Bethel Park, Peters Township look to deliver knockout blow to next foes
Bethel Park’s Zach Taylor makes his move during action against Peters Township.
Peters Township quarterback Joey Cortes scrambles to elude Bethel Park’s Cole Rogers during Southeastern Conference action.
When Peters Township had Bethel Park within one score at halftime, TJ Plack felt maybe this was his football team’s Buster Douglas moment. But the Indians would not deliver the knockout heard around the WPIAL. Unlike Douglas, who stunned Mike Tyson in 1990 in Tokyo, Peters Township succumbed to the Hawks, 28-7, in Southeastern Conference action.
With the loss, the Indians slipped to 0-1 in the league and 1-2 overall while the Hawks improved to 1-0 in the conference and 1-1 overall. While the Hawks look to their next opponent, Norwin, (1-0, 2-1), the Indians access and re-evaluate.
“We talked about Buster Douglas, knocking out the toughest man in the world. That was our fight,” said Plack versus Bethel Park. “This is a neighboring school. We were in a rivalry game. We want this to be a backyard brawl. We were right there and we talked about (an upset) but it didn’t happen. It wasn’t done. Maybe this is the third round and maybe the season is the fight.
“We’ve got to knock the losing out of this program,” Plack continued. “Maybe that is the nemesis for us.”
The Indians regroup by taking on this week’s nemesis, Altoona. The Lions have an identical record as the Indians. Kick-off is at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 16 at Peters Township.
“Our philosophy, like every other coach, is to go 1-0 each week,” Plack said. “We are going to do that with Altoona. We are going to go back and watch the film and get ready with the kids. They are a good team. They have a long drive down to Western Pennsylvania and we are going to give them everything we’ve got.”
That means that the Little Lions will see a great deal of Jack Cortes. He completed 12 of 25 passes for 188 yards in the loss to BP. He tossed a 34-yard scoring strike to Alan Snyder for PT’s lone score.
It also means the Little Lions will get a good dose of determination and power up front.
“We challenged our offensive lineman,” said Plack. “Coming into the season, we knew we had a job to do to get them prepared. I think (against Bethel) we established the run game. We created some creases for out tailbacks and we kept the game close. In the end it did not work out the way we wanted but I was happy with where we were, especially at halftime. The kids were hungry and when you are rebuilding a program, that is what you want.”
And, the Indians want to win. But that’s a learning process. “We do have to learn how to win. Period,” said Plack.
BP, on the other hand, has learned how to win under Jeff Metheny. And despite losing more than two dozen seniors from last year’s playoff squad, the Hawks continue in that direction the old-fashioned way. The Hawks will take on Norwin the way they challenged Peters.
“We need to play fundamental. Cut out some penalties. Keep running the ball well,” Metheny said.
Against PT, Terron Murphy rushed for 104 yards and one score. Cole Rogers rushed for one touchdown and tossed a 48-yard scoring strike to Zachary Taylor. John Doleno also ran for a 38-yard score. Shawn Halligan kicked the extra points.
“I was pleased with our ability to establish the run,” said Metheny. “The kids did a great job, primarily in the second half. The defense played extremely well. They were physical up front. Terron found some creases and those guys up front were blocking and we used Jon (Doleno) on big plays on the reverse. James (Grmiter) played well. He’s a load up front. He has to play like that if we are to be competitive in this league.”
Metheny predicts over the long haul, Peters Township will be competitive, too.
“That’s a much improved team,” he said of the Indians. “They are going to win a bunch of games. It was a close, hard-fought game but we were able to come out on top.”