WPIAL defending champs, Peters Township, move on to 5A semifinals with win over Penn-Trafford

Tagged under: District 7, Gameday Hub, News, Playoffs

Mia Williams | November 9, 2024

The 9-1 Peters Township Indians continue their chance to defend their 5A WPIAL title with a dominating 42-13 over the Penn-Trafford Warriors. Peters used their strong defense and a variety of offense players to secure the win over the Warriors.

The Indians started off strong with a tackle in the backfield by senior Nick Courie putting Penn-Trafford’s offense at 2nd and 13. Combining that tackle with a few incomplete passes forced the Warriors to punt away the ball on downs. This allowed for Peters wide receiver Nick McCullogh to score a 73-yard touchdown with a throw from junior quarterback, Nolan Dilucia. A made extra point by Anthony Maiello put Peters Township up 7-0 with 5:29 remaining in the first quarter.

Peters defense continued to put pressure on the Warriors as they once again forced them to punt the ball away with little to show for it. The Indians’ offense continued snapping the ball at a quick pace which kept the Penn-Trafford defense on their feet and allowed for a long run by Courie putting the Indians at the 1st and goal to end the first quarter.

Penn-Trafford’s Tyler Boss

Just 4 seconds into the second quarter the Indians were able to convert that 1st and goal into a rushing touchdown by Dilucia. Maiello scored his second extra point of the night, putting the Indians up 14-0 over the Warriors.

Now down 14 unanswered points Penn-Trafford knew something needed to change so they brought in star freshman from last year, Ben Grabowski, who has missed a majority of this season due to a leg injury. Grabowski stepped in as quarterback for a couple plays and the Warriors looked as though they might score as they had a good drive that included a fake punt by junior Landyn Stikkel to get a first down. But the good Warrior energy did not last forever as they fumbled a snap to lose yards and a pick six by Indian tight end, Mickey Vaccarello. A third extra point of the night for Maiello put Peters Township up 21-0 with 6:50 left in the first half.

Penn-Trafford finally got some points on the scoreboard after a solid drive ended in a 34-yard touchdown by sophomore Nick Ponko with a throw from senior quarterback Jonny Lovre. Jack Miller then came out and made the extra point to shorten Peters lead to 21-7 with a little under 5 minutes remaining.

But only being up by two touchdowns was not enough for the Indians because in the next drive McCullogh scored his second touchdown of the night with a 24-yard pass from Dilucia. Another made extra point by Maiello put the WPIAL defending champs up 28-7.

Peters Township’s Lucas Shanafelt

Penn-Trafford continued with a rotation of quarterbacks and it worked, getting a first down with a catch by senior Jack Weishaar but then the next play a throw from Lovre that was intended for running back Tasso Whipple hit Whipple in the back of the head and sent the ball flying perfectly into the hands of Dilucia who ran it to about the 20-yard line.

With it looking like Peters might score, Penn-Trafford’s defense put together some solid plays forcing a turnover on downs but a quick interception by Indian junior Lucas Rost gave Peters the ball right back and ended the first half.

Heading into the second half Penn-Trafford’s offense was looking to get some more points on the board with a good drive to start the third quarter but yet another interception, this time by Peters’ McCullogh, followed by a first down catch by wide receiver Jeremy Poletti ended the third quarter with no score change.

The final quarter of play started with a bang for Peters Township with a 20-yard touchdown by Eli Prado with a throw from Dilucia less than a minute into the quarter. Maiello then scored the extra point to go up 35-7.

Penn-Trafford and Peters Township lined up

Penn-Trafford’s offense continued with a few sloppy plays including another messed up snap and a dropped ball by Warrior quarterback that the Indians then recovered.

This allowed for Courie to get a 3-yard touchdown and for Maiello to go 6/6 on extra points for the night. Peters was now up 42-7 with 3:47 left in the game.

Though it was virtually impossible for Penn-Trafford to make a comeback the Warriors did not give up and in the last drive of the game Weishaar got a 3-yard touchdown pass from senior Derek Carr. No extra point attempt was made and the final score was 42-13 in favor of the Peters Township Indians.

The Penn-Trafford Warriors ended the season with a 9-3 record. Peters will continue their season with a matchup next Friday against the number 2 seed, Upper St. Clair.

Post-game interview with Peters Township’s @Lucas_rost2 after a 42-13 win over Penn-Trafford. Peters will take on @UpperStClairFB next Friday in the WPIAL 5A semi-finals@PaFootballNews @PetersTwpSports @PetersTwpFB @AnnabelleA_PT @AJWPIAL @Coach_Plack @PFNBackyard pic.twitter.com/hGBQHbLbQv

— Mia Williams (@Mia_WilliamsPT) November 9, 2024