Sep 14, 2018 4 min read

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IMPERIAL – After a shutout win over Woodland Hills last week, Peters Township High School football coach T.J. Plack said it was about the Jimmys and Joes, not so much about the Xs and Os.

Well, the Xs and Os Plack and his coaching staff worked throughout the week paid dividends Friday night. And the Jimmys and the Joes made game-changing plays in all four quarters as Peters Township defeated West Allegheny, 42-28, in an Allegheny Eight Conference game at Joe P. DeMichela Stadiuim.

Peters Township scored on the opening play of the game, had three interceptions, a strip sack for a score and then beat West Allegheny at its own game – putting together long, physical touchdown drives – to move up to second place in the standings and put a conference title back within reach.

“It was a great team win. It was a great program win,” Plack said. “These guys have been with us for three years through blood, sweat and tears. We’ve grown up with them. They’ve grown up with us. They are tough as nails and will battle until the end.”

Despite trailing late in the first quarter by three touchdowns, West Allegheny forced Peters Township to make critical plays until the end. When Drevon Baldwin caught a 72-yard touchdown for West Allegheny, it cut the deficit to one score, 35-28, with 26 seconds left in the third quarter.

But with every big play West Allegheny (2-1, 2-1) made, the visiting Indians countered.

Facing a third-and-four three plays into the fourth quarter, Peters Township junior running back Ryan Magiske broke through multiple tacklers for a 41-yard run. Then, Seth Luksik plunged into the end zone from one-yard away to give Peters Township a two-touchdown lead with 10:08 remaining in regulation.

“I was just trying to get the first down,” said Magiske, who had 12 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns.

“It ended up being a pretty big run, which helped us even more. Big plays definitely shifted the momentum.”

Getting chunk-yardage, momentum-shifting plays has been something Peters Township (2-1, 3-1) has missed early this season, according to Plack. But big plays were how the Indians built their 28-14 halftime lead.

Sophomore quarterback Logan Pfeuffer found Josh Casilli, who was lined up as a slot receiver, in the seam for a 65-yard touchdown on the opening play for scrimmage.

As the clock wound nearing the end of the first quarter, Shane O’ Connell sacked the West Allegheny quarterback from behind and knocked the ball loose. Logan Clark scooped it up and scored from 12 yards, giving Peters Township a 21-7 lead.

The two other drives Peters Township scored on in the first half combined for 18 plays, 125 yards and were finished with a pair of four-yard touchdown runs by Magiske.

“We just played harder,” Magiske said. “We were rolling tonight on offense, both passing and running.”

The big plays continued into the second half for Plack’s group, as they sniffed out a fake punt by West Allegheny deep inside its own territory, which led to Pfeuffer finding Casilli for a 22-yard touchdown.

“We have been trying to get those big plays all year but have just missed them,” Plack said. “Tonight, we had some big plays on offense and defense. We had some things drawn up that we liked, but it came down to the Jimmys and Joes making some big plays.”

Pfeuffer completed 12 of 16 passes for 199 yards and two touchdowns. Casilli, his favorite target Friday, had seven receptions for 135 yards and two scores.

“During the summer it was a little shaky,” Casilli joked. “We ended up going to a Pitt 7-on-7 camp and cleaned things up. We are rolling now. Tonight was big. We scored on the first play, which opened up the running game, then ran away with it.”

West Allegheny had big plays, including another passing touchdown from quarterback Kam Kruze to Baldwin for 55 yards. Mateo Vandamia intercepted a pass that tied the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter.

“Coach Plack is always saying we need to change the program,” Casilli said. “We started getting a little better a few years back and now have finally beat a big program like West Allegheny, which means a lot.”