Peters Township defeats Upper St. Clair, 24-20

1 / 16

Lucas Rost (2) receives congratulations from PJ Luke (3) as fellow teammates James Spratt (33) and Cole Neupaver (8) rush in after Peters Township's final defensive stop that insured a 24-20 victory against Upper St. Clair.

2 / 16

Lucas Shanafelt points in Peters Township's direction after recovering a fumble during a 24-20 victory over Upper St. Clair.

3 / 16

Nolan DiLucia eyes Luca Shanafelt (0) racing downfield and completes a short pass for a 7-yard touchdown that tied the game at halftime, 10-10.

4 / 16

Cole Neupaver breaks through the Upper St. Clair defenses on his way to a first down during Peters Township's 24-20 win. In the triumph, Neupaver rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown.

5 / 16

PJ Luke (3) celebrates with Peters Township quarterback Nolan DiLucia (17) after the pair teamed up for a touchdown in a 24-20 victory over Upper St. Clair.

6 / 16

Despite heavy pressure from Josh Snyder (15), PJ Luke catches a 45-yard touchdown pass during Peters Township's 24-20 victory over the Panthers.

7 / 16

Ethan Hellmann scrambles for yardage. During Upper St. Clair's 24-20 loss to Peters Township, Hellmann rushed for 51 yards but completed 24 of 37 passes for 308 yards and two touchdowns in the loss.

8 / 16

Nico D'Orazio leaps for a pass from Ethan Hellmann then turns and races for the end zone. The 40-yard score gave Upper St. Clair a 20-17 lead before Peters Township waged a comeback to win the Allegheny Six Conference game, 24-20.

9 / 16

Randy Yan celebrates after scoring a touchdown that helped Upper St. Clair to an early, 10-3 lead, against Peters Township. The Indians, however, came back to win a 24-20 decision against the Panthers.

10 / 16

Nico D'Orazio attempts to catch a pass in the end zone after beating the Peters Township defensive coverage. D'Orazio had five receptions for 96 yards and one touchdown in Upper St. Clair's 24-20 loss to Peters Township.

11 / 16

Josh Snyder hauls in a pass

12 / 16

Reston Lehman (14) helps clear a path for Cole Neupaver during Peters Township's 24-20 win against Upper St. Clair. Neupaver rushed for 123 yards and one touchdown in the victory.

13 / 16

Nolan DiLucia eludes the grasp of an Upper St. Clair defender. During a 24-20 victory, the Peters Township signal caller completed 15 of 22 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns.

14 / 16

Allen Kubina (82) makes an 18-yard reception to keep a drive alive for Peters Township.

15 / 16

Lucas Shanafelt makes his move to the end zone after catching a pass from Nolan DiLucia.

16 / 16

Alaina Connelly gives Santina Panseri a boost during a cheer at the Peters Township vs. Upper St. Clair football game. It was youth night at the game, which was won by the Indians, 24-20.

[expand]

close

Peters Township surrendered a few more points than it had all season but when the Indians needed a stop, they received it on Sept. 26 in their Allegheny Six Conference opener against rival Upper St. Clair.

On a fourth-and-2 with less than a minute to play and after USC had marched down field from its own 20-yard line, the Indians forced an incompletion to insure a 24-20 victory at Confluence Financial Partners Stadium.

With the win, the Indians remained perfect on the season with a 6-0 record. The loss was USC’s first in six decisions.

The contest featured two of the WPIAL’s top quarterbacks and the signal callers did not disappoint.

Ethan Hellmann, who entered the game as the top passer in the district, completed 24 of 37 attempts for 308 yards and two scoring strikes for the Panthers.

Nolan DiLucia, who has thrown for more than 6,000 career yards, completed 15 of 22 attempts for 277 yards. The Villanova recruit also tossed two touchdown passes.

PJ Luke and Lucas Shanafelt were DiLucia’s top targets. Both had four receptions as did Lucas Rost. Luke and Shanafelt, however, pulled in key TD aerials. Shanafelt’s 7-yard score proved the equalizer at halftime, 10-10, while Luke’s 45-yard score gave the Indians a 17-13 advantage with 6:09 left in the third quarter.

Cole Neupaver was the leading ground gainer. Neupaver, who had three catches for 43 yards, rolled up 123 yards rushing on 30 carries. He scored the game-winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with 10:29 to play in the game.

Jacobo Echeverria Lozano provided USC the early lead, 3-0, with a 29-yard field goal with 3:03 left in the first frame. He also kicked a 33-yard field goal in the third quarter.

Anthony Maiello, who connected on the extra points for the Indians, knotted the contest, 3-3, with his 25-yard field goal at the 6:31 mark in the second stanza.

On Hellmann’s 5-yard scoring strike to Randy Yan, the Panthers forged ahead, 10-3, with 3:33 to play in the first half. Hellmann also connected with Nico D’Orazio for a 45-yard scoring strike with 1:40 remaining in the third quarter.

Peters Township fumbled the ball three times with John Banbury making two recoveries for the Panthers. Randy Yan had the other.

USC fumbled once and Shanafelt was there to pounce on the loose ball.

DiLucia was PT’s top tackler with six total, five of them solo. Rost and Luke followed with five solos each while Neupaver and Reston Lehman supplied four tackles each.

For the Panthers, Beck Shields and Yan led with eight and seven tackles. Banbury, Nevin Shegan-Si and Anthony Rozzo had five each.