Bruzdewicz’s leg puts Peters Township into the semis over Penn-Trafford

Tagged under: District 7, News

Pa Football News | November 10, 2018

John Robbins

With just a few seconds on the clock and the score tied at 35, Brian Bruzdewica lined up behind the ball. A few seconds later he sent The Indians into the next round of the WPIAL playoffs with a 38-35 win.

The playoff game between Penn-Trafford and Peters Township started with Penn Trafford getting stopped by the Indians’ defense. It didn’t take long for Peters Township to score, after stopping Penn-Trafford, when sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer found sophomore tight end Corban Hondru on a 13 yard touchdown. That made it 7-0 in favor of the Indians. On the next drive, Penn-Trafford’s junior speedster running back ran in a 58 yard touchdown to tie the game at 7. It would take Peters Township two plays to respond when Pfeuffer would pass to junior Josh Casilli for a 71 yard touchdown play to put them up 14-7. That lead lasted only 17 seconds of game time when Penn-Trafford’s sophomore athlete Ethan Carr ran the kickoff to the 2-yard line then junior quarterback Gabe Dunlap ran it on the next play to tie the score at 14. On the next kickoff, Peters Towship’s junior wide receiver Aidan McCall would return it for a touchdown to make it 21-14. Penn-Trafford quickly responded by tying the game by using a trick play Dunlap would pass to junior wide receiver Noah Allen but Allen would pitch it back to Lisbon on the hook and ladder and Lisbon would take it to the endzone to make it 21 all at the end of the first.

The second quarter turned into a defensive slugfest as Penn-Trafford and Peters Township would both manage defensive stops to slow down the fast-paced scoring. The Indians would manage to score first in the second quarter when Pfeuffer would pass to senior wide receiver Gabe Maloni to make it 28-21 with 1:05 left in the half. The Warriors would respond when Lisbon would out run the entire Indians’ defense for a 64 yard touchdown run to tie it at 28 at the half.

Peters Township and Penn-Trafford would get the first big defensive stops of the night early in the third quarter. First, a fumble recovery by the Warriors’ junior defensive end Peyton Kellk. Then, the Indians’ sophomore linebacker Michael Peyton picked off a pass from Dunlap. On the next Peters Township drive, junior running back Ryan Magiske would run in for a touchdown to put them up 35-28. The Warriors’ offense would respond again as Dunlap would side step a would be tackler and strolls in to finish off a 43 yard touchdown run.

Early in the fourth quarter the Indians would have the ball within the Penn-Trafford 20 yard line. The Warriors would manage to stop Peters Township on 3rd down and force a field goal attempt. The field goal would sail wide right and give the ball back to the Warriors’ offense. Then Penn-Trafford would throw another interception to Peyton. That interception set the Indians up deep in Penn-Trafford territory. However, Penn-Trafford’s defense would come up big for the Warriors as junior defensive back Chase Burk picked off a pass. The Warriors were unable to put points on the board for this possession and would be forced to punt. After stopping Penn-Trafford, the Indians would drive down into field goal range. Senior place kicker Brian Bruzdewicz would put it through the uprights from the right hash mark of the 18 yard line to win the game 38-35. The Peters Township Indians advance to the semifinals next week against second seeded Penn Hills at a time and location yet to be announced.

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