Peters Township holds on for win over Hempfield
McMURRAY – The days of Peters Township football folding at the mere thought of adversity appear to be over.
By withstanding a late Hempfield rally, the Indians (4-1, 2-1) scratched out a tough 23-15 win Friday night at Peters Township High School.
“We’ve come a long, long way,” coach TJ Plack said. “We are even keel and don’t let things get to us. I’m just so proud of our guys.”
Peters Twp. was led by Ryan Magiske’s 104 yards rushing and two scores. Jake Cortes made timely completions and added a two-yard scoring run for good measure.
The senior quarterback threw for 108 yards, but did have one interception by Zack Sieg in the end zone late in the first half.
The Indians raced out to a 14-0 lead in the first half, courtesy of 44- and five-yard touchdowns by Magiske.
“He’s a sophomore and will only get better for us. Adrian Williams also ran hard and has been big for us as well,” Plack exclaimed. “We have a bunch of juniors up front so they will get better in time.”
The Spartans (1-4, 0-4) appeared to be in the driver’s seat however, when Brock Barnhardt recovered a Cortes fumble early in the third quarter. Justin Silwoski’s four-yard scoring toss to Branden Brose cut the deficit to 7.
But, the Indians would not budge.
Cortes led an 89-yard scoring drive, which he capped with his two-yard plunge. One of the big plays included a 32-yard strike to Conor Pederson on third and long near midfield.
A 23-yard Zach Sepich field goal made it 23-7 early in the fourth.
Silkowski’s fourth quarter 16-yard strike to Isiah DiAndreth and two-point conversion pass to Brose sliced the advantage to eight. But the Indians held on by recovering the onside kick and later recovering a muffed Hempfield punt.
“We put it together for four quarters,” Plack said. “In the past, and we have talked about it a lot, you would see a Peters Township team fold. But not this year. We’ve stayed the course and it has shown.
The Peters Township defense also contributed four sacks and two Drew Gudenburr interceptions, one of which was returned for a 45 yard touchdown, but was nullified by a penalty in the second quarter.
“Man, is he elusive,” Plack said in reference to Silwoski. “I really thought we had him 10 times. But we kept after it and kept after it. Our defense did a great job.”
Next week, the Indians travel to Norwin to take on the Knights in another Southeastern Conference clash.