Oct 27, 2012 4 min read

CANONSBURG – Corey Owen finally got to finish what he started. And with the sophomore quarterback at the controls of the Peters Township High School football team’s offense, Owen steered the Indians back to the WPIAL playoffs. Owen ran for three touchdowns and passed for another score – all in the first half – and Peters Township ended a two-game losing streak with an impressive, 35-0, victory over Canon-McMillan Friday night in at Memorial Stadium. The win clinched a Class AAAA playoff berth for Peters Township (4-4, 5-4), which finished in fifth place to snag the final postseason berth from the Southeastern Conference. “We are happy. Our goal was to make the playoffs three years in a row for the first time in school history,” Peters Township coach Rich Piccinini said. “We accomplished our goal. We also got our third shutout and improved to 4-1 on the road.” The latest road victory for the Indians was secured early. Peters Township forged a 28-0 lead with an impressive first-half performance. The Indians outgained the Big Macs 299-9 in the half and had more first downs (14) than C-M had offensive plays (13). Owen was a major factor in the Indians’ big start. He scored on runs of two, 42 and 20 yards and tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to fullback John Fazio. Owen finished with 72 yards on seven carries and completed eight of 13 passes for 127 yards. “I wasn’t surprised by the way Owen played,” said C-M head coach Tim Sohyda. “If you watch the film, he has progressed the entire year. He hit open receivers. He did a good job of steering the ship. He managed the game well.” It was the first time this season that Owen had to manage a game from the start to its outcome was decided. He had been sharing time at quarterback with junior quarterback R.J. Pfeuffer, who sat out this game with an injury. “What you saw tonight is why we brought him up to the varsity as a freshman last year,” Piccinini said. “He’s a super athlete, and he probably improved from the start of the year as much as anyone we have. He’s very mature and calm for a young quarterback. All the good playmakers never seem to notice the pressure. That’s the way Corey is.” Owen, who says he’s a better runner than passer, set up PT’s first score with a 45-yard pass to tight end Matt Augenstein. Three plays later, Owen scored his first touchdown run. “The offensive line was the No. 1 thing that helped me,” Owen said. “Everyone next to me blocked. Some of the longer runs I had were called pass plays that I ran on.” All three of Owen’s scores, however, were designed runs. The two-yarder that opened the scoring came on a bootleg around left end. Later in the first quarter, he went 42 yards on a quarterback draw. The 20-yard scamper that capped the first-half scoring was a shotgun snap and run off right tackle. Owen wasn’t touched on the play. Mike Minjock, who was the hub of the PT offense in the first eight games, ran for 130 yards on 24 carries and capped a 15-play drive with a nine-yard TD run late in the third quarter. “If (PT) is taken lightly in the playoffs, then it can be trouble,” Sohyda said. “Minjock runs the football as hard as anyone we play. They have a physical run game and are balanced on offense.” The loss capped a frustrating year for C-M (1-7, 1-8). The Big Macs’ lone victory was over winless Plum, but Sohyda says there is hope for the Big Macs because of a talented sophomore class. “There were times when we had six sophomores on defense and some on offense,” Sohyda pointed out. “Those guys got a lot of experience. Football is a game that you get better at by playing. There’s a core group of sophomores there that do everything right. There is potential there. “The Catch-22 here is that you have to win to get kids, but you have to have kids to win. We needed more players. The biggest flaw we had was the lack of competition for playing time because of the lack of numbers.”