Aug 17, 2025 By Eleanor Bailey 5 min read

Nightmares plague Peters Township football coach TJ Plack.

“I wake up thinking someone is outworking us,” he said.

In 2025, opponents indeed are working hard to beat the Indians because they return a plethora of players from last year’s WPIAL runner-up club. After an 11-2 overall showing, Peters Township is the team to beat in the Class 5A Allegheny Six Conference.

However, the Indians are laboring to stay on track and focused on the program’s primary goals. The trite, but true, one day, one game at a time approach.

“We focus on what’s in front of us. This day. Tomorrow night. Going 1-0 each week. Be a champion every day. Put the work in,” Plack said. “That’s how you win conference titles and championships.”

This fall, the Indians will battle for their second WPIAL title in three years and attempt to reach the Class 5A final for the fifth time since 2019 with eight returning starters on offense and six veterans on defense, not to mention three players already committed to NCAA Division I colleges.

Nolan DiLucia will attend Villanova University. Lucas Shanafelt decided on Stanford. Reston Lehman picked Pitt.

DiLucia will be a four-year starter at safety. He also returns at quarterback on offense, having passed for more than 6,000 career yards. Last fall, he passed for 2,525 yards and rushed for 506 more. He tossed 25 TD aerials and scored five times on the run.

“We look for Nolan to continue to be the leader he has been on and off the field,” said Plack. “He’s the Alpha Male. He wants to win.”

Shanafelt, who also had offers from Pitt and West Virginia, and Lehman, who had offers from Penn State, WVU, Oklahoma, Missouri, UCLA and Wisconsin, start as outside linebackers. Both are tight ends on offense. Both stand 6-4 and they weigh in at 230 and 220 pounds, respectively.

Plack said Lehman is one of the “best players” the program has ever had and predicted that Shanafelt will be a “menace” on both sides of the ball.

“I love having marquee players. We have been able to do good things because we have had great kids who are diligent. They are fantastic to have not just because they have enabled us to reach the top but because the younger kids look up to them. They want to be like them and keep the program at a high level.”

Keeping the Indians at the forefront will also be returning starters James Spratt at middle linebacker, Lucas Rost at safety and PJ Luke at cornerback from a defense that recorded two shutouts and allowed just 10.7 points per game.

“If you ask the defensive guys, they would say ‘yes’ they could lower that average,” Plack said.

“I do like where we are,” he added. “My only concern is we may not have the burners and outside speed guys we had and cornerback is a concern,” Plack continued because Nick McCullough matriculated to Carnegie Mellon.

On offense, the skill positions other than quarterback are question marks because Cole Neupaver is the lone returning starter at running back. He rushed for 325 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries before being sidelined by a hand injury in midseason.

Behind McCullough, who had more than 1,000 yards on 54 receptions, Shanafelt, Lehman and Rost were PT’s top receivers last year along with Jeremy Poletti, who will help at tailback and on defense this season.

Poletti had 16 catches for 288 yards and two touchdowns last season while Rost caught 14 passes for 147 yards and three TDs.

Tight ends like Lehman and Shanafelt, Jackson Hardcastle and Spratt will also be targets in PT’s revamped offense.

“We’ve switched up the offense a bit,” Plack said. “When you have one of the best quarterbacks in the state, it’s not going to be run-heavy. We are going to take advantage of what the defenses give us and because we have guys that can stretch the field. We are excited about our matchup possibilities.”

Plack is thrilled about the offensive line. It’s a team strength because the Indians return starters Max Cortes and Cole Camiletti at the guard slots, Brady O’Connor at tackle and Alex Klein at center. A senior like Cortes, Klein is starting for the third year. Camiletti and O’Connor are juniors.

“We have guys with a lot of starts under their belt and who are battle-tested,” Plack said. “So the line should be one of our strengths.

“We know we have one of the better quarterbacks in the state and our defense is stronger. So there’s a target on our back but my target is on everybody’s else’s back,” Plack said.

With that in mind, Plack strives for Cs to accomplish the task at hand, which is to challenge Upper St. Clair, the defending conference champion, as well as Bethel Park, Moon, South Fayette and Baldwin for the title.

“At Peters Township we talk about commitment, consistency, connection, culture and care,” Plack said. “We have to be ready to go because Bethel and USC may have lost good senior classes but they have great coaches and Moon has been powering up to make a run.

“We are just as motivated but we are focused on what’s in front of us. That’s going 1-0 and getting that first win. We have a game against Canon-McMillan and I would be lying if I said that I wasn’t watching films on them in July.”