Peters Township muscles past Trinity
By Dave Whipkey
For The Observer-Reporter
newsroom@observer-reporter.com
The Peters Township football machine made a pit stop Friday night at Hiller Field for a non-conference game with Trinity. They flexed their muscles to the tune of a 31-12 win, making them a perfect 4-0 on the season while the Class 4A Hillers fell to 1-3.
Well-balanced would be a perfect description of the Indians attack as Nolan DiLucia finished with 172 yards passing on nine completions. Cole Neupaver added 119 yards on 16 carries.
Lucas Rost was the main receiving threat for the Indians as he hauled in seven receptions for 158 yards.
Jonah Williamson completed eight of 16 passes for 124 yards against a tough Indians defense. Owen Gardner did make some things happen in the run game as he ran for 116 yards on 15 carries.
After forcing a Trinity punt, the Indians moved from their own 17 to the Trinity 18 before the drive stalled. Anthony Maiello salvaged the drive with a 35 yard field goal to give Peters Township a 3-0 lead at the 5:06 mark of the opening quarter.
Trinity’s defense stepped up and made a play after Rost caught a pass for a first down but fumble. Chase Kostelnik recovered for the Hillers, giving the ball back to the hosts on their own 36 late in the first frame.
Peters Township’s defense got the ball back two plays later when PJ Luke intercepted a Jonah Williamson throw on the Indians 26, swinging momentum back to the Indians.
The Indians moved 74 yards to their first touchdown, the drive culminating in a 16 yard DiLucia scoring toss to Pitt recruit Reston Lehman. Maiello knocked home the extra point, giving Peters Township a 10-0 advantage with 9:40 to go in the first half.
The Indians made it 17-0 on the next offensive play from scrimmage when Stanford recruit Lucas Shanafelt used one hand to snag a Williamson throw and returned it 33 yards for a touchdown, pushing the Indians lead to 17-0 at the 9:24 mark of the second quarter.
It went from bad to worse for the Hillers when Williamson was again intercepted three plays later by Rost on the Indians 44. But the Hillers defense held firm when Ben Priest sacked DiLucia to force a punt.
The Indians struck again with 2:17 to go in the half when DiLucia lofted a perfect rainbow of a pass to a streaking Rost for a 44 yard touchdown, bolstering Peters Township’s lead to 24-0.
Whatever hope Trinity had making the contest competitive ended on the Indians first drive of the half when Neupaver barreled in from 13 yards out to push the advantage to 31 points a mere two and a half minutes into the third quarter.
The Hillers did show some fight on their next possession when they marched 80 yards in eight plays. Williamson, a Harvard recruit, plunged in from the one for a score. The touchdown was set up by a 26 yard pass to Ayvari Chandler to the Peters Township 12. Rost eventually blocked the extra point, leaving the Indians lead at 31-6 with 4:36 to go in the third.
Trinity dared to create more havoc for the Indians on their next possession after they forced a Peters Township punt. Gardner took an option pitch and raced 66 yards to the Peters Township 5, threatening to score again. Three plays later, Trinity faced a fourth and goal from the 6. Williamson was flushed left and found Owen Samogala open, unfortunately the pass was dropped, ending the Hiller threat late in the frame.
The Hillers did snag their second touchdown of the game when Williamson heaved a 46 yard pass to Kostelnik who fought off a pass interference call to haul in the score. Williamson’s two point pass was intercepted by Lehman, leaving it at a 19 point margin in the game’s waning moments.
Peters Township looks to keep their season perfect next week as they take on West Allegheny while Trinity hosts Class 5A Bethel Park.