Indians roll, set up rematch in semifinals
By Dave Whipkey
For the Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
McMURRAY – The rematch that Peters Township so desperately wanted is now on tap for the defending WPIAL Class 5A champion.
Peters Township opened defense of its title with a businesslike 42-13 win over a tough Penn-Trafford squad Friday night at Confluence Financial Partners Stadium. The Indians (10-1) will face off against conference foe Upper St. Clair in the Class 5A semifinals next week.
Upper St. Clair served up the lone blemish on the Indians’ ledger this season. The Indians were hungry to atone for the loss and will get their shot at the current Allegheny Six champs.
“It should be a good one,” Indians coach TJ Plack said smiling as he walked off the field Friday evening.
Quarterback Nolan DiLucia led the way with an efficient evening. He completed 10 of 16 throws for 174 yards and three scores through the air and one on the ground. Nick McCullough caught four passes for 105 yards and two scores. Nick Courie ground out 75 yards on 14 carries to keep the Warriors’ defense from ganging up on the pass.
“That’s not just a good team over there we beat, that’s a program,” Plack said in reference to Penn-Trafford (9-3). “They do a lot of good things in all facets of the game, I just think our guys did an incredible job tonight.”
Penn-Trafford began the second half by taking about nine minutes and 14 plays to move to the Peters Township 34 before Jonny Lovre was intercepted by McCullough, squashing the Warriors’ initial drive of the second half, giving the ball back to the Indians with a little more than three minutes left in the third.
The Indians then went about methodically driving 80 yards to the score that ultimately put the game away when DiLucia hit Eli Prado for a 20-yard touchdown, giving the hosts a 35-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.
Peters Township’s defense then called game when Lovre fumbled on his own 47 and James Spratt recovered for the Indians, the fourth turnover forced of the game.
Courie made sure the Indians cashed in on the turnover when he plunged in from the two, sending the game into Mercy Rule status with 3:47 to go in regulation.
Penn-Trafford added a window-dressing touchdown when Derek Carr hit Jack Weishaar for a three-yard score as time expired.
The Indians’ defensive focus was Warriors running back Tasso Whipple, who came into the game as the WPIAL’s sixth-leading rusher with more than 1,600 yards. Peters Township held him to 78 yards on 14 carries, though 64 of those yards came in the fourth quarter with the majority of the Indians’ starting defense on the bench.
“That was their big strength was running the ball, and our strength was stopping the run,” Plack added.
After holding the Warriors on downs on their own 23, Peters Township struck first. On their second play from scrimmage in the game, DiLucia found a streaking McCullough for a 73-yard scoring strike. The kick was good, giving the Indians a 7-0 lead at the 5:29 mark.
Peters Township’s defense, after allowing a lengthy opening drive to the Warriors, stuffed Penn-Trafford to a three-and-out, forcing a short punt. The Indians took the ball on their own 43 and moved it in 11 plays to their second score of the night, which was a four-yard DiLucia dash into the end zone. Anthony Maiello’s kick was good as Peters Township pushed its lead to 14-0 in the early stages of the second quarter.
The Warriors appeared poised to jump back in the game when they marched into Peters Township territory via a fake punt conversion and a pass interference penalty. But Stanford-bound Mickey Vaccarello intercepted a Derek Carr pass and returned it 45 yards for a score, pushing the Indians advantage to 21-0.
“It was a slip-screen and pretty easy to read,” Vaccarello said. “Our coaches put us in great position to make plays and that’s what happened there.”
Penn-Trafford responded to the early onslaught when Jon Lovre hit Nick Ponko for a 34-yard scoring strike, the point after was good, slicing the Indians lead to 21-7 with a little less than five minutes to go before the half.
But the Indians were unfazed by the Penn-Trafford counterpunch as they scored on their third straight offensive possession. DiLucia capped the drive with a 24-yard touchdown strike to McCullough with 2:59 left in the half to push the Indians’ lead to 28-7.
“He was very business-like for us,” Plack said regarding DiLucia. “He plays within our system, he understands that the run game is important. He’s not just out trying to sling it every play. Very calm and collected tonight.”
Penn-Trafford’s hopes to rally on their next drive was extinguished when a Lovre pass bounced off Tasso Whipple’s shoulder pads and was intercepted by DiLucia, who returned it 65 yards for a score, which was nullified by a block in the back.
The Warriors’ defense was able to bow up and get a stop when they forced a DiLucia incompletion on fourth-and-6 from the Penn-Trafford 36.
Penn-Trafford’s last possession in the half ended with a Lucas Rost interception on the Indians 13 on the final play before halftime.