Championship loss motivates Peters Township
Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac
Peters Township quarterback Logan Pfeuffer completed 143 of 233 passes for 2,368 yards and 24 TDs last season. He will be a three-year starter.
By Eleanor Bailey/Almanac Sports Editor/ebailey@thealmanac.net
Peters Township quarterback Logan Pfeuffer completed 143 of 233 passes for 2,368 yards and 24 TDs last season. He will be a three-year starter.
By Eleanor Bailey
Almanac Sports Editor
ebailey@thealmanac.net
McMURRAY – The sting of losing a WPIAL championship provides the motivation this fall for Peters Township.
“The closer you get, the harder it hurts,” said coach T.J. Plack.
“This year, we hang our hat on the pain we felt,” he added of that rainy November night when Gateway edged the Indians, 21-20, in the Class 5A final.
While the Gators are “fully loaded” and capable of defending their title, the Indians will have their hands full in returning to the finals. Pine-Richland has dropped from Class 6A. The Rams lost last year’s WPIAL final to Central Catholic after winning titles in 2014, 2017 and 2018. Penn Hills is a “formidable” opponent and Penn-Trafford, which the Indians have beaten in the playoffs each of the past two years, promises a good team capable of making a deep run in the playoffs.
Then there is the Allegheny Six Conference. It features Bethel Park, Upper St. Clair, South Fayette, West Allegheny and Moon. The Tigers beat the Indians last year, 21-13, and they return a plethora of players from a squad that tied PT for the conference title. The Lions have moved up to Class 5A after having won a Quad-A crown in 2018 and reaching last year’s semifinals. SF owns four district and two state titles since 2010.
Though the Indians return numerous veterans from last year’s 12-2 squad, they will be challenged as they attempt a three-peat as conference champions.
“It’s a tough conference,” Plack said. “In the past we have been able to hang our hat on being the underdog but now everybody is going to be bringing it against us. There are some really good teams, phenomenal programs and great coaches. We have to block out the white noise and not look too far forward. Our motto is 1-0. Each week that’s what we want to be. If we focus on that, everything else takes care of itself.”
Depth and experience enable the Indians to focus on championships. They return four starters on offense and six on a defense that allowed only 9.4 points per game.
Safety Donovan McMillon and linebacker Corban Hondru anchor the defense. Both are Division I commits, McMillon to Florida and Hondru to Miami (Ohio).
McMillon’s play will be critical as the Indians lost four of their five starters in the secondary. He led the Indians with 84 tackles, including seven for losses. He had two interceptions and a pair of fumble recoveries. He forced four fumbles, including one that was returned for a touchdown in a WPIAL semifinal win against Penn-Trafford.
Michael Peyton joins McMillon at safety. Vince Sirianni, Lucas Culan and Breylen Carrington will also be utilized on defense.
Hondru returns at inside linebacker. He racked up 69 tackles, including 16 for losses. The three-year starter also had 10 quarterback sacks.
Though he missed five games because of an ankle injury, Nico Pate is a returning starter at outside linebacker. Luke Petrarca, Pat McDonnell and Ethan Kirsch are other OLB candidates.
“Corban runs our defense and we expect Donovan to be a leader. While we are replacing our secondary and those guys all covered well and were our five best tacklers, we continue to want our guys to play tight and support the run. We are going to put the best 11 on the field,” Plack said.
Some of PT’s best players are the linemen. David Dicio, Ethan Spangenberg and Austin McKinnon are two-year starters on both sides of the line. Dylan Wente is a returning starter at left guard. Anthony Burnette and Dante Lahet are battling for the center spot.
An experienced line coupled with an experienced backfield affords PT consistency. “When you are working with a bunch of veterans, you don’t have to change too much,” Plack said.
At quarterback, Logan Pfeuffer returns. The 6-2, 180-pound senior completed 143 of 233 passes for 2,368 yards and 24 TDs. The three-year starter should provide strong leadership. Sam Miller, a junior, backs up Pfeuffer.
“We continue to watch Logan grow. While we expect similar numbers from him, we also anticipate he’ll have the ability to run unscripted plays when things break down. We have enough guys around him and a good O-Line to establish what he has done for us before,” Plack said.
Because they are “too good not to touch the ball on offense,” Plack will use McMillon as a receiver and Hondru as an optional mark. Plack is enthused about his backfield, where Peyton will be teamed with Sirianni.
“Mike’s a very dynamic tailback – strong and physical with good speed,” Plack said of the senior, who missed his junior year because of a knee injury.
The Indians must compensate for the 1,319 rushing yards and 19 TDs provided by Ryan Magiske. Plus, they also must replace Josh Casili, who hauled in 49 passes for 635 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also rushed for 347 yards on 34 carries for a 10.2-yard average. Casilli finished with a school-record 22 touchdowns, seven of 50 yards or more.
In addition to McMillon, Pfeiffer’s passes will be directed to Carrington and Jacob Macosko. Carrington overcame a broken collarbone to excel in the playoffs last year.
“Offensively, we might have a different approach and look because of our personnel but we are excited about this team. We have a lot more depth this year,” Plack said. “We like the makeup of this team. We may not have a (Casili) on every play but we have 26 or 27 who can play every night and make a difference.”