After big win, Peters Twp. focused on Norwin
After back-to-back 2-7 seasons, the Peters Township football team is hungry to return to postseason play for the first time since 2013.
If the Indians manage that, they will likely look to one play that turned the season.
Last week at Hempfield, the Indians saw a 24-7 third-quarter lead erased by a furious comeback by the Spartans as quarterback Justin Sliwoski threw three touchdowns and rushed for another en route to a 364-yard passing day.
But it was the play Sliwoski, who threw a pair of costly interceptions in the first half, failed to make that could be the springboard for the Indians.
With Peters Township leading, 38-35 and 4.3 seconds remaining in the game, Hempfield could have attempted a short field goal to force overtime. Instead, the Spartans went for the win and Sliwoski dropped back to pass for a 42nd time in the game.
He was immediately flushed from the pocket and rolled to his right before sprinting for the end zone. Just before Sliwoski crossed the goal line, freshman cornerback Aiden McCall went for his legs and junior defensive end Angelo Quarture hit him from the side, knocking the football loose as the quarterback reached for the winning score. Drew Gudenburr recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchback to seal the win for Peters Township.
“I hope there is excitement about it,” said Peters Township’s first-year head coach T.J. Plack. “I told the guys to celebrate it, enjoy it, but we don’t want to look in the rearview mirror. We want to put Hempfield behind us and move on. I think they’ve done a good job of putting it behind them.”
The win improved the Indians to 1-2 in the conference and 2-3 overall and placed them firmly in the middle of a jumbled pack in the Southeastern Conference, where five of the seven teams are either 2-1 or 1-2.
Peters Township will get an opportunity to gain some ground when it hosts Norwin (2-1, 3-2) tonight. Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.
This will be the Knights’ second consecutive trip on Interstate 70 to Washington County in two weeks. Last week, Norwin quarterback Brock Dieter threw for 144 yards and two touchdowns in a 40-6 win at Canon-McMillan. Dieter, who has thrown for 774 yards with 11 touchdowns and an interception, will present quite a challenge for the Indians.
“Really, even going back to the second half of our game against Altoona two weeks ago, we’ve given up a bunch of passing yards,” Plack said referring to the Indians’ 40-37 loss to the Mountain Lions.
“But I think it’s guys not knowing how to win. We needed to find a way to win. They didn’t know how to win yet and guys were trying to do too much. They found a way to get through that last week.”
Norwin’s defense has been stout.
The Knights are allowing only 14.4 points per game, the fewest among Class 6-A teams.
But Peters Township has some weapons of its own.
Quarterback Jake Cortes has passed for 982 yards, including 290 in the win over Hempfield, and eight touchdowns. Running back T.J. Kpan has 320 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Senior Josh Casilli scored three touchdowns in the win over Hempfield, including one on an end-around.
“We’ve got some emerging playmakers,” Plack said. “Our goal is to isolate mismatches we might have and keep going after those. At this point, I don’t think the conference is top-heavy. I think there are a lot of 2-1 teams, who if they win this week will be in good position to make the playoffs. We’re still fighting from behind in that respect. But all we’ve cared about this week is getting to 1-0 and beating Norwin.”
The Peters Township-Norwin game is hardly the only local football game worth watching tonight.
Mapletown (2-1, 3-2) will travel to Tri-County South Conference leader Carmichaels (3-0, 3-1) with junior running back Dylan Rush only 274 yards away from becoming the 67th player in WPIAL history with 4,000 career rushing yards. Rush has 1,280 yards in five games this season. Derek Bochna is the only Mapletown player to rush for 4,000 yards.
In the Class AAAA Big Nine Conference, Ringgold (3-1, 3-1) will try to knock off visiting Thomas Jefferson (4-0, 4-0). Thomas Jefferson, the defending WPIAL Class AAA champion, has outscored its first four opponents, 223-14.
The Rams will be without leading rusher Brenden Small, who has 495 rushing yards but is suspended for the game because of a “school-related matter,” according to Rams coach Nick Milchovich.