Peters Township proving it can play with the best
By Eleanor Bailey
David Dicio (54) clears a path for Ryan Magiske (35) to scoot into the end zone for a one-yard touchdown during Peters Township’s 38-14 victory over North Hills.
By Eleanor Bailey
Aidan McCall eludes the grasp of North Hills tacklers Tyler Tomasic (5) and Alec Apodaca (8) after making a reception in Peters Township’s 38-14 victory.
Lucas Cullen (9) appears to make the reception but cannot hold on to the ball once he is tackled by Timothy Suto (15) during Peters Township's victory against North Hills.
T.J. Plack didn’t need a 38-14 victory Friday night over previously undefeated North Hills to know how Peters Township measures up in Class 5A of the WPIAL.
In Plack’s mind, his Indians are the best.
“These kids are competitors, every day,”PT’s head coach said. “They want to get in there and get better each and every time they play. That’s why I love how we stack up against any team. I just loves these kids.”
The Indians certainly have one of the best in the WPIAL in Josh Casilli. The Penn recruit ranks among the top receivers in the district and he’s not a bad defender as his two key turnovers against North Hills demonstrated. Both resulted in PT scores.
Casilli had seven receptions for 87 yards and two touchdowns of 10 and 13 yards.
“They doubled him all game and we still got him the ball. Josh made two of the better catches I have seen him make,” Plack said of Casilli’s touchdown grabs.
“He’s a warrior,” added Plack. “He’s tough and he’s physical. I love that he is on our team.”
Peters Township is pleased to also have guys on offense like Ryan Magiske, Andrew Massucci, Logan Pfeuffer and Vinny Sirianni.
After Casilli recovered a North Hills fumble, Ryan Magiske punched in PT’s initial score on a 1-yard run with 10:43 to play in the second quarter. Magiske rushed for 150 yards on 27 carries.
Though Thomas McDonough quickly tied the game at, 7-7, with his 93-yard kickoff return for a score, Casilli gave PT the lead with his 10-yard touchdown grab with 3:25 left in the first half.
Massucci kicked a 25-yard field goal at 8:53 in the third quarter, expanding PT’s advantage to 17-7.
Again a quick strike by NH on a 54-yard touchdown run from Dylan Pawling narrowed the gap, 17-14, Casilli again answered with the 13-yard touchdown grab from Pfeuffer.
Austin McKinnon’s fumble recovery paved the way for Sirianni as he scored the first of his two touchdowns with 10:06 to play. Sirianni tacked on a 44-yard touchdown reception from Pfeueffer with 6:28 to play.
Pfeuffer completed 18 of 30 passes for 237 yards and three scores. In addition to Casilli, Aidan McCall has five receptions for 52 yards. Donovan McMillon and Magiske also had catches.
“We did what we do. Run the ball and play great defense,” Plack said of the victory. “We faced some adversity, but we stayed the course. Our defense played lights out.”
Peters Township is 5-0 for the first time since 1947.
“We are good,” Plack said, “but it’s just one game. We are 1-0 this week and we play them one game at a time. We have Canon-McMillan next. We have to get ready for a good Canon-Mac team.”
The Indians travel to Canonsburg to play the Big Macs at 7 p.m. Sept. 27. The Big Macs are 1-4 overall after beating Hempfield, 21-12.
Central whips BP
Bethel Park succumbed to Central Catholic, 45-14, in a non-conference clash.
Jehvonn Lewis accounted for both scores. He rushed for a 78-yard touchdown and returned a kickoff 98 yards for another. He finished with 82 yards rushing on eight carries.
The Black Hawks (2-0, 3-2) return to Allegheny Eight Conference play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27 when they host Moon (2-0, 4-1)
SF smashes Vikings
South Fayette (4-1) coasted to victory, 49-14, against Hopewell (1-4) in a non-conference contest. The Lions led 49-0 at intermission, invoking the Mercy Rule in the second half.
Raman Alameda tossed two scoring strikes of 22 and 17 yards to Luke Pschirer. He also had touchdown passes of 34 and 14 yards to Ryan McGuire and Andrew Franklin.
Franklin rushed for a 14-yard score. Shay Aitken also ran for an 11-yard touchdown.
The Lutz brothers, Nolan and Landon, connected for an 18-yard touchdown to complete the Lions’ first-half scoring.
South Fayette (2-0) returns to Northwest Eight Conference action at 7 p.m. Sept. 27 when the Lions visit Blackhawk (3-1, 3-2).
Lebo falls to NA
Despite a strong passing performance from Joey Daniels, Mt. Lebanon dropped a 40-14 decision to North Allegheny. Both teams entered the game undefeated in Quad County Conference play. While NA improved to 5-0 overall, the Blue Devils dropped to 3-1 in the league and 3-2 overall.
In the loss, Daniels completed 10 of 16 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Evan Jones caught a 29-yard touchdown pass, while Mason Ventrone scored another on a 36-yard grab.
Casey Sorsdal kicked both extra points.
Ventrone had four catches for 73 yards while Jones had four catches for 60 yards. Sam Rolfsen added two receptions for 40 yards.
The Blue Devils return home to host Hempfield (1-3, 2-3) at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 27.
USC edges West-A
In a wild one in Imperial, Upper St. Clair (3-1, 4-1) slipped past West Allegheny, 35-33, in Allegheny Eight Conference play.
Ethan Dahlem completed 15 of 20 passes for 334 yards and three scores to David Pantelis, who finished with eight receptions for 273 yards. Dahlia also rushed for two scores. Jorge Echeverria kicked the extra points.
Moon thumps CV
Chartiers Valley dropped to 0-2 in Allegheny Eight Conference action and 2-3 overall after falling to Moon, 49-18.
The Colts were versatile in their scoring as Jack Radzanowski kicked a 34-yard field goal, Caleb Nelson hauled in an 80-yard scoring strike from Anthony Mackey and Jordan Demus rushed for an 11-yard touchdown. Socrates Boulis also rushed for a 2-point conversion.
Nelson finished with 92 yards receiving. Mackey passed for 80. Griffin Beattie rushed for 80 yards and passed for 81 more.
The Colts host Baldwin (1-2, 2-3) Sept. 27.