Nothing set in ink this season at Peters Township
The No. 2 pencil will be the most valuable piece of equipment in the Peters Township tool box this football season.
“I threw the pens out,” said TJ Plack, who enters his 11th year as Indians head coach. “There are no pens in the office. We’re going to be doing a lot of erasing.”
The Indians will have a lot of new faces in 2026 because they graduated 19 seniors from a WPIAL championship club that reached the semifinals in the state playoffs. Peters Township finished 13-1 overall and won the Big Six conference title with an undefeated 5-0 record thanks to a talented group that included four-years starters and current Division I rostered players Nolan DiLucia (Villanova), Reston Lehman (Pitt) and Lucas Shanafelt (Stanford).
“We never say that we’re rebuilding,” Plack said. “We are building a team.
“We have a lot of question marks as we do that. We are looking for guys who are consistent and can take coaching and who can walk on the field and be our leaders. It’s going to take a lot of organization.”
The Indians are most organized up front as they return three starters.
A three-year starter, Brady O’Connor was selected by his teammates as their captain’s captain during pre-season drills. He played tackle last year but is a “better” guard on the offensive line and an end on defense.
Cole Camilletti was an all-conference offensive lineman last year at guard. He also will play on the defensive line.
Gavin Hollander looks to start at the other offensive tackle with O’Connor while Tim Aspinall could be the center. Anthony Lepri and Noah Griffith both started last year until suffering injuries that later healed and enabled them to both play in the WPIAL final and PIAA semifinals. A sophomore Dave Hathy (6-4, 270) might also crash the lineup and Jake Andeits has returned to the sport and should “contribute” to the line.
“The strength of the team appears to be our line, particularly with returning three starters on offense,” Plack said.
At quarterback the Lions are looking to replace DiLucia, who finished his career at the No. 1 all-time leading passer in WPIAL history with 8,819 career yards and won the 2026 WIllie Thrower Award as Western Pennsylvania’s top quarterback.
Currently, Talen Stauffer is “penciled” in as the starter although Rylan Laws has been battling for the position along with promising sophomore Luke Wagner. Laws moved into the school district last year from State College.
“Talen has been the most consistent. He’s our best runner. He’s not a burner but he can pull it down and go. He’s also got a decent arm and is able to throw our routes,” Plack said.
“Rylan is a sponge, soaking up everything and learning.
“We’ve got a nice battle going on and that’s what you want. Competition,” Plack added.
The Indians also must replace their top rusher. Cole Neupaver, who scored all three touchdowns in PT’s comeback win over Pine-Richland, 20-19, in last year’s WPIAL championship contest, ran for 1,454 yards last fall. He scored 28 total touchdowns.
Jackson Namy and Jaden Blair will provide Peters Township with a 1-2 punch in the backfield. A “bunch of other guys” will lend support as well in the backfield, says Plack.
While the Indians do not have Lehman nor Shanafelt as targets, the tight end room is big with Joey Sadowski, Kyle Kasse, Max Devine and Ryan Niederberger
“But we need two to do what those two guys did,” Plack said. “Those guys will have to be able to block, too.”
Santino Belusko, and Allen Kubing headline the receiving corps which will also see Cooper Donovan, Dan McMillon and Andrew Aloise “rolling” into those slots.
“We have a lot of depth. Just inexperienced,” Plack said. “Those guys are fast, have good hands and are working hard. Slowly that’s becoming a positive strength for this team. I mean, if I had an experienced quarterback, I’d be throwing everywhere. All over the place.”
The Indians feel good about their defense, particularly at the middle linebacker and cornerback spots.
Nick Maiello is “fast, strong and tough” in the middle while Sadowski and Niederberger along with Jack Files and Jacob Lusk look to excel on the outside. Lusk, who is a standout lacrosse player, injured his ACL last year but returned for PT’s playoff run.
“We have a lot of competition at linebacker and that’s a good thing,” Plack said. “We have some good-looking kids that need to get their feet wet. We’re looking for starters; finding the guys who can play.”
While no positions are set in stone, Plack said that “if he had a pen,” Namy and Belusko would be there, starting on the corners. The safeties are McMillon, Donovan and Jacob Wilding with Stauffer, Kasse and Talerico filling in when and where necessary.
“While I think we will have different people, the (defensive) scheme is built to stop the run and cause havoc,” Plack said.
While the goals at Peters Township remain constant, the approach will be different as the Indians battle new conference foes such as Trinity, Thomas Jefferson and West Allegheny along with rivals such as Bethel Park and Upper St. Clair.
“Our toughest conference opponent is always the next one and our goals are always to get better each week. We do that with different personnel this year. Instead of knowing the 16 different guys, this year it will be 24 or 30 guys. Honestly, it could change every week because we are finding the kids that will do well and will be consistent, positive leaders for us. We have guys who are learning how to play football on Friday night and who need to grow up fast.
“We are excited about this year. Who stands out and who becomes consistent and can rise to the challenge, those will be the best guys we play. It’s going to be cool seeing these kids grow exponentially. We are far from a finished product.”
And that’s exactly why Plack is keeping the eraser-tipped pencils handy.