Peters Township marches past West Allegheny
On Military Appreciation Night, Peters Township and tailback Ryan Magiske marched past West Allegheny, 23-7.
Magiske, a 5-10, 190-pound senior, stormed into the end zone twice and rolled up 149 yards on 25 carries.
“Ryan’s always been our guy,” PT head coach T.J. Plack said. “He is a gritty runner. He has great vision in the smallest of spaces. He’s like 4.8 all the time. He never slows down. He hits the gap real quick and he’s gone.”
When the Indians needed him the most, Magiske answered the call.
After West Allegheny narrowed the gap, 10-7, on Nico Flati’s short touchdown run with 5:20 left in the third quarter, Magiske took over.
Magiske scored a touchdown on a 12-yard run with 3:17 left in the third quarter after a 34-yard run earlier helped set up his second score of the game.
“Somebody had to make a big play,” he said. “It just happened to be me. I was trying to get a big play for my team and help them out. It worked.”
After Logan Pfeuffer connected with Josh Casilli for a 67-yard scoring strike to widen the gap to 16 points with 6:35 remaining, Magiske worked the West-A defense for further yardage. He carried the ball on PT’s final offensive possession as the Indians wound the clock down.
“I’m just looking for the first down. Doing whatever it takes to get (to the end zone),” he said. “Sometimes you break one. That’s what happened on the long run. Sometimes you just get enough yardage.”
Magiske got the yardage last year when the Indians established themselves. This was the second straight season, PT defeated West A, which was a dominate power when Bob Palko guided them to eight WPIAL championships before moving over to Mt. Lebanon.
“This was a huge win,” Magiske said. “This was the game that turned it around for us last year. We were just an average team that no one knew. When we beat them, people knew that we were legit then. So, it’s nice to beat them again. We got to keep trying and getting better. But, our work is paying off.”
Magiske’s work in the first half paid off in the way of a 10-0 advantage. His 7-yard touchdown run enabled the Indians to forge a 7-0 lead with 35 seconds left in the first quarter.
Just before intermission, Andrew Massucci kicked a 37-yard field goal.
Pfeuffer completed nine passes for 148 yards. Casilli had 80 yards on two catches while Adrian Williams had four catches for 16 yards. Aidan McCall, Vincent Sirianni, Donovan McMillon and Corban Hondru also had catches.
Hondru led the defense with eight solo and eight assisted tackles. Brian Bruzdewicz followed with two solo and nine assisted tackles.
With the win, PT improved to 4-0 overall and 3-0 in the Allegheny Eight Conference.
The Indians take a break from conference action this week when they host North Hills at 7 p.m. Sept. 20.
CV falls to Norwin
Chartiers Valley slipped to 2-2 overall after falling to Norwin (1-3) in a non-conference clash.
Western Michigan recruit Jack Salopek tossed four touchdown passes for the Knights, who streaked to a 14-0 lead.
Caleb Nelson cut the margin to seven when he returned a kickoff 85 yards for a touchdown. Nelson also had an interception.
Griffin Beattie scored on a 2-yard run and Jack Radzanowski added the extra point as the Colts sliced the margin to 28-13. Beattie finished with 60 yards rushing while Anthony Zambrano gained 66 yards on the ground.
BP blanks Shaler
Anthony Chiccitt completed 12 of 17 passes for 160 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bethel Park to victory against Shaler, 31-0, in non-conference action. The senior squarterback tossed scoring strikes to Sean McGowan (7 yards), Jekvonn Lewis (23 yards) and Cooper Shoemaker (25 yards). McGowan also rushed for a 1-yard touchdown.
John Gummo kicked a 40-yard field goal. Gummo also connected on five extra points.
Lewis led all rushers with 85 yards while McGowan led all receivers with seven catches for 69 yards. Jack Kohnfelder and Zachary Comelia each had interceptions. Dylan Fusca has seven tackles.
Lebo upends SV
Mt. Lebanon overcame a 14-0 deficit and scored four unanswered touchdowns en route to a key Quad County Conference victory, 26-20, against Seneca Valley. With the win, the Blue Devils improved to 3-0 in the league and 3-1 overall.
Evan Jones played a pivotal role in the win. He hauled in two scoring strikes from Joey Daniels for 9 and 79 yards in the third quarter. He also scored on a 1-yard run in the fourth quarter.
Jones had three receptions for 124 yards. Daniels completed 8 of 12 passes for 166 yards.
Mason Ventrone rushed for 60 yards on 14 carries. Sam Rolfsen rushed for the other score. Casey Sorsdal converted the extra points.
Jack Sullivan and Alex Tecza intercepted passes for the Blue Devils. Tecza and Tom Peters had sacks. Tecza led with six solo and three assisted tackles while Rolfsen followed with four solo and three assisted tackles.
USC rebounds
Upper St. Clair (2-1, 3-1) came from behind and defeated Woodland Hills, 45-41, in Allegheny Eight Conference action. The Panthers trailed, 34-24, at halftime.
Ethan Dahlem spearheaded the comeback. He completed 22 of 33 passes for 485 yards and three touchdowns.
David Pantelis was on the receiving end of nine Dahlem passes for 269 yards.
SF blanks GS
South Fayette shut out Greensburg Salem, 49-0.
Drew Franklin rushed for 110 yards and three short scores of 5, 1 and 2 yards while Shay Aitken ran for a 17-yard touchdown.
Naman Alemada tossed touchdown passes of 15 and 37 yards to Joe Audia and Ryan McGuire.
Alemada connected on 11 of 18 attempts for 175 yards. Audia had six receptions for 78 yards.
Logan Yater returned an interception 40 yards for a touchdown.