Oct 14, 2017 4 min read

McMURRAY – Peters Township’s football game against Southeastern Conference foe Mt. Lebanon was one of the biggest regular-season home games ever for the Indians.

Perennially a doormat, the Indians have proven to be no pushover this season and was a tough out as they battled the Blue Devils all night long.

Mt. Lebanon was just a shade better, edging the Indians 18-15 before a full house. With the win, Mt. Lebanon improved to 5-0 in conference play, 6-2 overall, while the game Indians fell to 3-2 in conference and 5-3 overall.

“That’s a real good football team we played over there,” Indians coach T.J. Plack said in reference to the Blue Devils. “But you know what? We’re pretty good, too, and it showed.”

The Indians’ defense showed their mettle all night, holding a team that averages close to 34 points per game to nearly half its average.

“I could not be prouder of those kids on defense,” Plack added.

Blue Devils quarterback James Stocker finished with 285 yards passing. His favorite receiver was Aidan Cain, who accrued 138 yards on seven catches.

Stocker made the biggest play of the game late in the fourth quarter. Facing a third and long in Blue Devils real estate, Stocker clinched the contest when he found Lucas DeCaro for a 58-yard catch and run to the Indians’ 10. Bart Barcic came on three plays later and booted a 23-yard field goal that gave the Blue Devils an insurmountable 18-7 lead.

Indians quarterback Jake Cortes struggled much of the first half against a fierce Mt. Lebanon pass rush. But he finished strong with 136 yards passing.

“We made some plays on offense, just not enough of them,” Plack lamented.

One of those plays that seemed to spark the Indians was a 52-yard Cortes to Albert Calfo connection on the first play of the second half that took the Tribe deep into Mt. Lebanon territory. But Cain scooped up an errant lateral two plays later on the Blue Devils 10. He returned it 30 yards to the 40, ending the Peters Township threat.

Another long Cortes completion in the quarter, this one to Angelo Quarture that covered 40 yards to the Blue Devils’ 20, was nullified by penalty.

Cortes finally got the Indians in the end zone when he found Aidan McCall from 10 yards late in the fourth. But it was too little too late.

Peters Township appeared to take an early lead when Josh Casilli returned a punt 45 yards for a score. But an illegal block nullified the play. Four plays later, Peters Township turned the ball over on downs.

Mt. Lebanon’s offense got rolling midway through the opening frame with consecutive touchdown drives. Antonio LaSota capped a 55 yard march with a one yard plunge while his running mate John Naylor ended the next drive with a one yard scoring run of his own. The two marches gave the visitors a 12-0 lead.

But the Indians would respond with gusto when Adrian Williams took the kickoff following Naylor’s score for a 90 yard touchdown. Ryan Magiske’s two-yard run gave the hosts a two-point conversion and sliced the Blue Devils lead to four late in the period.

“We didn’t quite win all three phases but that return got us going,” Plack said.

Peters Township kept the high-powered Blue Devils in check the rest of the half. The defense stopped LaSota on a fourth and short play near midfield midway through the second period Zach Magnotiti got in the act when he recovered a muffed handoff one possesson later on the Blue Devils 34. But the Indians stalled out as they were stuffed on a fourth and short play at the Mt. Lebanon 15.

Mt. Lebanon capped the first half with a 36 yard Barcic field goal, giving the Blue Devils a 15-8 halftime lead.