loss of 40 yards.

"We got good pressure on him, which was our intention," said Render. "(Smith) just didn't have anywhere to go back there."

The Panthers' final score came on a 29-yard pass from McShane to Adam Chrissis early in the second half.

The victory did come at a price, however.

McShane was slammed to the ground during the Panthers' second series of the third quarter. He was replaced by Shane Brennan and did not return.

"He got bounced around like a pin ball," said Render. "He's got some bruised ribs."