Peters Township leads area teams into football playoffs
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Nolan DiLucia ranks among the top 10 quarterbacks in the WPIAL. The sophomore leads Peters Township into the playoffs this weekend.
By Eleanor Bailey/For The Almanac
By Eleanor Bailey/For The Almanac
Tanner Pfeuffer leads Bethel Park into first-round WPIAL Class 5A playoff action this weekend.
When the WPIAL football playoffs commence with first-round playoff action at 7 p.m. Nov. 3, it will business as usual for Peters Township.
“We do not change anything we do,” said Indians head coach TJ Plack. “All season long, each week for us is a playoff week or championship game.”
Each week PT’s objective has been to take care of the opponent at hand. “The goal is to go 1-0 every week,” Plack added. “It’s never been more true than the position in which we find ourselves.”
Plack is enthused though because his players have bought into the philosophy.
“Our kids have been focused, engaged and motivated,” he said.
Even before they challenged Bethel Park in the regular-season finale to determine the Allegheny Six Conference championship on Oct. 27, the Indians operated smoothly. Through an intensive offseason training program, they put the bitter taste of missing the 2022 playoffs behind them.
“You can’t turn it on in the postseason,” Plack said. “These moments are based on your body of work from the season, offseason and even the process you had in place for past seasons. That is who you are.”
In 2023, the Indians were unstoppable. They rolled through their first nine games, outscoring the opposition, 337-37. They recorded four shutouts. Heading into the playoffs, they boast the No. 1 defense in the entire WPIAL, allowing 4.1 points per game.
They exposed their Achilles heel in a recent, hard-fought victory against Canon-McMillan.
In the 23-10 triumph, Vinny Sarcone led the ground attack with 104 yards rushing and two touchdowns. Preston Blair hauled in a 55-yard scoring strike from Nolan DiLucia and Carter Shanafelt connected on a 35-yard field goal.
“We have had some penalty issues lately that put us in bad positions,” Plack said. “It’s difficult to win postseason games when you give opponents yards.”
It’s more manageable when a team has an offense as the Indians possess. Though a sophomore, DiLucia ranks among the Top 10 passers in the WPIAL with 1,641 yards and 15 touchdowns on 125 completions.
While Blair hauled in a TD pass against the Big Macs, he is primarily a running back with Sarcone. DiLucia’s top targets this season have been Shanafelt, Nate Miller, Ethan Wertman, Thomas Aspinall. Mickey Vaccarello, Dominic Sirianni, Eliot Schratz and Reston Lehman afford PT a bevy of options on offense as well.
On both sides of the ball, Jake Velgich, Franco Muscatello, Dante Recker have been forces for the Indians while Justin Tornatore keeps the defensive unit in top form. Vaccarello, Shanafelt and Schratz are also key contributors on defense.
“The guys have embraced the process,” Plack said.
In order to be successful during the postseason, he added, “The kids have to love it and execute in difficult situations.”
Mt. Lebanon
While they have qualified for the playoffs and enter the WPIAL Class 6A tournament as a semifinalist, the Blue Devils face a stiff challenge on Nov. 10.
Depending on the outcome against Canon-McMillan in the regular-season finale on Oct. 27, Mt. Lebanon had to play either Central Catholic or North Allegheny on the road.
The Vikings and Tigers are two of the top five-ranked teams in the state. During the regular season, Lebo dropped a 49-0 decision to Central and a 43-7 outing to NA.
Before hosting the Big Macs, the Blue Devils scored a 37-6 victory against Baldwin.
In the non-conference clash, Fred LaSota rushed for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Michael Malone completed 5 of 10 passes for 104 yards and a 71-yard scoring strike to Noah Schaerli. Malone also scored twice on short runs of 1 and 7 yards. Ben McAuley kicked a 32-yard field goal.
Bethel Park
With a 49-29 win against South Fayette on Oct. 20, the Black Hawks clinched a playoff berth in the WPIAL Class 5A tournament. They begin postseason action on Nov. 3.
The playoffs are just one step in the Hawks’ journey.
“For us as a program, that is our yearly expectations,” said BP skipper Phil Peckich. He also noted that making the playoffs this season was a testament to the team and players especially because of BP’s non-conference schedule and adversity.
The playoff-clinching win came on the heels of a disappointing loss to Moon. The Tigers dropped a double-overtime decision, 43-42, to Upper St. Clair, which BP handled, 22-10. Additionally, the Black Hawks head into the playoffs healthy as leading rusher Ja Vaughn Moore returned to the line-up against the Lions and rushed for 185 yards and two scores.
Tanner Pfeuffer threw for 212 yards on seven completions and three scoring strikes to Jovian Smith, Jack Bruckner and Ryan Petras. Pfeuffer also rushed for two touchdowns, and Petras picked up 118 yards rushing.
“We had a clean game against South Fayette,” Peckich noted. “We have a good idea of who we are and what we are capable of doing. We have endured a strong schedule and responded to adversity. Week in and week out we have shown that we are battle-tested and ready.”
Before battling Peters Township for the Allegheny Six Conference championship Oct. 27, the Black Hawks sported a 4-5 overall record and 3-1 conference slate. Their non-conference losses have came against Canon-McMillan, Central Catholic and Mt. Lebanon, all Class 6A programs, as well as Penn Hills, which is ranked No. 2 in Class 5A.
“With only eight teams in the (Class 5A) playoffs, they are all quality teams,” Peckich said. “We are a quality team. If we take care of our business and execute, then we will be fine.”
USC, CV
Upper St. Clair and Chartiers Valley needed to take care of business by winning against South Fayette and Ambridge, respectively, in their last regular-season games on Oct. 27, but they needed a lot of help to qualify for the WPIAL playoffs.
Regardless of their playoff predicament, the Panthers picked up one of the best victories in the Mike Junko-coaching era. USC edged Moon, 43-42, in double overtime on Oct. 20 to keep their playoff hopes alive.
“Our kids never quit,” said Junko after the thrilling triumph.
In the back-and-forth contest, USC scored the equalizer with 1:24 remaining in regulation to force OT.
After Ethan Hellman connected with Charlie Bywalksi for an 8-yard TD in the second extra period, Hellman found his brother, Van, for the two-point conversion and the victory.
In the win, Ethan Hellman completed 10 of 17 passes for 146 yards and two scores, including an 11-yard TD to John Banbury with 8:52 left in regulation. Van Hellman caught four aerials for 84 yards.
Mason Chambers rushed for 133 yards and two scores. Julian Dahlem added two TD runs, including a 4-yard score in the first overtime. Bennett Henderson kicked five extra points.
Despite a 53-0 loss to Aliquippa, CV qualified for the playoffs with a win against the Bridgers or with a New Castle victory over Blackhawk.
In Class 4A, 13 teams qualify for the playoffs with five teams coming from the Parkway Conference, in which the Colts compete.
South Fayette
In the Lions’ loss to Bethel Park, 49-29, Nico Lamonde excelled. He completed 26 of 36 passes for 446 yards and four scores. His top targets were Mike Gimigliano, 239 yards on 10 catches and three TDs, as well as Noah Knox, eight receptions for 105 yards. Silas Aitken had a 10-yard TD catch for the Lions.