2023 Class 5A Title Game Preview: Peters Township

Tagged under: District 7, News, pfn, Playoffs

Phil Myers | December 7, 2023

Peters Township Indians

PIAA District 7 – Class AAAAA
League: WPIAL 5A Section 1
Head Coach: T.J. Plack

Overview: Peters Township is undefeated at 15-0 and ranked 2^nd behind Imhotep.  The Indians won their first ever WPIAL crown and naturally are making their first PIAA championship game appearance.  Some of the Indians’ bigger victories along the way were against last year’s defending 5A champs Pine-Richland, Erie Cathedral Prep, and last week against Cocalico.

How they got to the Title Game: The Indians beat Cocalico in the semi-final game 14-9, holding the District Three team out of the end zone on the last two plays of the game.  Those two plays came from the Peters Township two-yard line.  So, the Indian defense is a huge reason Peters Twp. has made it to the title tilt.

2023 SCHEDULE

Key players/Stats:

Nolan DiLucia is Township’s sophomore quarterback.  He has thrown for over 3,000 yards and 32 touchdowns.  He will run at times as he has chalked up almost 500 yards on the ground and 8 TDs.

Carter Shanafelt is the leading receiver among a plethora of receivers with 40 grabs for 664 yards and 9 touchdowns.  Shanafeltpulls double duty as he is the Indian kicker too.  He is almost automatic with PATs plus he’s booted 8 field goals this year, 4 in one game against Cathedral Prep.

RB Vinny Sarcone has rushed for 927 yards and scored 22 touchdowns to balance the Indian offense.

Offensive keys to winning: Coach Plack and his staff have to find some plays the Indian offense can run with success against one of the best defenses in the state that possesses quite a few D-1 prospects.  DiLucia has to be accurate with his passes and the offense MUST not commit turnovers.  It would be helpful if Peters Township found themselves with a lot of third and short situations against a defense like Imhotep’s.  In addition, it would be to the Indians’ best interest to control the ball by getting at least a couple first downs on most drives and try to gain field advantage in doing so.

Defensive Keys to winning:  Peters Twp. has played pretty darn good defense in most of their games and that has to continue for them to win this game.  They have to limit Mikal Davis, the Imhotep QB, from making big plays.  The Indians have to stop the run and put their opponent in predictable situations.  If they can do this consistently throughout the game it may play into their hands by frustrating Imhotep and causing them to make mistakes, especially late in the game. 

Starting Lineup:

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