Pandemonium in Peters: Peters Township defeat Upper St. Clair
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Stone Manges | September 27, 2025
The game of the week in the WPIAL lived up to the hype on Friday, September 26th, as the Peters Township Indians defended their home field and defeated the Upper St. Clair Panthers 24-20.
Both the Indians and the Panthers started the game slow offensively. The first two drives of the game ended in punts, then John Banbury pounced on a loose ball to gain possession back for USC. The Panthers drove the ball to the Peters red zone and settled for a field goal to jump in front 3-0 to end the first quarter.
Peters punted again on the ensuing drive, but then recovered a fumble of their own courtesy of Lucas Shanafelt. The Indians tied the game with a field goal half way through the second quarter. USC took over on the thirty-five yard line after a short kickoff.
Following a QB scramble from Ethan Hellman, a long pass to Bryce Jones, and a roughing the passer penalty from Peters, the Panthers jumped back in front 10-3 with a Randy Yan receiving touchdown.
The Indians needed some offense before the half, and they got exactly that. Nolan Dilucia led Peters down the field with a great drive, hitting Shanafelt from four yards out to tie the game at 10 heading into the half.
USC got the ball to begin the second half and had a statement drive. Hellman and Nico Dorazio connected multiple times and set the Panthers up for another field goal to go up 13-10. After the successful offensive drive though, things took a turn for USC.
A defensive holding call on third down kept the drive alive for Peters, and they took advantage of the mistake. Dilucia found PJ Luke for a sixty-seven yard bomb that put the Indians ahead again 17-10. The momentum for Peters remained strong as they stood tall and forced a three-and-out, but then fumbled for the second time giving USC the ball back.
Hellman took a shot down field looking for Dorazio and he delivered a catch that Randy Moss himself would approve of. The head-top touchdown strike put the Panthers ahead once more 20-17 and the end of the third.
Peters started the third quarter strong. They took the ball inside the USC five and capped off the drive with a four-yard Cole Neupaver touchdown for the fifth lead change of the night.
USC looked to be without a chance after an intentional grounding penalty forced them to punt the ball away with under seven minutes to play. The defense had other plans though. The Indians stood tall and got the ball back after another Peters fumble inside the red zone.
The Panthers took the ball down the field fast and in a hurry. With roughly three minutes to play, they drove down the field into Peters territory in almost ninety seconds. The game would come down to a fourth down play from inside the Peters fifteen, and the Indians made a stand. They forced a turnover on downs and ultimately won the game.
It was truly pandemonium in Peters.
Upper St. Clair (5-1) looks to bounce back next week against South Fayette, and Peters Township (5-0) will try to remain unbeaten versus Moon.
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