Attitude goes a long way for Peters Township football
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Dom Monz (2) sprints to the end zone after making the reception against defender Ethan Wertman. The score went for 67 yards.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Reston Lehman (14) gathers in a South Fayette fumble and returns it for a 14-yard Peters Township. On the previous offensive possession, Reston hauled in a touchdown catch.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township’s Brendan McCullough hauls in a catch against Dom Monz. Although this touchdown grab was called back because of a penalty, McCullough later scored on a 24-yard grab and picked off a pass during first half action against South Fayette.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Dom Monz (2) makes the reception despite being heavily defended by Ethan Wertman (4) then bolts 67 yards for a South Fayette touchdown.
Richie Woods (22) fends off Nate Deanes (1) as he reaches for the end zone. Woods was stopped inside the 5-yard line but the Indians scored.
Richie Woods (22) fends off Nate Deanes (1) as he reaches for the end zone. Woods was stopped inside the 5-yard line but the Indians scored.
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Nate Deanes (1) was an electrifying player for South Fayette.
Peters Township plays football with attitude and that is proving the difference at the Indians have vaulted to a 4-0 start this season.
The Indians demonstrated toughness as they overcame mistakes and posted a 42-28 win against South Fayette in Allegheny Six Conference action.
Now they are preparing to host Baldwin at 7 p.m. Friday. The Highlanders started 1-3 overall.
“We have some tough opponents this season and Baldwin will be no different,” said PT head coach TJ Plack. “It seems like everyone, including us, are playing with a chip on their shoulders. Everyone has something to prove, teams are all well-coached, and capable of winning each Friday night.”
In dispatching the Lions, PT proved how tough they were. They overcame a 21-14 halftime deficit not to mention five turnovers, four of them interceptions.
“South Fayette is a very good team, but we hurt ourselves on multiple occasions. Coming out of there with a victory says something about the resiliency our team exhibited,” Plack said. “Through all the ups and downs, our team stayed focused and unified.”
Chris Cibrone, Richie Woods and Brendan McCullough were unifying forces.
Cibrone completed nine passes for 283 yards and two touchdowns. He also rushed for two scores.
Woods rushed for 220 yards and the opening touchdown.
McCullough had eight receptions for 144 yards and a 24-yard TD. He also picked off a SF pass on defense.
The Indians also received a spark from Reston Lehman. The freshman vaulted PT into the lead, 28-21, on back-to-back scores.
On offense, he hauled in a 35-yard scoring strike from Cibrone. Less than a minute later, he recovered a fumble for a 14-yard score. Nick Courie forced the fumble while in the process of recording a quarterback sack.
South Fayette, which was still looking for its first conference win in two years, received dominant performances from Nate Deanes, Spencer Hondru and Nico Lamonde.
Deanes picked off three passes on defense. He also scored twice on 35- and 1-yard rushes.
Hondru had a Pick-6 for 88 yards that lifted the Lions into the lead before intermission. Wesmyn Wright pulled in the 2-point conversion pass from Lamonde, who finished with 262 yards passing.
Dom Monz had a 67-yard scoring reception and Mike Gimigliano pulled in seven aerials for 87 yards.
The Lions will host Moon at 7 p.m. Sept. 30 in their next conference contest.
In Class 4A football action, Chartiers Valley visits West Allegheny at 7 p.m. Sept. 30.
The Colts previously dropped a 58-13 decision to Central Valley.
Austin Efthimiades blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone and Tayshaun Lewis raced 66 yards for the CV scores.