Peters Township’s championship hopes thwarted in PIAA semifinals
Indians fall to Bishop McDevitt on walk-off field goal
Peters Township’s hopes for the school’s first PIAA title in football ended when Aidan Grella kicked a 24-yard, walk-off field goal to lift Bishop McDevitt to victory, 31-28, in a state semifinal game played Nov. 28 at Mansion Park Stadium in Altoona.
The Indians were making their second trip to the state semifinals in three years and the loss tearfully ended the careers of 19 seniors, many of whom helped the program claim two WPIAL banners and a pair of conference championships and played in the 2023 state final, falling to Imhotep Charter.
“What a great group we had. Phenomenal bunch,” PT skipper TJ Plack said.
“They were special,” he continued. “These (seniors) taking us this far is amazing. We had a great locker room because of them and great mentors for the younger guys. They do the right thing all the time and that’s why we are in these situations.”
Nolan DiLucia was the conductor for the Indians. A Villanova recruit, he started four years in the defensive secondary and three complete seasons on offense as the team’s quarterback. He finished second all-time on the WPIAL’s passing charts with 8,819 career yards, behind only South Fayette’s Brett Brumbaugh, who passed for 11,084 career yards. He accounted for 10,000 total yards of offense during his career as a two-time WPIAL champion.
“Nolan is the epitome of the kid you want in a championship program,” Plack said. “He wants to be a champion all the time. When you look at him, you can tell he’s a winner and people want to follow that guy. He set the tone for no matter what we did.”
Against Bishop McDevitt, DiLucia completed 19 of 36 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns.
DiLucia did much of his damage in the second half as the Indians overcame an 11-point deficit to surged ahead, 25-11, on a 70-yard scoring strike to PJ Luke with 7:51 remaining in the game.
DiLucia, who was 11 of 16 for 179 yards in the final 24 minutes, also connected with Lucas Rost for an 8-yard score and a 2-point conversion to Reston Lehman to narrow the gap, 21-18, with 46 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Rost finished with nine receptions for 99 yards.
Cole Neupaver, who rushed for over 1,000 yards this season, and Anthony Maiello kept the Indians in the game, accounting for the team’s first 10 points, all in the second quarter.
After the Crusaders breezed to a 14-0 advantage on a 58-yard scoring strike from Sebastian Williams to Howard Holton and a 27-yard punt return by Ishmael Palmer, Maiello kicked the first of his two field goals in the contest. He converted from 28 yards out to make it 14-3 with 9:44 left in the first half. Maiello, who excelled on PT’s section championship soccer club, also connected on a 24-yard kick to tie the contest at 28 with 93 seconds to play.
Neupaver started and ended PT’s first touchdown drive. After intercepting a pass, he capped a 77-yard scoring drive with a 6-yard touchdown scamper into the end zone.
Bishop McDevitt, however, went into the locker room at halftime with a 21-10 advantage after Nazir Jone-Davis scored on a 42-yard run. Jones-Davis finished with 117 yards rushing.
Sebastian Williams passed for 250 yards. He was 16 of 20 for a pair of touchdowns, including the 26-yard connection with Jontal Quick that erased PT’s brief lead and put the Crusaders back on top, 28-25.
Shortly after Maiello’s tying field goal, Grella kicked the game winner as time expired, ending the Indians season.
Peters Township finished 13-1 overall. The Indians had a 39-4 record during the past three seasons and were 45-8 with their senior class.
In addition to DiLucia, Lehman and Lucas Shanafelt are Division I commits. Lehman is bound for the University of Pittsburgh and Shanafelt will continue to play at Stanford.
“Phenomenal players,” Plack said. “They were the heartbeat of our team.
“Lucas has an enthusiasm that never stops and that’s contagious. In practice, he had that excitement even on the 80th rep of a play. That spirit picks people up. What he brings to the table is awesome.
“Reston was a mainstay. When you say Peters Township, you say Reston because he’s been a four-year starter,” Plack continued. “We’ll be hard pressed to find someone like him who has been a contributor that long.”
Lehman and Shanafelt, along with James Spratt, anchored a defense that ranked among the best in the WPIAL, allowing 9.5 points per game. The Indians posted five shutouts.
A two-year starter, Spratt moved from nose tackle to inside linebacker. He had back-to-back 20-plus tackles in the WPIAL final and PIAA semifinal games.
“James was a tackling machine,” Plack said. “Outstanding,” he added of the 4.0 student. “He’s really good and a great student like most of my kids are.”
While Rost and Luke shored up a receiving corps depleted by graduation, Jeremy Poletti and Joey Wertman excelled in the defensive secondary.
“PJ and Lucas made so many plays for us. PJ stepped up and became a deep threat and won many games because of his ability to connect with Nolan. Lucas understands the game of football so well that he was on another page with Nolan. He was our big, fourth-down play guy.”
Poletti was PT’s shutdown corner and a full, two-way starter for the Indians. Despite his slim build, Plack says, he “held up” for the Indians. Meanwhile, Wertman had that “next-guy-up” mentality and proved “a viable option” for Peters Township.
Plack also acknowledged the play of senior defensive linemen such as Jackson Hardcastle and Gabe Kita. “They were fast, quick and strong. Great fits for what we use our defensive tackles for,” he said. Meanwhile, Alex Klein and Max Cortes were senior anchors on the O-line. “Mainstays,” said Plack. “They did a great job and were leaders for us game in and game out.”
While Brian Moskal and Tanner Shaw suffered through injuries this season, Ian Watson, Mark Ripepi and Keenan Doran were contributors particularly on special teams.
“Mark probably could have run more but we had Cole. He was always ready to go,” Plack said. “Ian logged valuable time but he played a lot of offense and defense behind two Division I players.
“Sometimes when you have 19 guys as seniors there are maybe four or five dead weights but that was not the case with us,” Plack said. “They all contributed in their own way and that led us to become better and better and a very consistent and successful team.”